OK. I go now.

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I'm going to Thailand to start a tree farm. I was there once before, many months ago, to see what I could see. There I saw what I could see, and now, upon seeing what could be sawn, I am returning for seeding what can be sown.
The best use of this space would be a description of almost anything other than what I plan on writing about, but since I got here first, I'm going to go ahead and describe what I plan on doing.
Many months ago I traveled recklessly through a fair number of countries on several continents with little regard for basic things like malarial infections or border security. That siege-style travel was good for what it was, but staying in any given place for only 3 or 4 days is like riding a comet on a tour of the galaxy. Those experiences amassed an ocean's worth of fish sized stories to tell, but this time I'll be more like a sea anemone, which should provide a better way of getting to know the area. The travel updates might not be as exciting as my previous travels (if they ever were), but they should have at least a fragment of context. I'm looking forward to not having to thumb rides for hours or sitting on buses. Staying in a foreign country and getting to see the business side of things will be a real treat. And since I'm literally putting down roots, it will be in my best interest to get to know the locals as best I can.
I'll be in a little village about 15 miles outside a small city called Phrae in Northern Thailand, about 4 hours south-east-east of Chiang Mai. I'm not sure what the name of the village is since it's not on the map, and even if it were, I probably couldn't find it. Four acres of land has been leased with the intention of starting a tree farm that should be harvestable in six to ten years. I'm planting agarwood. It would take a lot for me to describe it on this page, so it might be better to learn about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agarwood if you are interested.
I'll be staying with American Steve and his Thai wife Tasenee, but I plan on building a little shack on my acreage. After the 4000 saplings have been put in the ground they require little maintenance; I'll hire locals to water them from time to time in during the first year, especially during the three month dry season, but after that they become fairly responsible plants and can basically take care of themselves with occasional weeding and manure fertilizing. I have yet to actually see the land I will be leasing, but Steve assured me that it's quite nice--lots of water available and pretty low risk of monsoon flooding. I'll send some photos and descriptions when I get there.
When I was there in April the temperature hovered around 95 with fog-like humidity. I had a pretty rough time, probably on account of me being about 15 percent fatter then. I've been checking the forecast and lately it's been about 60 at night and 78-85 during the day, which I think I can tolerate. However, Anchorage has been a steady 10 below zero for two weeks now, so that's almost a 100 degree temperature change I'll be jumping into. I packed lots of shorts this time. Steve estimates it will take about three weeks to get all the plants in the ground. I don't think there are any time constraints, so I might take my time. I'm looking to get back into Laos for a little while while I'm over there, and since I have a one way ticket with no obligation to get back to Chiang Mai, I hope to do some overland travel to places I haven't been. I'll just go till the money runs out and it starts warming up back in Alaska.
I decided to go blog style so no one feels pressured to read my updates the way they might have when I sent them email style. I think you can subscribe to this blog and not have to think about checking on it. This site lets me put up photos with captions and videos too.

OK. Bye guys. I'll see you when I see you.

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Comments

[Dan]

good luck my tree planter
Hi Jordan all the best while you're planting trees. Im working at my desk at the moment off to a mine site visit this afternoon in central queensland. Planting trees sounds boring, i thought you would have choosen something with a bit more spice! Being in Thailand with Thai employees sounds cool though. Good to hear from you. Dan