Bungalow #5

Hmmm.. where was I...We took this awesome '50's style overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai- Thailand's second largest city. We slept in bunks and I must admit- if I had the choice, I would choose that method of travel over all cars and planes-the view and the sounds the train are so great for sleep and songwriting. I bought a chinese plastic melodica, but there is a note which sometimes doesn't work- I miss my accordions!! We rode elephants-(oh how I love these amazing creatures,) then we bamboo rafted (which is a weird activity as you are trapped on this tippy raft, with Thai tourists watching you try to hang on in your bathing suit, with the Thai children splashing you- (a little like Xochimilco- the Venice of Mexico if you've ever been there)- but with a more zoo/water park feel. Oh and of course the 3 day trek-up and down the hills of the Hilltribe of the Karen people-I even wrote down the words (phonetically of course) of the lyrics of a song our drunken guides were singing in their red Karen language- I don't believe they'd ever seen it written down before and we had a laugh trying to learn it from them. The hilltribe women are beautiful- they weave really bright clothes and wear headcoverings and look really impressive with a baby strapped to their back and look you in the eye when they're smoking their pipes and corn leaf cigars. We stopped at a market before the trek and there was a red Karen cute little old man selling machetes and crickets and bouquets of veggies for soups. These big Aussie guys came and were daring each other to eat the crickets when the little old man opened his mouth to grin mischieviously revealing his blood-red teeth- which majorly freaked out the Aussie boys. The red Karens chip off bark from some kind of tree and then dry it in the sun. Then they either chew the bark or ingest it-not sure which- and it dies their teeth red and eventually black. Black teeth are considered very attractive in this culture, from what I've been told. Most interesting. We got to drink hot rice alcohol with the leader of the community we stayed in- so smiley! The livelihood of this and many villages has had to change, as (until recently) they were growers of opium, but the government came with the military and killed something like 20,000 farmers so they were forced to make drastic changes concerning crops. The traditional lifestyle is changing with the times, and now they raise this small breed of cow and crops like cabbage, tobacco and coffee, and this village we visited had been given a solar panel from the goverment. We bought eggs for the school children and the farangs (us -the foreigners) were asked to fry up and serve the eggs and give them some art supplies to the children of the village- who sang and thanked us for the crayons, etc. So many interesting plants here- one of the guides picked a leaf from a shrub and broke it's stem and blew bubbles from the sap between the fibres of the plant. After that we stayed in Chiang Mai- beautiful city- so different from the pushy Bangkok markets- it's really true what they say- Thais are SO nice! We met our first Buddhist monk, Gabe at the temple Srisupan, and he talked to us about all kinds of things- he was a really interesting fellow and he showed us the metal workshop in the temple- such fine craftsmanship here (correction- he's from Laos originally) The temples are breath-taking and everywhere. We arrived in Pai- this funky little village with lots of artsy types- Christian found this wonderful cooking and vegetable carving teacher- and took a class with her the other day- she's so cool and talented, and he plans to study with her further when we get back from a 3-4 day excursion to Suppong and Mae Hong Son. We love it here. The people here are so laid back and they seemed to like my nasty melodica playing last night. Sometimes I blow into the tube and no sound comes out- other times it honks really loud. After taking a stroll we found our dream home (temporary, but oh so wonderful) and we have been staying there ever since. It belongs to an old Thai farmer named Supaa, and after a little bartering he agreed to 150 baht a night (like $4.50 Canadian!) Bungalow #5 is a rickety yet extremely charming bamboo hut- with it's own private bathroom with shower. I have not seen one nail used in it's construction- it's all woven like a basket and attached with wire and straw bamboo ties. The roof is made of these giant leaves from the Tong tree- they are so big that when they fall from the tree they made a wooden 'clunk.' There's a mosquito net over the wood-like mattress and a tiny bridge over a little stream at the entrance. We are surrounded by ricefields and oxen and mountains and the view is beautiful. It's a fair walk from town, but we have rented a pink scooter and now I am happy to say I am learning how to ride it- next a Harley-vroom vroom! (Actually still prefer a real bike that forces me to exercise, but I must admit it's fun to put the pedal to the metal.) We rode over to these hot spring baths yesterday morning-a great way to start the day. Nights and mornings are chilly here, then it's so hot and sunny everyday in this season. Before we went out tonight, Supaa's son Yod made a little campfire and he taught us some Thai, we took turns singing songs- it was nice. Thais love to sing. Last night we went to the local Chinese Yunan village- bought some delicious tea and Christian pointed out that the Yunan people look a little like Yoda- and then I looked across the room at this attractive older Yunan woman, and sure enough, Yoda features! They are famous for being the horse people of Thailand. We came across this strange wooden windmill thing with swings attached to it. Some Thai guys came over and saw we were intrigued, so they told us to get on it-they held it still while we got on and it was the coolest thing- like a merry-go round made of wood- a little scary because it was high up and we weren't sure about the guy's intentions- but they were just having fun and they helped us off about 2 rounds after we wanted to stop. There are many new things to me- such as these giant paper lanterns that you light and the let go and they stream up up up into the sky and go so far they resemble glowing jellyfish, then they become stars, and eventually look something like comets. Asia is so cool.