E-mail to parents Bill and Barbara in NZ 11:37AM

Hi good to get your mail, we are all good, so busy and tired but exited doing stuff. I'm taking lots of photos, check blog every day for more. We will be out of reach for tonight, seeing the Lasu hill people celebrating the Chinese new year. Yesterday, we saw my namesake, KAREN hill people clearing a fire break, looking after the rain forest, where they live. Gavin interviewed the head man of the Karen in the forest, with his daughters, they had a great grasp of climate change and the need to preserve their environment. They are doing some great things.

by the sea, it was great to see all that the organic farmers were doing, working We have been eating lovely Thai food, and I have seen amazing new things at at the markets, buckets of eels, massive crabs, fruit I have never seen before, and have tasted spiky red fruit with white flesh and tiny black seeds, I will try to find out names.

The Thai people are so gentle and graceful, even riding their mopeds 3plus, weaving in and out of massive traffic jams in Bangkok, they are so relaxed, I would freak out... After our 6 hour train ride down to Chumphon - working co-operatively, and recycling etc. Woke up early to walk on the beach and take the sunrise, saw a special needs Thai group on beach, amazed. well I'll say more soon.

Love to all **Karen