Baby it's hot (and really smoky) outside...

As March continued to march forward, all of a sudden I could smell smoke creeping into my air conditioned room for the first time one night. Now I just smell like I have been living in a camp fire the past two weeks. This is the season of burning fields and forest hillsides throughout much of Asia - especially here in Thailand - even though it is supposedly illegal. If you look at any sort of map showing what parts of the world are literally on fire at the moment or check in on the air quality index, you will see that Thailand is mostly shimmering red at the moment. A hazy, hot, horrendous, smoky month of March is usually to be expected - but on a recent Saturday I woke up, thinking I would go for a usual morning walk/run and I realized it was worse than usual. I checked online to see what the AQI was and was quite surprised to see 549! The week before I had seen a news report that Maehongson and Chiangmai had the worst air in the world and it was only in the 240 range - but 549!? Needless to say, the run didn't happen that morning or for several weeks as the numbers just continued to rise

One night I went to a meeting at church and all the hills around us were on fire. I knew the next day would be bad - and it was. Often the temple on top of the hill - even the hill isn't visible in the morning.

This hot season has been a little different and confusing for certain species (including two legged ones) because twice now - once in February and once in March there were significant rain storms. This has confused the trees of the forests which usually lose all their leaves during these months. The hillsides turn a barren brown waiting for the monsoon rains to arrive in May. This year, the trees are still losing their leaves while at the same time putting out new growth and buds! It is very strange. I think the rains may also have confused the cicadas as they have erupted from the ground expecting a wetter, greener environment and instead have been met with the desolation and heat of Mordor. Cicada shells/exoskeletons are clinging to trees and poles while the bugs themselves are bombing around looking for their potential mate - and making some really loud beautiful music at night (listen to the videos below). And many locals are having a heyday gathering them up to roast/fry because they are a tasty treat...Tales from Thailand.

And what makes the hot smoky season bearable? No it's not the ineffective spray from the fire trucks that someone hopes will eliminate some of the smoke! The mornings are still cool (ironically probably because of the smoke not allowing sunlight to get through), cool drinks of all varieties whether from 7-11 or your local coffee shop/juicer/herbalist...including coconut coffee (crack open a coconut, pour all the liquid on ice and add your americano...refreshing in so many ways!! ...and the beauty in the desolation - orchids and trees dressing in their finest on the hottest days, sunsets and the overall light every day, and of course picnics by and swimming in the river...

Another way to deal with the heat and smoke is to escape to a favorite beach (Huahin) where in spite of rampant development and growth, the beach and the sea and the sunrises remain remarkably timeless and unchanged. This was my final stop before returning to Seattle just in time for my dad's 90th birthday!

One last photo of this prolific orchid that blooms and shows off all it's beauty in the midst of the desolation! 

Duncan