villagefarang

I lived in Bangkok for thirty years and before that in the suburbs of a university town and then in Hawaii on the windward coast. I used to debate with a cousin of mine about whether it was better to live in the city and visit the countryside or live in the countryside and visit the city. Looking back, I see that my being single had a lot to do with my city preference. After being married for nearly ten years, traveling a lot as a married couple and me getting older and feeling the need for a homestead of my own, my preference switched to country living and visiting the city. After thirty years in the city I wanted some toys and hobbies other than my squash racquets and club memberships. I wanted land, views, pets, cars, motorcycle, bicycles, hiking, waterfalls, reservoirs, rivers, mountains and beautiful sunsets shared with my wife and our pets. I suppose I brought with me my city sensibilities and was looking for nature, beauty and comfort, not how to make a living from the land. I am eleven years into my country living and I am still enjoying it. I find a drive into town every few days, an occasional flight to Bangkok or an impromptu road trip only helps to reinforce my attachment to country living. It is always so very nice to return home. I take a lot of pictures of where I live and thought it might be ok to share some of them as a way of illustrating why I like my country life and maybe remind others of why they are here or that there is life beyond the tourist districts. View from the house. Nearest waterfall 20 km away. Sunset on the Mekong River. Cherry Blossoms in the winter. Local Balloon Festival coming up next month. Mountain Roads. Nearby Mountain Peaks. Tea Plantations. Pets. Local Reservoir.

I live 50 kilometers east of Chiang Rai and my main camera is an older NEX-6 but these days I am more likely to have my iPhone in my pocket. I don’t take photography seriously but like to share images of the world as I see it. I thought I would start with where I live and spread out from there. This is the best image I have of our house and pond.