It was quite a trip getting here and I think I’ve finally adjusted to the time difference.  I arrived in Umphang on Friday where I will be staying for the next three and a half weeks.  Umphang is located in Tak province in the northwest area of Thailand.  Though it’s a remote area and a small community, its resources are amazing.  I am staying in one of eight ARC guesthouses in Umphang with one of the Thai ARC employees.  There is city power so electricity is not an issue--no getting ready with a headlamp.  We not only have clean running water, but there’s a hot shower too!  The washing machine is broken but the spin cycle works to help dry clothes and there’s satellite TV.  Around the house, there are several markets and small restaurants that make great Thai food and where I can buy a large variety of fresh fruit and vegetables.  Things here are also very cheap, each meal costing about a dollar or 30 baht.  

 These are two pictures from my run in Umphang this morning, pretty gorgeous scenery.

I spent this weekend getting acquainted to my new home and surroundings with the help of Jenny.  Jenny is the second year family planning fellow at Hopkins who has been here for just over two weeks.  We’ve been planning things out prior to the trip and its so nice having her here.  This weekend we were able to walk around Umphang on Saturday to see our neighborhoods and to find out about trekking at the nearby waterfall.  We were able to arrange for a one-day trip on Sunday and went to ThiLoSu waterfalls, the largest in Thailand and sixth largest in the world.  We first rafted through MaeSuk River and stopped to experience one of the hot springs nearby.  We then took a 45min ride in what I called the Death-mobile to reach the falls.  The road to the falls was just opened after two days of no rain.  Most of the road is mud and going up and down hills in the mud was more than treacherous.  We slipped several times and I thought we were going to tip over at least twice (sorry Mom).  Luckily we made it there safely and heading home was not as bad.  We were also able to stop by a Buddhist temple on the way home which are very common in this area.

 Jenny at a local fruit stand

 Inside Umphang welcome center with some monks hanging out listening to their iPod

 Outside Umphang welcome center

 Thi Lo Su falls

 Our muddy feet walking around hot springs (Jenny's are a bit camouflaged)

 Thi Lo Su

Buddhist Temple on the way back to Umphang

More later this week on Umpiem camp and my first week getting settled there.  Today was my first day and it was pretty incredible.