Escaping the City

---

Syd and I quickly decided that we didn't like Bangkok and needed to flee. We asked around and heard about a small river town a couple of hours away, Ampawa. We hired a private driver, Mr. Achera, negotiated a fee, and took off. Only problem was after an hour into the drive, we found that Mr Achera didn't know how to get to Ampawa. He said he was going to stop by a friends place and ask directions. This got me a little nervous since we had no idea where we were. As he pulled off the main road, syd and I exchanged looks. We quitely place our passports and all of the cash in our pockets. We agreed that the second things looked like trouble we would leave the backpacks and take off running back towards the main road. Our fear was unwarranted. Mr. Achera's friend was a nice man who mined salt for a living. We ended up staying for lunch and watching soccer on his 5" TV. It was a great little detour and an even better lesson for us. The world is filled with kind people.....

---

Photos

Salt Mine
Syd with Mr. Achera in the background

Salt Mine
Mr. Achera's friend offered us each a 5# bag of salt as a gift. We didn't want to be rude and decline the offer but the last thing we needed to lug around was 10 extra pounds....of salt. We compromised and took one small bag! It ended up being a great little detour.