27-290112 Ban Maejantai - 01

Ban Maejantai - Moobaan 25, Tambon Tha Kor, Amphoe Mae Suay, Chiangrai province:



25 might be the largest หมู่บ้าน moobaan (administrative village) number the cat has come across to date - it usually sees numbers smaller than 15. At 30+ households, Ban Maejantai is slightly smaller than Ban Apa (40+ households). With a population smaller than the minimum required (500 people?) for moobaan status, it is lumped together with a neighbouring village to form Mooban 25.

No lack of slopes in an Akha village:



Ban Maejantai from the porch of Mimi's house near the bottom of the village:



View from the top of the village just below the temple:



Ming Lang village in the distance (centre) - a steep climb to & from school for the kids:



Contour ploughing at bottom right - there are small tea farms around Ming Lang village:



Most households have switched from the traditional imperata grass roof to corrugated zinc:



Something not seen in the Akha villages in non-coffee growing regions like Mae Salong, Mae Yao & northern Laos - large bamboo platforms for drying coffee beans:



One of the two houses that hosted some of the guys on this Journey:



It was also one of the two houses where the cat spotted beehives fashioned from sections of large tree trunks. Wonder if the villagers carry the hives to their fields?



Mattress delivery?



House (with a little shop) that hosted some of the ladies on this Journey:



Compare this with the same view in December 2007/January 2008:

060107 going down the hill

Akha language has no word for goodbye. & they live on mountains, so when you leave the village you tell people that you are 'going down the hill' instead of saying a literal 'goodbye'.

From Aki's camera:








From the cat's camera:



Who is she busy SMS-ing...?




Trying to prevent the other cat from leaving:



Much more cheerful & much less tearful than in 2004:




Gift for Aki from Big Mama:

060107 more Apa people

The happy Apa :)



The cat couldn't recognise this girl who kept coming over to the house to be with it...Thanchanok fell over laughing when the cat asked her who this girl was...how she has grown...& is now able to walk without falling over:



In YK's arms just a year ago:


Photo from December 2005

The other HY & his host family:








She recognised him - the AWE team had probably used the services of every Ban Huay Mae Sai songthaew driver (not that there are many of them) in December 2004:

060107 family photos

In the women's half of the house, all the colourful dangly components of the family's Akha wardrobe are taken out from storage...



Youngest daughter seizes the chance to play dress up with her mum's accessories & her own oversized child's cap:




Some things are just the same across cultures & everywhere around the world :)

More posing outside the house:




Second youngest daughter all dressed up:



Her jacket is vintage stuff. Both jacket & skirt are hand-me-downs & too large/long for her. Couldn't see if she was wearing the leggings with applique made using pieces of Hello Kitty patterned cloth that the cat had seen her mum sewing back in 2004.

Finally the adults are ready too:

060107 Ban Apa v.01.2007

Another cat observing Ban Apa:



Sunrise from the swing:




He was responsible for the little black patch in the middle of the above photo:


Photo by someone else in the AWE team, taken on 18 December 2004

Stationed at that strategic spot where the only road within the village + the only road out of the village + the path linking the two halves of the village intersect, he would be aware of all comings & goings. During the cat's 4th visit in 2009, he finally beckoned it to come over & join him at his favourite spot. During its 5th visit in 2010, it didn't have the chance to check if he or the black patch was still around.

Path that links the two halves of the village & leads to the well from which water for rituals is drawn:



To the left of the second photo - the other half of the village in the distance, & the hills beyond:



Rice storage hut of either Amporn or Aporn's house:



The house - it's the first one encountered when entering the village by road:




This would be one of the houses that still looked the same ~ 4 years later in December 2010. Many others would have turned into wood + concrete + zinc roof structures by then.

One of the first houses to make the switch from wood + bamboo + thatched roof:



Another of the first to upgrade (back in 2005) - the buseh's house:



A more recent upgrade - Ata's red-roofed house on the right:



Even the village shop (on right) has a new zinc roof:



Still traditional, though things would change in time to come:




This would be either the last or second last time the cat's hosts fix their home the traditional way:




Every time the cat pops over to 'their' house in the morning they will be busy doing the dishes:



Random pics from around the village: