I have so many great memories after my 16 day vacation in Thailand . The first part of my remarkable journey was to travel and stay at Doi Khun Than National Park. To make the trip a bit more interesting, I decided to travel by train. Late one evening, I packed my bag and took off from Bangkok and arrived at the Khun Than Railway Station early in the morning. Before we arrived at the station, the train passed through the famous Khun Than Tunnel -- the longest railway tunnel at a length of 1,352 meters, excavated through steep mountainous terrain. Once at the station, I could tell that the elevation was very high. My destination, however, wasn't higher yet. At the station there was a sign directing travelers to the Khun Than National Park office, and the given direction meant a trek by leg to go up even higher. I hiked up with joy since I was surrounded by all kind of trees and pleasant vegetation. Life was everywhere around me, yet the air was calm and quiet. Roughly two kilometers of hiking brought me to the park office, where I rented a bungalow for the duration of my stay. It turned out that my bungalow was another hike of about one kilometer further up the mountain. Higher and higher I walked, away from buildings, people, noise, pollution. At last I was among the trees, wildlife, and nature's sculptures; a perfect balance of calm and dynamic energy.

My three days and two nights there made such a beautiful moment in time. The dark was pure, no artificial light. The sounds of a strong wind, and all the night bugs were amazing. With just a tiny bit of light from my bungalow balcony I saw an amazing view -- another mountain on other side of the valley and villages on the far bottom of the hill. The lights were so tiny from where I stood. On the third day, I got up early to prepare myself for the long hike up to the top of Doi Khun Than, a 5,500 meter hike. During the three hours of hiking uphill, my heart filled with the pleasure of being among these incredible forests of mixed evergreen and deciduous trees. Along the trail there were four resting points, each one giving a breathtaking view of the environment. Every life and energy in the nature helped to enhance my sweet inner peace. My heart, mind, spirit and soul were serene and open, simultaneously transmitting my own energy and accepting nature's gifts. I felt deeply at one with all my surroundings... Beautiful!!!

The next morning I packed all of my belongings in preparation for the journey to another destination. During my hiking back down to the railway station, I passed many young school children who were hiking in a group together with their teachers for a field trip to the park. Most of them were so excited to wave and say "Hello" to me in English, thinking that I was a foreigner. I observed closely into their expressions to find that the simple act of saying hello in a foreign language and getting a response gave them so much joy. It was a marvelous blessing and a terrific memory to mark the end of my stay at Doi Khun Than.

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