To the land in the East
My dad asked me if I want to tag along with him to a small town located in the East of the state. I replied, “Why not?” and then the next day, we started our trip.
There was a total of four cars. My dad and his colleague, my sister, and I were in the last car. There were many people and I asked why. A person in the front car is an independent politician and we were going to his constituency for his political campaign since the election is near. After driving through many mountains, we arrived there. It took about two hours.
The cars stopped in front of a house and we were resting there for a while. Soon, young ladies, old ladies, and everyone were busy giving masks to every passersby on the road who weren’t wearing a mask. My sister and I were in the house sitting and staring while drinking juice.
Then, we were told to get in the car to roam around the town. Upbeat music was playing loudly when we were roaming. I saw children came out of their houses and dancing around while adults were watching from their houses. There was a little girl who threw flower petals at the cars and the scene amused me.
A river was nearby. After roaming the town, we went to the longest river in the country which flows through the state. When we reached there, we saw a small landslide near the river. It is a fast-flowing river and we explored the place. There was a very large red crag and many holes were on it. Birds were chirping. Look like it is their home. On the other side of the river, there is a large forest. But, you can’t go there. Military camps and ethnic armed force’s camps are there. Well, it is BB 9, a border area after all. If you can cross that area, you will be in another country.
On our way back to the town, we explored many places even though the weather was super hot. We were literally in the forest. We examined the soil and studied what kind of plants can grow there. We also went to the hot water stream. At the first glance, it just looked like a normal stream but when I touched the water, it was hot. You can boil eggs there. And, the area smells bad. I think it is ammonia. The water temperature isn’t the same either. The place where white strands are gathering is the hottest and it burns the skin.
Then, we were back in the town. In the house, we had lunch. After having rice with cooked pork, fried chicken, fried eggs, and soup, they gave us mala xiang guo and papaya salad and then ice cream. Having a delicious meal in a place where resources aren’t easily available makes me feel a bit apologetic.
After that, we returned home. On our way home, I asked, “Do you think giving masks to people will make them vote for you? Do you think it will be effective?”. My dad replied, “No, I don’t think it will be effective. It is more like marketing to gain people awareness.”
And, our trip to the land in the East ended. Look like I have been to 80% of the state.
Oct 18, 2020
