Valentine's Day here in Thailand is quite a nice affair. Yes it's commercial, yes they want you to spend money, but it's a lot more inclusive than the ones I remember from my school days in the UK..."What? It got lost in the post again?"
Here students plaster each other with heart shaped stickers and give roses...and not just to someone they secretly admire. Friends, classmates and even 40 something English teachers are included in the fun. 

Meanwhile, back on the ranch and early morning I had waved off my own Valentine as he went to spend 3 days in remote jungle with two very lovely ladies.

Angie and Margie are sisters who are originally from the UK, but have lived in various continents. Now Angie lives back in the UK, whilst Margie has spent the last 40 years in Australia. Both grandmothers, both in their sixties and both could put most 20 and 30 years olds to shame with their adventurous and intrepid spirit. 
When they first inquired about doing a tour with Khao Yai and Beyond, I offered them a range of options. Would you like to stay in a nice resort the night before you trek? No- we'd love to try out the guest hut. How about the on the trek itself- would you like to stay in a campsite? No- we'd like the jungle...the real jungle. With hammocks? Yes. Cooking on a fire?- Yes. Bathing in a river?-Yes...... Perfect. 

As we sat enjoying a G&T on the night before they left,I knew they would make great trekking companions and  was desperate to tag along too.  But I had a date with 60 odd students and a packet of heart stickers.

Three days later, I awaited their return. What had it been like? Had they enjoyed themselves? Had we delivered to their expectations? The waiting is the worst part for me. I hate being left out of anything and as they travel into such remote areas, where there is no phone signal, I can never check what's going on. A blessing for Deaw! 

Finally in early afternoon, they returned. Tired, with sore muscles but with big smiles and tales to tell. In spite of having to get to Bangkok to catch a plane to the south, they found time for another well earned G&T, a shower and a bit of a giggle, before packing their aching limbs into the minivan that would take them towards their next destination- the beach. 

Margie and Angie- it was fantastic having you visit. Thank you! :) 

One thing I love about Thailand is that it's so very seasonal. Living here in the hut, and buying from the local market, keeps us in touch with what season it is. "What?... 8 baht for a lime?..they can't be in season right now!" 

When I lived back in the UK, a slight reduction in the price of strawberries may indicate that you were somewhere close to the month of June but, other than that, it was very different to know the seasons from the supermarket. 
In this area of Thailand you can't help but know what fruit is in season. The big clue...if it's in the market, its in season. Currently the markets are teeming with tamarinds and rambutans. Tamarinds are an ugly fruit, all things said and done. They're long and brown. They don't improve much when you break them open either- inside they're long, brown and sticky with a kind of string running the length of each side. Am I selling them to you? But, don't judge a fruit by it's cover- just pop one in your mouth you'll see. And rambutans...well, they look like they've had a bad hair day.

As well as being tamarind season..and cowboy festival season..it's also wedding season...and monk making season.

 We recently had a wedding here right outside the hut which was super convenient, for Thai weddings extend pretty much over two days. 
There's the preparation party- which is where the family hosting the wedding make things even harder on themselves, by opening up the preparations to anyone who wants to pop along for an impromptu visit. This may not sound to onerous, until you realise that these impromptu visitors are to be fed and watered. So, in addition to preparing the wedding room where the monks will chant, the wedding flower wall, where the guests will have their photo taken with the happy couple and the wedding seats, where the newlyweds will be blessed by the community....they must also prepare enough food for anyone who happens to drop by. The dropping by can be done anytime between lunchtime and late evening.

For this wedding I was joined by friend/colleague, Sinead. Sinead has been living and working in Pakchong since November, but was getting frustrated with not seeing much of 'the real Thailand'. In order to rectify things, I invited her for a stay in the hut. 

It was a tiring but fun filled couple of days. We began with a visit to the local waterfalls in Muak Lek- where she nearly took an unplanned dip. The Thai kids make tripsing atop the waterfalls look so easy! Following that we had the preparation wedding party for a couple of hours, before heading off to take in a cowboy festival.

 Of all the cowboy festivals, the cow's milk festival of Muak Lek is my favourite. Here you are treated to stalls of all kinds as well as cowboys. Indians and Jack Sparrows. It's like a who's who of all the last things you'd expect to see in Thailand. Sinead took the festival like a duck to water and was soon seen being photographed with all the key characters.

At 2 a.m. with no sign of the festival abating, we dragged ourselves away. We had an early start the next morning if we were to see the wedding in it's full.

An earlier start than even I expected. At approximately 4 a.m the music started. The monks arrived at 6 a.m and the traditional part of the wedding began.

What is good about a Thai wedding is the tradition that combines with informality. You can go in and watch the monks chant...or not, take photos...or not. So, you only want to watch half the ceremony?...up to you!
We ended up staying for the monk ceremony and part of the traditional community ceremony too. At about 9 a.m with two hours sleep and two ceremonies under our belts we headed outside for "lunch". Was it really only 9 o'clock?  

There was one more ceremony to go- the evening one. I wasn't sure that I'd make it that far through the day, but I was determined to try.