I have finally figured out who has been pwning me all these years at Counterstrike and Halo -- 10 year old Thai kids.
Where did we leave off? Oh yes, after Cambodia our group split up for a couple of weeks. Kevin and Mark decided to do some further reconaissance in Cambodia. They spent a week or so touring the countryside on motorcycles, exploring the killing fields, and leargning to tie hammocks. Greg, Nick and I took a red-eye bus to the northern city of Chiang Mai the capital of the Chiang Mai province. My mom went to college... in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is a booming city tucked away in the jungle covered mountains. It is also slowly becomming the next Bangkok. The area we stayed in had a very international vibe to it. There were a few British bars, a German bar, a New Zealand hostel. We stayed at a quaint hostel just outside of the downtown area. The owner of the place was an old Thai guy named Adam. He was a pretty chill guy and Greg noticed that he was wearing Rainbow sandals, odd for a Thai. He told us that his sister lived in North county San Diego and worked at the Rainbow factory in San Clemente. I was chatting with him a bit more about that since I live/d in San Diego. He told me his sister was flying him out to SD next year and he showed me some pictures of her house. Turns out she lives in a mansion on the beach at Dana Point. I kind of looked at him in shock and said something like 'Oh, your sister works at the factory but not in the factory, she must run the place.' Adam just looked at me and smiled.
The second day in Chiang Mai we decided to mountain bike down the 'Old Smuggler's Run.' It is a 35 km trail once used by opium traders that starts at the top of the highest mountain in Thailand, Doi Inthanon, and ends near Chiang Mai. The trail was very fun coming down and the views were equally as stunning. Besides a couple of slips and slides, we all made it down without incident. After a day of mountain biking we were all tired and ready for some R & R. As I was about to start my late day siesta Nick came into the room and asked if any of us had O negative or A negative blood. While he was at the internet cafe, a Thai man was putting up flyers asking anyone with those types of blood to goto the hospital and donate. His sister and two of his German friends got into a motorcycle accident the night before and the hospital ran out of blood. I was sure I had O negative so Nick and I took a tuk-tuk to the hospital. It was cool to see a lot of other backpackers in our area were allready there and even a few people who mountain biked with us. The nurse did a test of our blood type and after a few minutes called me back since I had the right blood type. I sat on the hospital table and looked down at the blood bag that I was to donate into. It said- David Chen, A Negative. I know that I am O negative so I argued with the nurses for a while. After a double check, their lab confirmed that I was in fact O negative. My blood checked out, they drew a pint, and I wisked them the best of luck. It was time for me to grab a burger, a pint of my own, and watch Man U spank Liverpool 3-0. Sweet as.
The next couple of days we spent relaxing in town and staying out of the heat. There was something we planned on doing in Thailand and were forgetting to do. Wondering what it was that we were missing, I turned to Nick...
Nick: "There's only one thing a man can do when he's suffering from a spiritual and existensial funk."
Me: "Go to the zoo, flip off the monkeys?"
Nick: "No, buy new suits."
All: "Yea!"
Thailand has a tailor on every block. One of my aims in Thailand was to have a nice suit made at the fraction of what it would cost in the States, an send it back to the States for use. We found a tailor we liked and spent an hour or so for a few nights having our suits and shirts tailored. One shirt for work, one shirt for play. So I guess now I have something to wear to work and/or Las Vegas. We will see.
At the end of our six days in Chiang Mai we split up again. Nick flew down to Phuket to meet his Dad and Uncle, while Greg and I planned our journey back down to the islands of Koh Samui and Koh Tao. We found a cheap flight to Bangkok and took an overnight bus to Surratanni, the ferry lauch point to Koh Samui. We spent a few nights in Samui which had the same beach scene as Phuket and Krabi. After two nights on Samui we took a ferry to Koh Tao or 'Turtle Island.' The island is famous for its many untouched dive sites. Koh Tao was basically 'farang' island. Farang is the Thai word for white person similar to the spanish word 'gringo.' I was the only non-western person on the island who wasn't and inn keeper, waiter, or bartender. It was odd being in Thailand, speaking Thai to someone and having them look at you funny saying, "You speak Thai? Are you Thai? What are you doing here?" I asked myself that same question. There were many bars located on the beach. One bar we went to was packed with over a hundred people, all European or Canadian- even the bartenders. An all too familiar scene: four dollar drinks, nowhere to sit, loud music, everyone yelling. This sums up Koh Tao's bar scene, not really my cup of tea. Could have stayed home and gone out to PB.
One of the days we caught a ride on a fishing boat and fished out in the ocean for a day. Greg and I caught a few local fish about half a meter long. The sun was out, and we had a great time on the open water. We didn't get a chance to SCUBA dive again but it was nice to be by the water one more time before we leave Thailand.
We made it back to Bangkok and will be at Kunyai's house until monday. In the meantime, we have been invited to a monk rite-of-passage cermony which should be interesting. After that, on to Nepal and the Himilayas! Until then, thanks for tuning in and take care.
cheers!
dc
An old SCUBA picture from Krabi. Me giving the wrong sign.
Today we hung out and rented paddle boats on Lake Fewa which Pokhara borders. There was an island pagoda which was cool. Actually, it basically was just a pidgeon sanctuary. Tomorrow we take a short car ride to Phedi, the jump of point of the Annapurna circuit.
We are following the circuit clockwise starting in Pokhara and ending in Besishahar. We will do the Annapurna Sanctuary(dotted red line) portion of the trek first. This trail cuts throught the heart of the mountain range and takes us to the Annapurna Base camp. That portion should take about 12-14 days to complete. After that, we continue clockwise around the mountain range which is the actual Annnapurna Circuit. That portion will take roughly 14-16 days. We look forward to having a fun and epic journey. Wish us luck!
The man of the hour stopped by for a photo op. I don't think he was allowed to smile during the event. 
After the three laps, there was some sort of prayer said and another round of cheers. After this the crowd dispersed a little. Some people followed the monk into the temple for the rest of the ceremony which entailed the reading of scripture. We did not get to see this part. Even though we had little idea as to what was going on or the true significance of the days events it was very enjoyable and interesting to experience an true Thai culture. 