In the middle of the mountains in Myanmar

This series of pictures was done end of December 2015 in the north of Myanmar, more precisely 25 km away from Hsipaw. After a long journey by foot with my 3 pals and 1 guide we had the chance to meet this family. We took around 8 hours off the beaten track to arrive in a small Pallong village somewhere in the mountains of Shan-Staat. On our arrival, we were warmly welcomed by the grandfather of the family, he greeted us with great joy and even a wider smile. The household consists of the grandparents, the son, the daughter in law and a lovely baby. All living under one roof they have been building a life of their own, isolated from all the villages and cities that are currently undergoing groundbreaking shifts in opening up to the outside world. A rope is clamped in front of the house for the grandmother who lost her eyesight. She walks along every morning to keep the shape. Seemengly a quiet an peaceful small town, where locals live off from the fast changing societies, they sharish the life of togetherness and the unchanged land. But the quietness at first can be misleading, knowing that only 15 km away a (civil)war is still going on between the military and the rebels, causing a not underestimate refugee crisis in regions on the borders to china. During our stay of only one day and a night, we ate together, laughed a lot, we enjoyed an European soccer game together and we could exchange deeper thoughts with the help of our great guide.