Close shave

Always walk next to the guide. They point things out that you would otherwise miss like elephant tracks or similar. We stopped where some large red ants had made a parcel out of a leaf to hatch their pupae, a good source of protein im told. Mr. Ko took some of the ants and popped their fat bodies between his fingers, they reek of ammonia, good to sniff to relieve tiredness for a mountain walker far from home. Walking on, up quite a steep hillside I was last in the line apart from the other guide Mr. So. (above). While walking you have to tread carefully and stop now and then to admire the views. As I climbed the hill I heard a curious noise overhead, sort of a creaking, splitting sound. I trudged on, soldierly. Suddenly, I was stopped in my tracks by a tremendous thump behind me. I spun around on one foot to see Mr. So pointing (and laughing almost hysterically) at a truly massive, gargantuan stump of wood which had broken off and missed me by mere inches. The air turned blue. Bloody close to being in big trouble there. We were in a very remote place and I cant emphasize enough how much trouble I would have been in had I been struck by that log. We stopped for a water break at the top of the hill and a few of the other trekkers were asking myself and Mr. So about why I had been swearing so loudly. Here we saw Mr. Ko laying leaves on top of a large (3-4ft tall) termite mound.He explained to me that he and the tribes people believed they had to lay these leaves at this spot and say a few words so that the spirits would watch over them. He put his hand on my shoulder and assured me that that log would never have struck me down because we were being looked after. This I was willing to accept. I asked if anything lived in the mound (could'nt see any termites). Mr. Ko replied "On outside look like not much happen. On inside, like Bangkok".