a different world

We drove up even further north to Chiang Rai to visit some of the villages and see the “Golden Triangle” where Thailand, Burma, and Laos meet. We stayed overnight in this bungalow up in the hills where the temperature dropped to about 7 degrees Celcius. There was no heat and the bungalow was one large room with 10 small mattresses lined up on the floor. We had 10 people in our group so it worked out. We stayed near a village that was made up of Chinese refugees who ran away from China. As we were shopping for some tea, I watched the children who were playing on the roadside near where their moms were selling their wares. There were a few children that caught my attention.
One little girl was using a plastic Coke bottle that was filled with water as a doll. She wrapped it up in a jacket and carried it around like a baby. There was another little boy contently playing with a piece of string tied to an empty spool as he ate his breakfast. I also watched a couple boys no older than five years old building a fort or tent out of wood and a plastic sheet. It was so interesting to watch and really gave me perspective of our different their lives are.

Are there peanuts in this?

We drove about 8 hours to get to Chiang Mai, which is in Northern Thailand. The weather is milder and the people are very nice here. We had dinner at this outdoor place and got a Singha Tower, which is a large beer dispenser that holds about 3 liters of beer and has a spout at the bottom. We’ve had so much to eat and Jes is getting his fill of spicy foods. Johnny is also having to ask all the time, “are there peanuts in this?” I think the joke never gets old.

Anyway, we went to visit an Elephant Camp today and got to hang out with them up-close and feed them bananas and sugar cane. They also had a baby elephant that was born December 22nd so he wasn’t older than a couple weeks. He walked kinda funny but already knew how to use his trunk…very cute.

“I don’t get it.”

We spent last night walking around Siam Square and rode the SkyTrain for fun. Later we went to a bar in Soi Nana on Sukhumvit Rd for some beer and New Year’s Eve festivities. This area is like another red light district with a grip of Go-Go Bars and “ladies of the night” all over the place. We walked into one club where there were girls no older than 18 years of age “dressed” in white G-string bikinis half-heartedly dancing on stage with numbers tagged on their tops. We walked through it and walked back out with Jes saying “I don’t get it”. I’m not sure what he was expecting but that was his reaction. We spent the rest of the night hanging out at the bars outside of the club watching the trannys who were feminine at first until they opened their mouths with manly voices…d00d it’s a man! Anyway, Jes and Johnny had a few Singhas and we kicked off the new year with silly string and popped balloons. Happy 2006!
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Mosquito bite count: Jes = 8, Nina = 4, Johnny = 6

Happy New Year!!

On Friday we woke up early and drove to Kanchanaburi. We had some noodles for 20 baht (50 cents) and went to eat bbq chicken at Erawan Waterfall. Unfortunately, when we went up to see each level of the waterfall, I got separated and ended up going all the way up to the 6th level while my dad, brother, and Jes frantically searched for me at the 3rd level. We all had dinner on a floating house that was towed down the river by a speedboat. We actually crashed a company holiday party that my dad’s childhood friend was throwing for his employees. The food was great, they have Johnny Walker Black for Jes, and my brother and I enjoyed the vodka that we smuggled in a water bottle. We got a taste of Thai music and how they dance…very interesting but cool at the same time. Spent the night at my dad’s friends vacation home by the river.
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Today Johnny went to play golf at 6 am. We went to have breakfast out on the street…rice porridge and Chinese donuts for 12 baht (30 cents)…awesome. We later visited the Bridge over the River Kwai…pretty cheesy. Brought some fruit back to the house: green mango and fresh pineapple. They were 15 baht per bag. Man, food is cheap here. Drove back to Bangkok and got some photos of my mom’s old house while Jes, Johnny, and my dad got haircuts. Now we’re in the mall and will be trying to find some New Year festivities. Happy 2006 everyone!

hello from Thailand

We’re in Thailand now and what a day it has been. The flight was long but the plane is nice. We’re eating all day and went to see the ruins where they filmed Mortal Combat. The weather is warm but not too bad. Living like kings and queens here so far. Not sure where we’re being taken tomorrow.
Mosquito bite count: Jes = 2, Nina = 0, and Johnny = 2.

We’re outta here!

So excited…we’re all packed and I took my last no-nonsense shower. It might be two weeks before I can get my hair thoroughly lathered and washed without abrupt temperature changes or poor water pressure. Plans for the 17-hour plane ride:
1) work on Sudoku puzzles until I’m cross-eyed
2) build my own metropolis on SimCity4
3) learn how to use Photoshop CS2
4) get some sleep
5) watch some movies
6) enjoy the ride
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Hopefully I’ll figure out a way to send photos while I’m there. Ta ta for now!