LImestone karst through the smoky haze

As we approached HpaAn the river flowed through a beautiful broad green plain broken up by large clusters of limestone karst peaks. This landscape was made even more surreal viewed through the heavy smoky haze  that engulfed us. I learned later the smoke was from rice farmers burning their fields after harvest, and that it happens like this every year because at the same time that it is time to burn the fields it is also the time of year where the winds become stagnant. All the flat lands fill up with smoke and there is no wind to blow it away or dissipate the heavy, choked air. I quickly started to feel effects from the pollution and knew I wasn't going to want to hang out in this choking smoke for long at all! Strike 1 for HpaAn!!