Pinned to the wall of a home stay I’d been at last year in N.W.Thailand, was a torn handwritten map on a scrap of paper marking out where some of the local settlements were. It was a bit like Christopher Robin’s map of Hundred Acre Wood, and on it were little black dots on wiggly lines indicating where the various ethnic minority people lived.
Mooching around with just my camera for company is one of my favourite distractions, and wandering about looking for the […]
We have to stay sensitive to our impact both on our subject and the ground we lay for future passing tourists/photographers, and try to keep the interaction a positive one for both. Ultimately I think it will make for a better travel experience and better photos too, and done unthoughtfully we risk ‘killing the goose that lays the golden egg.
By the time I reached the Black Lahu village in a mountainous area of N.W Thailand I was a bit ‘languaged out’. This was unfortunate timing, as soon after arriving in the village I noticed the lady living in the house opposite my homestay, who had a sparkly twinkle in her eyes and a face full of character. I knew straight away I wanted to meet her.
It was a really exciting experience if a little daunting. There was a sea of bright colours and frenetic activity, and although I’ve visited many traditional markets before, this one felt a bit scary.
Singing In The Lifeboats 