I've been having a lovely time meandering on my bike around Thailand and asking unsuspecting people for their pictures. Luckily for me almost everyone has said yes!. Why? Well I'm not sure why people say yes to a stranger with a big camera. It has always confused me, but I'm not dumb enough to ask them why. I just smile real big and thank them profusely. :)You know as nervous as I get before I get up the nerve to walk up to another stranger to ask for their picture (sometimes I fight with myself ~ don't worry not physically, well not usually.... ~ I argue for quite a long time before I actually stop to ask.., I'm quite sure I look like a crazy as I wobble around on my bike, muttering profanities at myself and then finally turning around to go back to talk to the school girls on the roadside or the old man with the fantastic face.., why people would say yes to my craziness is a mystery) ,But when I do get up the courage to ask, Wow, almost every time the pay off is greater than a picture, the interaction and the little bit of relationship we have because of it is incredible. And on those really blessed days the payoff is 1000x better than a picture. Like yesterday, I stopped at a little roadside family daycare and ask the nanny if I could take pictures, she said yes and somehow after that, I ended up spending 2.5 hours in her house drinking tea and coffee while listening to her friend play and sing traditional music on his guitar. It was a wow moment, I couldn't have planned a better morning if I had tried.By the time I left, I think I might have taken about 10 bad pictures., but it's not about the pictures really, it's about the journey, the people and the relationships. Now every time I pass her daycare we wave and nod at each other, and I know that I'm welcome back whenever I want to drink tea and listen to hours of beautiful music... :)Below are some images of my meanderings this morning....