After staying one night in Thong Pha Pom, we took a morning bus ride about 20 minutes to meet our guide for a day of bicycling. The guide was a representative of the Population and Community Development Association (PCDA), and our bicycle trip was visiting a number of home businesses, or "cottage industries" that PCDA helped to establish. The businesses were in very small, poor villages and we would bike from village to village.
The Thai government gives assistance to Thai people to start small businesses so that they can become self-sufficient. But the area we visited was about 60% Burmese refugees, 30% Karen tribe (also refugees), and 10% Thai people. The government is not as generous with their aid to refugees, so PCDA is a non-profit organization that fills in where the government falls short.
First we visited the school where they were cleaning up after a King’s Birthday celebration. Our guide showed us where the school raises alligators, fish, and chickens, which they sell to earn money for the school.
Then we biked to a small weaving village. I loved this village. Some little boys greeted me at the driveway with handfuls of fresh flowers. I was the only one to get them, which made me feel special even though I think I was only chosen because I was the last bicycle to pull in and was the only one going slow enough for them to catch! We saw two women hand weaving incredible pieces. They were sitting on a bamboo platform, with a strap going around their back and feet, and the string was stretched out between their torso and a bamboo pole. There were some pieces for sale. Two styles were evident, Karen and Burmese. I bought a great Burmese piece, but still haven’t decided what to do with it. I’m glad to know exactly where my piece was made and by whom.
I did embarrass myself quite grandly at the weaving village. I was showing off some of my newly learned Thai words and kept telling the women that their pieces were "beautiful." I realized later that I had mixed up my words and had actually been telling them their work was Delicious! Another memorable moment at this village was just before we left. I was approached by a grandfatherly gentleman who proceeded to put two flowers in my hair, one in each braid. Again, I was the only one to attract such attention – I wonder what was up with that? I felt honored and special again – I guess we have to take it where we can get it.
We cycled on to the next two villages where we saw Chinese noodlemaking and chile paste making. Both locations let us sample their goods – I ate way too much, it was so delicious (as opposed to beautiful). Our last biking stretch was about 45 minutes to a swimming hole on the river Kwai Noi. It was the perfect ending to the day!