Chee-ang Ma-i!

After hours of practicing the correct pronunciation of Chiang Mai with Katie, I made it to the city with the name I cannot pronounce. However, that almost sounds as if I can pronounce other words in Thai, which is far from the truth. However, I am getting ahead of myself.

So, backing up over a month ago, after finishing teaching in Japan and some rather emotional goodbyes, I traveled around with my mom for two action packed weeks. This was followed by a little independent travel, or as I like to call it, my A-bomb tour. I went to Hiroshima (which may be the coolest city I have seen in Japan), then to Saga to see Sonya in her new home, and then on to Nagasaki. Before leaving Japan I had a few days of debauchery in Tokyo before flying Air India to Bangkok. The only reason I mention the airline is because before leaving the fact that I was flying it came up in a few conversations, which was invariably greeted with a compassionate expression conveying that the person had enjoyed knowing me and it was a shame that I was going to pass away at such a young age. Yes, I was somewhat frightened by the extra bag inspection and pat-down at the gate, as well as the idea that the plane seemed considerably older than me, but I must say, it was one of the most pleasant flights I have ever had. The food was good (and vegetarian), and the flight attendants were the best. I asked for a beer, and the sweet lady in a sari handed me three. Yes, while you have to pay for booze on most airlines these days, I had to give her one back so as not to look like a complete alcoholic. Also, I made it to Bangkok safe and sound, with both of my bags.

In Bangkok, I checked into the Hotel Atlanta, a very interesting place with a strong anti-sex tourist policy. One thing which is noticeable upon arriving in Thailand is the disgusting number of old unattractive white men with young, cute, extremely bored looking Thai girls and boys. It is really gross. Well, the Atlanta will have nothing to do with that. It is also cheap, has a cool deco lobby, a very old pool which Katie tried to drink (if you were curious, not a good idea), and a great restaurant with a menu featuring footnotes--annotations get me hot. My second day in Bangkok Katie was able to tear herself away from the education of Thailand's youth, resulting in a joyful reunion after two years. This consisted of lots of laughing and hugging. It was so nice to finally see her again, and we picked off right where we left off. Katie's friend Catherine also came down, which was lots of fun. I had a great birthday weekend in Bangkok. Katie took me out for an amazing meal at a Thai-style Chinese Seafood restaurant. I was immediately impressed by the photos of Koizumi dining there, and then wowed by the food, particularly curried crab dish. I never knew crab could be so fluffy or delicious.

After a weekend of eating and shopping, with a few short breaks for movies, Katie and I headed back to Lopburi (aka "Monkey Town") where I became her househusband, performing domestic tasks such as doing the laundry and taking out the garbage. I also visited the school where Katie is teaching. In some ways, it is not so different from Japanese schools. The kids are all in uniforms (though the girls wear much, much longer skirts), the classes are big, etc. However, there are some major differences. For one thing, Thai schools are much more outdoors--hallways are on the outside of the buildings, all the windows and doors are open, and students hang out outside between (or during?) classes. Also, the cafeteria is awesome. I will will have to figure out how to upload some photos (Liz--add a thing to get photos off of my camera to the list). It is kind of like a bunch of streets food stands together in a covered area, each selling different foods. You can get a bowl of noodles for about 25 cents, or fresh fruit, curries, and other Thai delights. There are stray dogs wandering around (like everywhere in Thailand). In terms of English teaching, it is vastly different. Katie's classes span a huge range of abilities, but for the most part, they really can speak English. Some of them even speak good Japanese. I was blown away. They are not shy about speaking English. They try. I love it. This can also be somewhat of a problem, since it carries over into the classes being pretty loud and unruly at times ("like a bunch of retarted baby monkeys with fleas," to quote the venerable Mariane Schaum). I certainly loved teaching Japanese high school kids, but working with Thai kids seems like lots of fun, but certainly more tiring. Another fun thing about Katie's school was getting an hour long Thai massage for about $2.50. It was certainly an experience, and not quite what I am used to in the states. Thai massage involves lots of poking pinching and pulling, having a woman step on you and poke you in some private regions, and a bit of pain. That said, afterward I felt like gumby and a lot of my knots were gone.

Along the lines of pinching, I think I have a new tourist slogan for Thailand. Their current one is "Amazing Thailand," which really doesn't do anything for me. "Malaysia truly Asia" is much better--the commercials on the BBC have made me want to go there for the last two years. If you are lucky, one day I may sing it for you. Ask Leona, it is amazing. Anyway, I think they should change it to "Thailand, the land of titty-twisters," or something along those lines. b It would certainly be more me morale, particularly if the paid me to sing it. Katie and I just about died in a grocery store when a cute little boy knocked something over and instead of a spanking or yelling at him, his mother, you guessed it, gave him a tittie-twister. Then, the other night, I was at a bar with Katie's friend Tamara, and another cute little boy, maybe ten years old, came by selling gum. He did the standard high-five fake, but ended up giving me not one, but two tittie-twisters. It was quite an evening.

So, now Katie is back down in Lopburi working, I am in Chiang Mai continuing my steady consumption of foods (in restaurants, on the street, in 7-11, I am equal opportunity). I am also doing a cooking course, which has been lots of fun. It is very fast-paced, the teachers are really funny yet professional, and the best part is that you get to eat what you cook (and it is hard to screw up with all the help they give you). I just hope that I will be able to replicate the foods when I am back in the states, which will be a little more challenging when I won't have all the ingredients washed and laid out for me at a station. We shall see. Back for more tomorrow. I have also been enjoying hanging out with Katie's friend Tamara, who taught with her for a while in monkey town, and her friends, as well as chatting with (or rolling my eyes at) other backpackers at my guesthouse. No worries, I am confident that descriptions of/rants about backpackers will be forthcoming.

Whew, that was a long first post! -Ben