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Published: April 5th 2006
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Sawasdee ka (<--that means hello in Thai)!
The word of the day is chang, and chang means elephant in Thai. This morning after a bit of a fiascoe at the hotel we (my guide Reaw, the driver, and myself) traveled to the Chiang Dao Elephant Camp (Dao interestingly enough means mountain in Thai--I wonder if it means the same thing in Vietnamese, as one of my former roommates was named Dao). The elephant were amazing (Nicki, I made a short movie that I am sure Barnaby will want to see.)! I had an opportunity to feed them bananas (I must say they have perfect size bananas in this region of the world)...and then ride on one for an hour. The gentle giants are quite amazing creatures...and I feel fortunate to have had a brief encounter with them. A baby elephant even took a liking to my toes, grabbing them with it's trunk--adorable and their trunks are quite strong.
Speaking of encounters, a great many encounters have transpired over the past few days. My last day in Ho Chi Minh City was extremely enjoyable and leisurely. I was surprised that there is no apparent animosity toward Americans outwardly displayed. Then
again capitalism seems to be king in Vietnam, and thus the tourists, including Americans, are viewed as $$. And interestingly, dollars are used in both Viet Nam and Cambodia as regularly as the native currencies (Dong and Riel). I wandered about the city with Kristy (and for a brief period with Elizabeth and her friend who were soon taking off for their next destination) and had chance sightings of both Barry and Matt while on my adventures. In the evening, Kristy and I joined the seven members of our group who were continuing on in Viet Nam for dinner...it was nice to meet our "replacements" and see some of them one last time.
Monday morning I navigated my way to the airport and flew to Bangkok. On the plane I spoke with the woman sitting next to me who was a native of Cambodia. She fled the country during the Pol Pot regime and spent some years in Viet Nam. Presently she lives in New Zealand...and she told me she has a sister living in L.A. A hard life she must have had trying to survive....
My flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai was spent mostly conversing with
the man who sat next to me. He is a flight attendant for Thai Airways and he travels mostly between Thailand and Germany as he is fluent in Thai, German, and English...quite the interesting combination. He told me his best friend lives in Portland and told me how he came to know this friend. His stories made me think of my dear friend Steffi in Germany...and how over the past 20+ years we have had so many opportunities to see each other. During my flight my seat mate also answered some of my questions about Thailand (Nicki, I am collecting information for the Information Post for which you claim I am well suited.) and a brief lesson on the Thai language.
Upon my arrival at the airport in Chiang Mai I met a woman in the bathroom. As irony would have it the woman, who is from Ireland, lived in Chicago for a summer and worked (at Pizzera Due) very close to the ad agency where I worked. She also lived extremely close to me at the time...just north of Wrigley Field, while I lived just south of the ballpark. Small world.
My travels in Thailand have been
a bit of an adjustment, as I am on a solo tour. The chatter of twelve other people was missed initially, but now I am enjoying my solitude and freedom to explore. Yesterday I learned, on my visit to the Doi Suthep temple with my guide Reaw, that there is a special buddha for people who are born on Wednesday night. And I found my 'Ancient Chinese Prophecy' from the Temple/Wat to be quite fitting for me: "The 2nd number tells that you will have success in what you're thinking. Luck and love will be yours soon, but you should be patient."
An interesting discussion transpired between my guide and I today. He wanted to know if I will get married. I said I hope to someday, but I have not yet found the right man. I explained that I am quite particular. It was a funny exchange...more humorous than I can aptly explain at the moment. An ironic exchange nevertheless....
Presently I am in Chiang Rai...and tomorrow I will travel to the border of Burma and Laos before returning to Chiang Mai...where I am certain more encounters are bound to transpire.
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Troy the Good Boy
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Whoa!, by Joey Lawrence
If Joey Lawrence knew of your travels and adventures, I am certain I could speak for him in that he would joyously exclaim "Whoaaa!!!" You're my travel hero Wendy. Keep the blogs coming, you're an excellent writer and they are very fun!