It’s harvest time in Thailand. I’ve recently returned from a few days in Chiang Rai and Phayao photographing the rice harvest for a client. Alas, for two out of three days the weather was dreadful with white skies and rain. Most unseasonal.

I met up with a few of the farmers I had photographed a few months ago during the planting and also some new groups. This included a lovely bunch of extremely cheerful Lisu hill tribe ladies who were cuting the rice dressed up in their colourful outfits.

Although much of the mian harvest of kao homali or jasmine rice is harvested by machines these days, the villagers cut their own crop of sticky rice by hand. It usually a community effort.

I’m off to Yangon tomorrow for the launch party of my recent book, Enchanting Myanmar and am looking forward to seeing how much has changed since my last visit a year ago.