Ayutthaya Part I: Long Bus Journey

Some boys play soccer in the "street."

Ayutthaya is located about 3 hours north of Bangkok, though as our journey involved a stop at the AIDS hospice, the trip took closer to 6 hours total. I snapped a few photos of the countryside as we passed through, as the income disparity was quite visually apparent as soon as we left the suburbs of Bangkok.

Rice paddies.

Although there was much beauty in the countryside, the lack of basic resources and material wealth was painfully clear in many of the rural areas we passed through. I was lucky enough to sit next to my friend Pao for most of the journey, and we talked for a long time about the social and economic situation in Thailand in the more rural provinces, as well as the challenges this situation poses for public health and education out here.

Rural alleyway.