Planes, a Bus, and a Birthday...

I woke up at 5:30 in the morning on June 9th to finally arrive in Chiang Rai the afternoon of June 11th. It was certainly a long trip. The flight from DFW to Tokyo was long and I was squished in the middle seat, but was overall pleasant. I had a six hour layover in the Narita Airport, which went by quickly. The flight to Bangkok from Tokyo was incredibly bumpy, but the stewardesses were unfailingly nice. I arrived at the Bangkok airport at 10:30pm and relaxed and read until my flight to Chiang Mai at 6:45am. The flight was only an hour long. I, then, ventured to the Chiang Mai Arcade Bus Station.

I spent the bus ride in awe of the goings on around me. There were overwhelming mountains to the left and monks walking on the right alongside a Carrefour complete with a Pizza Hut. As Ken Follet said, "culture clash is terrific drama." This incredible mix could be due to two separate ideas. Firstly, it could come from cultural imperialism and strong-hearted rituals in conflict. Secondly, it could be a simple fascination with a culture so different from ones own in collision with long-held traditions. The Chiang Mai Bus Station as both overcrowded and calm. Although the lines for bus tickets were long, no one acted impatiently or rudely. I had intended to purchase a VIP bus ticket, but somehow failed in that endeavor. My bus ticket was only three dollars and was an exciting, but bumpy ride. The police man who sat next to me in the bus was sleeping and I haven't the faintest idea how he managed that. It was a beautiful three hour ride with views of mountains and temples and national parks. It became increasingly evident on the bus ride that there are a disproportionate number of Playboy bunny stickers on cars and motor bikes. After being here a few days and seeing children wearing shirts with the icon , however, I discovered that it does not hold the same meaning here. There are also innumerable Che Guevara pictures, but after being in Europe for several months, I have grown accustomed to seeing his face randomly in inappropriate and odd places.

Once I arrived, I was greeted by most of the team and had a delicious lunch of goo ay dee o paht. We went to the craft store and the local market to pick up some supplies and headed back to the group home. With a program called AIDS Access, they had done arts therapy with HIV- positive children and we were organizing the paintings, bracelets, and keychains. Dinner was gaang kee o wahn, which our land lady Pi Pi made for us. I was exhausted after nearly three days of travel and very little sleep, so even the hard Asian bed looked heavenly to me.

The next morning, I awoke as a 21-year old. For my first full breakfast in Thailand, a few of us walked down the street to a woman who sells sticks of pork and rice in front of her house. They were delicious. The group, then, went to see a mountain with monkeys near the Burmese border. It was interesting to watch the interactions between the monkeys.

One of the monkeys was clearly the alpha male and his dominance overshadowed the hunger and needs of the other monkeys. I sat next down to a monkey on a bench and he made a whimpering sound; I glanced over at him, at which point, he snarled and lunged at me. I made it away safely, quite startled by an animal smaller than my cat, Joe. We climbed the mountain where the monkeys lived and breathed in the incredible view.

We descended into the caves of the mountain where there were many statues and relics. Unfortunately, my limited Thai did not extend to the signs that declared their significance.

After a day on the monkeys' mountain, we went to the walking street market where we sold the art and did double dutch jump roping for donations. The booth across from ours was a group of children and teenagers raising money for children whose parents had died. One of my group members told them it was my birthday and they sang and danced for me! Overall, a pretty incredible birthday. I think Thailand is just the place for me.