Chang Mai- Saturday- Tuesday, January 14-17, 2006
An unknown donor paid for us to fly north to Chang Mai, thus avoiding a ten hour car ride. Bless you, whomever you are. We arrived Saturday evening and had a group meal at Sizzler. I think everyone appreciate the "taste of home" and you know Americans can throw down on a good buffet. As a side note, [I believe Asians in general are like this], Thai people give impeccable service. As soon as you set your glass down after taking a sip of water, they are there to fill it up again. Another custom in Thai restaurants is that they bring everyone's food out separately- as soon as it's ready. It takes a while to get used to eating when some people don't have their food yet, but, in some ways, it's a pretty cool custom.
We stayed in a hotel in Chang Mai. This was fabulous for a variety of reasons. (1) I got to share a room with Allison and Tierany which meant (2) only three to one bathroom-- woo hoo! and (3) I love hotels. I do. I could easily vacation at a nice hotel. Camping for me is checking into a hotel. :)
Church at Lam Pang Baptist
We went to church about an hour from Chang Mai. The pastor and the church were so gracious to us and even made lunch for us. I was able to play the piano there, which was exciting. During the service, we introduced ourselves to the church. One guy stood up and said, "My name is Kurt Aho." The congregation started that shy, Asian giggle. The pastor explained that they thought his first name was "mynameiskurtaho" and couldn't believe he had such a long name! Needless to say, we only gave first names after that.
Elephant Ride
One of the things I definitely won't forget is our elephant ride! It's such a surreal experience to be plodding along through the moutains on an
elephant! (Can you actually tell it's me in that picture?!) After our hour-long ride, we watched the show where the elephants moved logs, picked up objects, played instruments, painted pictures, and bowed as we clapped. After the show, we got to feed the elephants bananas and sugar cane. It was a great Thailand experience!Road People Walk [Sunday Night]/ Night Bazaar [Monday Night]
We passed out tracts and shopped at these two markets. At the Road People Walk, there was simply a CRUSH of people. You could barely walk through the crowds. The Night Bazaar was more spread out and easier to navigate through. You cannot imagine how much is for sale at these markets... everything from clothes to food to weapons to jewelry to shoes to paintings to placemats to massages. Susie, Drew, and I got an hour long massage on Monday night... for the grand sum of $2.50!!! I won't tell you what my parents pay here in the States, but it's quite a bit higher. The massage was heavenly. Drew was making fun of Susie and I afterward because we were so relaxed we could barely stand up. Wonderful (and cheap!!) massages are definitely a fantastic perk of Thailand! Another perk is fresh, hot rhoti- yum! Rhoti is some sort of dough, fried and then covered with evaporated milk and rolled up. If you ever go to Thailand, try it!
Kodak Moments
Neal [pictured] and his wife Tammy [obviously not pictured] were two of my favorite people in the group. I have so many hilarious and goofy pictures of Neal, but this one of my favorites. He's a great sport-- thanks, Nealio! This was taken at a fish restaurant in Chang Mai-- delicious fish! While we were eating, a guy on his elephant rode (drove?!) by and Kurt got to ride the elephant and then go back to his dinner. Only in Thailand, right?
And, finally, Did You Know....?
One of the Thai customs I found to be simply incredible was this: In Thailand, it is considered socially acceptable to pick your nose in public, but not your teeth! I never got used to seeing people uh... you know, in public, however, I did conform to local custom and covered my mouth when using a toothpick. Incredible.
- Julie -
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