Aek was a rebel fighter against the Burmese military dictatorship in the 70's.
He has many vivid stories from the Vietnam-war era.
He came to Thailand in 1974 carrying opium and jade in exchange for (American) weapons to fight the oppressive Burmese government in a rebel uprising.
Strangely enough, his father still lives in Myanmar and works for the military.
Ael speaks fluent English, Thai, Burmese, and is able to converse freely with many hill tribes in their various dialects.
He is 58 years old, but shows no signs of age. More agile than any of us, he hikes through the treacherous terrain of this jungle like it's nothing.
His knowledge and skills were crucial in our journey through Mae Hong Son. He also cooked for us (using ingredients he gathered from the jungle) and provided us Chinese "medicine" (rice whiskey) at the end of every night.
Our group also included 3 kids in their early 20's from Boston, MA and two members of the Karen hill tribe (from the first village) who helped us navigate through the dense jungle.
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