planes, trains, n tuk tuks….

Finally arriving in Pak Ben, a settlement sprung up in the middle of the jungle, do no doubt only to the boat service that needs an overnight spot, and the susequent influx of western riches.  Hordes of young boys selling places to stay, resteraunts etc screamed over each other from the bankside as we docked.  Anxious to keep an eye only stuff as rumors of these same boys grabbing your gear and running off into the jungle are prevelant.  Found a super clean and super cheap guest house for 100baht.  As no one had kip yet since there are no ATMs in the jungle, Pak Ben runs off $ and Baht instead of Kip.  Went and had a very good dinner w/ two new friends from our boat, an english guy named Paul and an American dude Josh.  Both with guitars and on much longer trips than ours.  Paul had already been just in Thailand for a year….   it”s funny the backpakcer culture and how you can tell a lot about people by their iteneraries and lenghts of stay.  Beelz n I are light weights compared to many on gap years or multi year treks, but even we turn our noses up at those who are on month trips! ha.  

After dinner we were all back at the guest house listening to music courtesy the boys instruments, when seddenly darkness.  Not just our guest house, the entire village.  Darkness is much darker in the jungle.  Not a single light on the horizon, just the moon, and lots of creepy jungle noises.  This turns out, is a daily routine, the whole town gets 3 hours of electricity a day, then the generators get tuned off.  Josh was flaberghasted that a village that spends so much time w/out electricity wouldn”t sell condles in the shops.  Children hocking all manor of unecessary items to travelers and no one had ever thought to offer candles? 

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