Chiang Rai province (Thailand), rafts on the river transporting tea leaves

This set of images of Thailand was acquired by the American Geographical Society from Robert Larimore Pendleton (1890 -1957), soil scientist and Professor of Geography at John Hopkins University. The pictures were taken during Pendleton's research visits to Thailand from the mid 1930s to 1950s. Pendleton served as agricultural adviser to the United Nations FAO Mission to Siam [Thailand] in 1947-1948 and as the soil scientist at the US Mutual Security Agency's Special Technical and Economic Mission to Thailand in 1952-1953.The two rafts at the left are loaded with baskets of mieng (fermented young leaves of Camellia sinensis) which have come down the Mekok River [Mea Kok, river]. The two rafts beyond, at the right, are the ones on which we came down the river. Chieng Rai [Chiang Rai province], northern Thailand. December, 1938.Grayscal