A village kid kicks high while playing Seepak Takraw
There’s something romantic about traveling by motorbike. Perhaps its the open air, the winding and unknown road, or maybe the people you meet along the way. We’d been hesitant to try it because we’ve never driven a motorbike before. But Chiang Dao is a small area with little traffic and most residents drive slowly, conserving petrol by turning off the engine to glide down the hills. So we thought it the perfect place to practice. We rented a shiny red automatic from the neighbor for a total of $200 baht ($7) and set out with a hand drawn map from the Nest. We rode across town up through the jungle-filled mountainside and turned at whatever road seemed most intriguing. Some were muddy and led nowhere while others led to little villages packed with beautiful happy people and bamboo huts overlooking picture book vistas. At this village, Ben joined a game of Takraw, which involves a bamboo ball bounced by foot like a hacky sack over a volley ball net. Girls were clearly unwelcome in this game, so I spent time with the women and their children watching the game by the side lines. Below are several pictures from the game, which is popular throughout Southeast Asia.
The game involves the flexible ball like a hackey sack
The net was loosely rigged to wooden posts dug in the ground.
The ball once made of bamboo is now made of plastic.
The rigged net.
Little boy anticipates the ball.
Ben tries his foot at Seepak Takraw.
doc/wise 