Thailand and Malaysia

The view from Mt. Jasar, Cameron Highlands

 The postcards that we sent from Australia and New Zealand to family back in the US still hadn’t arrived by the time I packed my bags to cross the Pacific again, this time back to Thailand and Malaysia! The purpose of this trip was to attend Chefoo Reconsidered, a reunion/get together of former Chefoo School students back at Chefoo, the elementary school that we attended in the beautiful Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. I have written about Chefoo previously on this blog. Chefoo Reconsidered as a movement or group has come into existence as a result of former students who have really wanted to look at our shared experience attending boarding school at a very young age and the ways this continues to impact and influence us today.

I won’t post in great detail about our days together but will say it was such a rich and rewarding time and I left with a very full heart. Our days were spent hanging out and being together, sharing our stories in intentional planned events as well as during times where we explored former jungle haunts and climbed familiar trails and trees! We were blessed and fortunate to have two good friends of all TCK’s and experts in their own right – Ruth Van Reken, who wrote Letters Never Sent and who has been involved in several previous Chefoo Reconsidered events already as well as Paul Young, author of The Shack and an adult TCK himself. Both were so great to be with for the week and poured much into us.

For any friends wanting to return to Chefoo or the Cameron Highlands, the jungle still remains pristine and beautiful in many areas but the tourist and agricultural development (closely linked) has been devastating in some areas - as you can see in the following photos. 

Big monstrosities

Awful traffic heading into Brinchang

Brinchang

Of course I would not go to Malaysia without spending some time in Thailand! I spent a week in Thailand (mainly up in Maehongson) and posted regular updates on facebook during my short time there so won’t go into too much detail here, but wanted to mention two technological aspects that were very different than when I was previously in Thailand even four years ago.

I remember when the Shan village we lived in at the time got electricity when I was in 4^th or 5^th grade. I remember when the same village got a pay phone booth 25 years ago. Fast forward a few years and I remember when everyone had cell phones. And now that Andrea and I have T-Mobile as our carrier here in US, we get free text and data in almost all countries overseas – so I could literally be in the forests around Maehongson or on the overnight train going down to Malaysia and I could facetime or text Andrea. Sometimes technology is something I am not a fan of but others times it is pretty cool.

Last time I was in Thailand four years ago, facebook was just catching on in remote areas. Over the last four years I have often looked for some of my friends in Maehongson without any luck. Well, all it took was becoming friends with one friend on this trip and I found the rest in droves and others who I don’t even know who want to be my friend.  It was so great to catch up with many of my friends face to face but it’s also been fun to catch up virtually with others. 

Here are a few photos of one of my favorite places...

Flying into Maehongson through smoky haze

New church at Maesagyrt

One of the homes of friends that I stayed.

The view from the house

Supper

View of Pa Tyng, one of my homes growing up.

Boiling sugar cane juice to make brown sugar

Friends in Pa Tyng

Friends in Napajat

Friends in Maesagyrt

Duncan