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Published: March 4th 2007
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The ink from my pen is practically melting, it's so hot out here! I'm enjoying some sun out by the pool after an adventurous morning on a long tail boat. After meeting up with two of our lawyers for breakfast, we decided to charter a boat and headed out on the Chao Phraya River. Our pilot was Khun Mou, and he guided us through the muddy, trash-filled waters expertly. We went up a canal, waiting first in a lock/loch with about eight other boats - then we were off to the races, cruising through neighborhoods, where beautiful, well-tended houses stood next door to corrugated metal shacks. We saw wild dogs whose skinny ribs poked out, and homes where four or five dogs napped right along with their owners. I saw a group of five or six kids in swimming shorts and underwear gleefully playing by the riverside, one smirking at me as he took a long drag off of his cigarette and enjoyed my shock. A group of uniformed school girls bared bright white teeth in broad smiles and waved to us. There was great poverty juxtaposed next to homes with satellite dishes and private "wats" (temples). We paused by a
floating market and a man tried to sell us everything from beer out of a cooler to buddhas and musical wooden frogs. We shook our heads at stopping at the crocodile farm, but did pay for bread to feed the fish. Large catfish-looking creatures swarmed the boat, opening their wide mouths for a bite of food and writhing over and around each other. Temples abounded and we stopped at
Wat Arun (the Temple of Dawn) for thirty minutes. We all had our picture taken with our faces in the wooden holes of temple dancers, which ended up costing 300 baht. Then we travelled the temple grounds - from far away, the work is delicate, intricate. Close up, you can see the broken pieces of pottery that make up the temple walls. Statues of buddhas, lions, dragons, and other animals stand guard and steep steps take you up a level for a better view. The towers and spires of the temple indicate a confusing maze, but it's easy to navigate. We walked through the market there with vendors hawking drinks, special delicacies, and tourist items like postcards and natural clothes. Then, we stood mis-identifying long-tail boats as our own until Khun Mou
returned. He sped us through waves back to the hotel, the stiff breeze cooling us quickly - what a morning!
Then, I had my first official
Thai massage, which is a study in sado-masochism! I feel remarkably good and relaxed now, but it was certainly painful! The treatment began with a cup of hot tea and a lavender-scented towel. I tried to stay in the moment, relax my body, and just drink in both the tea and my surroundings. Then, a small Thai girl led me down the stairs and into a treatment room, where I was instructed to put on a loose top and pants - I'd like to find out where I can get them, because they were incredibly comfortable! Then I rang a bell to indicate that I was ready and she instructed me to lay face down on a massage table. Then, the massage commenced, consisting of pressing and prodding every imaginable muscle and stretching me past where I thought I could go. She found pain in muscles I didn't even know I had, and I learned that I'm quite ticklish along my spine, on the backs of my calves and along my hamstrings. Luckily, I
was successful in quashing my laughter. After an hour, we were finished and I again had a cup of tea and a hot lavender towel - it was extremely relaxing (albeit painful!) and I am happy to say that I've received a traditional Thai massage while in Thailand! I'll search for the bruises later...
We also had a great opening reception today! Almost all of the delegates were there, and everyone mixed with the Thai lawyers quite well. I was feeling slightly out of place tonight, and endured several uncomfortable silences, but it ended up being fine. It was great to see some of our lawyers again, and I enjoyed the evening immensely. Dinner was again at Salathip, and the meal was served in courses, which is not customary in Thailand. I did try several of the seafood dishes, eating around the seafood - such as a prawn soup with coconut milk and rice crackers with a prawn sauce. The Thai desserts were actually the only part of the meal that almost activated my gag reflex. In between eating and conversations, three sets of Thai dancers came in to entertain us. The first were three women, with the center
woman wearing a large gold temple-looking hat. Next, came four men who performed part of the
Ramayana epic, and the last were five women again. It was really interesting and added a great flavor to the evening. Afterwards, we went to the bar in the Italian restaurant, which was insignificant, except for a glass-walled view of the river. We finished the evening at Next2, where I had a very tasty virgin pina colada! LONG day, but fun!!
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