BKK to Mae Sai Pt 5 still truckin'

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The sky was beginning to brighten with that pre-dawn glow as we piled into the double-decker bus parked outside Sila-At train station. I wondered how far we actually were from Ching Mai and if the official looking man's command/statement would prove true.

"I tell you 1 hour!"

I doubted it ... but we all went along with the program without any complaints voiced. Perhaps everyone was still half-asleep and assumed they must be dreaming! Anyway ... I was just happy I could dectect no negative energy being voiced in English or any other language. We were rollong in no time and would eventually be in Chaing Mai.

I remember the phone ringing in the room while I was dead alseep. Jet lag is a drag. I am in Bangkok now - day after my arrival. I'm not sure what time it was, but whoever was ringing wasn't hanging up any time soon. There was only one earlier awakening that I could remember that evening. There was a strange noise at the door that I imagined to be the ring on the hand of a prostitute tapping on my door. I deduced she was either at the wrong room or trying her luck to find a lonely, horney occupant ... or ... maybe even the friendly concierge took it on his own to send her. Either way I wasn't getting out of bed to find out! This trip was about healing and not creating any wreckage of the future. Then I heard the noise again and more correctly deduced that the overly ambitious, ring tapping prostitute was more likely a gecko ... or "dukke" in Thai.

The vittles at the rest stop on the road to Chaing Mai didn;t look very appealing. The brownish meat mixed with greens and yellow, red and greed chili peppers sat in greyish liquid contained by typical metallic chaffing dished behind glass windows. I could identify 2 of the 4 dishes and Pat Prik King and Grab Pow, but the meat was unidentifiable. As the server approached, a young man behind me started rattling off in fluent Thai his preferenced for nourishment. She responded accordingly and started whipping up a plate for the twenty-something caucasian male who I was now quite jealous of. He was young, confident and spoke great Thai language. I inquired if my food assumptions were correct and ordered the Grab Pow Moo (it was pork). I did enjoy that meal in spite of it's unappetizing appearance and the feelings of inadequacy over my Thai language skills. It was now 2 hours into our bus excursion and we were still well outside Chaing Mai.

"I tell you 1 Hour!"

"Change Da Bat"

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