I’m in Pa Miang, a remote village on the western edge of Lampang province, and life is always lived at this easy-going pace. There are no rush hours or noisy, car-clogged roads in this bucolic hamlet. Today happens to be a Buddhist holy day, so all the ladies of the village will be putting on their best clothes for a merit-making ceremony at the local temple. Their children and grandchildren have only to make a short stroll down the road to get to school. After breakfast, their menfolk will kick-start battered old motorcycles for the short ride to their farms, most a few minutes away.
In most other parts of the Kingdom the cool season has come to an end and townspeople, in particular, are bracing for the sweltering heat in the run-up to Songkran. But thanks to its elevation — Pa Miang is located around 1,400m above sea level — and the fact that it is surrounded by lush forests, the ambient temperature here is comfortable all year round.