Deep in the forest.

 

Pin pricks of light poked through the swathe of night and the moon rested in comfort, as if smiling with a cup of warm tea, lounging there while taking in the new eve once again guiding it through another cycle of perpetuity. And there I was, following the example set by the pale sliver of pearl above. In my hand was a cooler beverage though, a beverage that you may have guessed I would have in hand if you have read any of the previous post of mine. A glass of whiskey and soda is the drink that rested between my grip as I laid my head back to take in the unobstructed view of this mural of stars, moon and of the hazy clouds dissipating in and out of existence while sharing in a little tango with the flickers of light smiling above. There is just something so entrancing about the night sky when you are able to view it without the touch of ambient light, and when you are able to hear the sounds in which the darkness orchestrates without a single encroachment of civilization.

            It took about two hours to get to the parking spot for the Lime leaf lodge. Once the truck was parked, all of the items that we needed to get to the Eco lodge had to be trekked up a steep, long and high incline. I thank goodness for the fact that this lodge is very near to a town where a local tribe called the Black Lahu live and who have plenty of individuals looking to help out for a small fee. So, we had a little helper assisting us, he strapped a large carrying basket to his forehead and we followed him up the steep incline. It took about thirty minutes to get up the little dirt path that led to the lodge. Once we reached the end of the trail we were welcomed by the sound of a little Koi pond on the left and some amazing little huts that were tucked away amidst the banana trees and various other floras. The group of us, which included an English fellow named Clive, a Chinese girl named Daisy and Chris, our host, headed to the main little bar area and temple like living area. Immediately; we all poured ourselves a beverage in celebration of making it up the hill as well as to savor while taking in the view that this little temple afforded us. That is the great thing about driving for a long period up the steep slant of the road and then footing it up the mountain. The views are that much better the higher the elevation is when the eyes seek out an end point in which to rest upon. This little area of the property, consisted of a sleeping area under a thatched rough made from bamboo, with walls made of a beautiful wood, and with a decor that one might find in a Buddhist temple. The doors of the entry were antique folding doors that opened up the sleeping area to he views of the mountains, forest and sky above. This area also served as a communal gathering and cooking area. Also, there was this great tiki bar on the deck that again had a great view of the mountains surrounding us.

            After a bit of time chatting and sipping we split off into little sub groups. Clive and Daisy were here at the lodge for more of a romantic get away and went off to their own little hut on the hill. These two kids both teach English here in Chiang Mai and each are able to speak Thai so very well. Daisy speaks, English, Thai, and Chinese – Mandarin and Cantonese. And Clive is working on learning the Chinese; with Daisy as his teacher he sure seems to be getting the language down pretty quickly. The rest of the group consisted of me, Chris, Winai and his wife Noi. Winai lives at and operates the lodge with Noi. He has been a guide for a little over thirty years and soon will be taking trekkers out on three day survival expeditions. He is a pretty amazing guy who can get out in the forest and create an amazing meal by building a fire and chopping down one of the many stalks of readily available bamboo. It’s a pretty cool thing how he will segment the stalk into cookware, bowls, and chopsticks. On the short trek that Clive and Daisy took, Winai created a nice fire and a great meal midway through the three hour trek. Chris is one of the owner operators of the lodge and who provided me with the transportation to the lodge. Six months out of the year Chris is a chef on a yacht and his culinary talent is greatly utilized at the lodge. Chris and Noi are amazing cooks, who prepared some amazing meals utilizing only an open fire in the middle of a forest, on top of a beautiful mountain, surrounded by nothing but the sounds and fragrances of the immediate environment.

            Before the night enveloped us, we were given a nice mid-day buffet of wonderful flavors and sustenance. We ate our meals on a bamboo deck that extended out from Winai’s home and that offered us a wonderful view. After our meal we had a little conversation about this and that and then went off to our own expectations of how the rest of the day would unfold. Me, I went and found a nice comfy deck chair to lay back in while I did a fair amount of reading. Reading while periodically looking up from my book to take in the view or to pour myself another whiskey and soda at the very near tiki bar, were about the only activities that I participated in as the day began to slowly wane. The dusk set in and a small fire was lit in order to provide a small amount of warmth from the now cooling night, as well as for the preparation of the night’s meal. Another large meal was laid out and now the deck provided views to the starry heavens as we took in the warmth and flavors of the spread laid before us. Once the meal was finished the loving couple went on to continue in their interlude, while the rest of us went on to the large snooker table that somehow was brought up to this small precipice. Yes, Winai loves himself some pool and so he had this huge snooker table brought up to the lodge. And thanks to some recently installed solar panels there was plenty of light available to guide us through a little game of eight ball on a table that was very challenging for a guy that is used to playing on a standard eight foot table or a small bar table. This table stretched to eternity -it seemed-, the pockets were tiny, as they were designed to consume the tiny snooker balls that the table was initially made for; however the pool balls were the standard size. This combination of small pockets, standard pool balls, and an immense spans of felt sure made for a difficult game of pool. Of course Winai knew this table like the back of his hand and made for a formidable foe in this game of billiards.  He may be physically unassuming but he is sneaky like a fox and in no time he found a way to get the upper hand. I only beat him once that night but I sure had a great time in my efforts to dethrone the king of this table in the depths of the forest of Thailand. Once the games had finished and the last sips were consumed from our once full glasses, we all began to make the steps into slumber. Lying down on a small mat that was placed across a hand made wooden frame raised above the floor; I covered myself with two large dense covers to keep the crisp night air from disturbing my rest. The entry way was left open and provided a beautiful background of night and allowed the sounds of all the nocturnal creatures to serenade me into a sound sleep. 

            Birds calling in the new day and the light of morning both served in a tandem duo to take me from the comfort of my slumber. Chris had prepared some brewed coffee from beans that were taken from the coffee plants located only meters away. This was a nice way to start the day and following the coffee was a nice little breakfast to get us going. It is hard to say where the morning and day went. I just stayed on the deck and continued to read my book while the couple went on a trek with Winai. Chris was busying himself with some prep for dinner. First he started marinating some pork ribs, then he began to boil chick peas for a curry, and then he sliced up some high dollar vanilla for a vanilla rice pudding. It looked like we would be having another great dinner again once the night set in. When the trekkers got back to the homestead another fellow joined us. He had heard of the lodge from someone who had stayed there a good while back and he decided to find his way there from Chiang Mai. The lodge is not an easy place to find and I have to hand it to him for just making his way there all on his own. There is no internet or phone, so he just took a chance and drove his rented moped up the mountain in the hopes of being fortunate enough to meet up with someone at the lodge. His name was Dillon and he was visiting from Australia, where he teaches philosophy at an international baccalaureate school. The time was around three in the afternoon and it was a good time to start pouring the whiskey and chat about various subjects that came to mind while we waited for the dinner buffet to begin. As the sky began to darken and the fire was lit, Winai brought out two guitars and a drum. Dillon, it turns out, was a fine guitarist who was also able to sing. So, I did my best to strum a few chords and keep up, but really I was just lightly strumming and creating only muffled sounds, so as not to intrude on the songs that Dillon was putting out. Sitting back listening to a little guitar, drums and singing with the accompanying sounds of an open crackling fire on this deck was a great way to spend the evening. Once the dinner was put out, the music was put on hold and we sat ourselves down for another grand meal. Mmmmmm, so damn good. There was such a diversity of taste. First we started out with gnawing on some perfectly cooked and marinated ribs, oh they were so good. Then we set down for an Indian curry dish, a Chinese soup, and a couple of Thai dishes, all served with superbly prepared fried rice. Once we had all sufficiently stuffed ourselves beyond contentment, Chris brings out this dish that is steaming and putting off a fresh aroma of freshly cut vanilla. This was the first time that I was served a hot vanilla pudding and damn I sure hope it’s not the last. Now that we had more than satiated our appetites, we sat back and enjoyed several more songs and beverages by the fire. As it began to get closer to the end of the day, several of us headed over to the covered pool table for a couple of games. We played into the night while drinking our whiskey and laughing, all the while enjoying each others company and the great outdoor pool hall. After pool we all turned in.

            The next morning started in the same way as the previous one had. Repetition of such nice beginnings is sure a great way to start any day. After breakfast, I walked over to another area which shares the same property as the lodge. There is this crazy Thai boxing training area that is located just a few steps away. This place is something that you might have seen in a Rocky type Thai boxing movie. It is extremely rustic, with dorms made of wood and thatched roofs, a ring built upon a cracked hard earth ground, large tires for flipping, huge ropes for climbing and pulling, weights, heavily used punching bags and sparing pads. Those would be Thai boxers  training here would be exposed to the mercy of the outdoor elements. I could only imagine how difficult the training would be during the hot stifling humid heat of a Thai summer. I couldn't help but have a great deal of respect for these individuals that were committed to training in such extreme conditions. This outdoor Thai fighting training area recently had a crew from National Geographic come up and do some filming of the instruction and fighting area. It was a pretty unique thing to see. After finishing up on my little walk, we began to pack up and prepare for our departure from the lodge. We made our decent down the steep incline to the truck and all made it down in one piece. Dillon was going to stay another night and so had the entire compound to his self, well, Winai and Noi would still be there to provide wonderful experiences and food.

            Nestled in the comfort of a surrounding forest on the side of a Mountain here in Thailand was exactly the thing that I wanted to experience when I first thought of moving here. Being able to experience Thailand in a way that was much more congruent with the way that locals would have lived a hundred years ago was an amazing moment. Breaking things down to the bear essentials and negating the extraneous elements of life and society seems to provide me with a wonderful sense of clarity. This lucidity creates a higher level of confidence and contentment in my life which I hope to carry with me all of my days.