Contrasts

I've noticed many contrasts during our stay in this part of Thailand.
The daytime temperature reaches at least 35 degrees, but three hot meals are served every day and much of the food eaten here is spicy hot, sometimes extremely so.
The living conditions of most people in Ban Natoe and surrounding villages are very simple (most people in this area live in small thatched roofed homes), but there are satellite dishes everywhere.
Material possessions are very sparse, (for example, clothes are hand-washed, running water and flushing toilets are not a given, and women can be seen on their front step pounding rice into flour using a large, homemade mortar & pestle), but young people are often seen with shiny new scooters, cell phones and ipods.
The village people speak no English for the most part, but t-shirts with English phrases and familiar characters or logos can often be seen on both children and adults. Further contrasted with that are the exquisitely handcrafted traditional costumes, complete with highly decorated head gear, the regular wear of some hilltribe people as they tend local marketplace stalls.
There is lush green tropical vegetation and beautiful blooming plants and trees all over the countryside, but the small yard in front of virtually every home is bare, hardened sand and dirt, usually complete with a hen and chicks that wander freely.
People are extremely courteous and polite, but, behind the wheel of a vehicle, they are aggressively 'in your face'.
Cultural traditions and customs are practiced and maintained by old and young, but visitors are never made to feel that they must conform, are out of place, or have made an error.
Yes, we are in a place of many fascinating and remarkable contrasts.

Anne