Fortuitous Encounter

When I arrived in Tung Salang Luang National Park in Petchabun province, I followed signs directing me to the campground which the road that you see in this picture leads to. I drove down the road, feeling happy to be there.
But then I started getting concerned when the road just went on and on. Ten minutes later, I was still in the dense forest and wondered what I should do if I came across a herd of elephants blocking the way. (This happened to me before at another national park.)
As the road took me deeper into the forest, I decided that camping alone by myself was too risky, but I was hoping to see a few other campers there.
In Thailand, camping is more often than not a group activity; people arrive by the busloads and the atmosphere is festive and can get quite noisy. And, needless to say, there's food everywhere.
Suddenly, right after I made a sharp turn, the road ahead dipped under a wide stream with fast-moving current. That was scary enough for me stop the truck and turn back, though not before getting out to take pictures.
On the way back, I noticed a motorcycle parked on the side of the road and saw a woman and her young daughter digging bamboo shoots. After friendly greetings, I asked the woman if I could please have one hundred baht (about $3) worth of bamboo shoots, adding that she could give me any amount she pleased for the hundred baht.
She started loading bamboo shoots into the trunk of my pickup truck and kept on doing it until I had to tell her to stop. I gave her the money and she took it only after I kept insisting.
Back in Banrai the next day, I had enough bamboo shoots to give to three families of my workers, and they were delighted.

Photo location: Tung Salang Luang National Park, Petchabun province