realization that we don't enjoy big cities. How we didn't already know
that, I'm not sure. I guess this falls into the "don't do anything
abroad that you wouldn't do at home" category, advice which we did not
heed. We prefer camping and nature in the states; we will try to do
more of that here.
We got a quasi-late start this morning, packed up and struck out in
search of breakfast and a meal to go. Our goal was to go to Thai Foods
(that is the only thing in English on their sign) because their food
was tasty, cheap and we thought they would pack something up for us to
take-away. It was about 10:30 and it was already getting hot, so we
broke a healthy sweat on the way over there. Imagine our
disappointment when they were closed. Thankfully, we were now on the
main strip with a multitude of options. We retraced our steps and
shortly arrived at Aum Vegetarian Restaurant. We shared khao soi and
veggie fried rice, drank Thai iced tea and a banana lassi, and got two
pad thais to-go. Perfect.
Five Hours on a Bus
After breakfast, we went to the tuk-tuk farm, the curb, and negotiated
a ride to the bus station. We didn't want to pay more than we paid to
go the other way (30B/person), so we walked away when we were quoted
50/person. This quickly dropped the price to our offer and away we
went. Granted, this is all of 60 cents US, but it is nice to know and
encourage a standard price.
The bus station was straight forward. We bought tickets and the bus
left in an hour. Robert went off in search of food, but returned
empty-handed, nothing looked good. I went off in search of food and
bought Robert a Birdy coffee drink in the strongest can known to man
and some tasty looking dinner rolls. Bread seems to be a commodity
here; it is rare and special when we find it. Dinner rolls were filled
with sugary pork bits and crushed my soul.
The only wrinkle to this travel leg was that we didn't have seats
together, one in front of the other. We were willing to try it, but
the five hour ride was long enough for us to realize that sitting
together and being able to invade each others space is superior. We
were each given a water, a straw, square ritz crackers imposters and a
ritz cracker sandwich with strawberry wafers inside. Weird, but I ate
them. I used the time to read about the Mae Hong Son Loop, probably
our next adventure. Talk of small towns and forest trekking got me
excited. I also watched the in-flight Japanese movie, dubbed in Thai.
Slept. Etc. Eventually people got off and I moved to sit with Robert:
much better. It's okay if our knees touch. We feasted on pad Thai, the
epitome of thai fast food, and soon we made it to Mae Sai, border
town.
Guest House, Night Market and a Controlled Burn
We sangthaewed into town, past a Thai walmart!!! In town, there was a
huge market of food and clothes, crawling with people. I like this
place better already. The road stops at the border and we deplaned.
All we knew was that there are few guest houses here worth paying for,
the best is the farthest away along the river to the west. We just
kept walking, staying near the river, and eventually we found the
place. It is awfully far away from town, but nice and right on the
river, which forms the border with Myanmar. We got a small, well-kept
bungalow for 400. The woman was very nice and she spoke pretty good
English.
Met other travelers, americans no less. Chatted for a while. They
didn't believe that I was from texas, no accent. I quipped that Texas
educates a few of it's residents. We left to sup at the enticing night
market. We walked the strip once to get our bearings, then beelined to
our chosen stalls. I got noodles, with lots of extras, and a salad.
Robert got half a roasted chicken, noodles from another place and a
coconut sweet bread. With bounty in hand, where do we eat? We went
down a side arm of the market and found a closed stall to sit at. All
our bags of food were soon empty, bellies full.
We strolled back to the market to gawk a bit; it was only 6:30, too
early even for weary travelers. There was a show starting, complete
with raised bandstand. First was a singer, okay. Next was a female
singer, okay. Then came some traditional dancing, better. Then more
traditional dancing, ho hum - more of the same. Then - fire breathing
dancers! For such a slow starting show, it really heated up quickly!!
I tucked myself into the crowd, sitting on the floor in the front with
the three year olds, shutter clacking. Camera battery threatens to
die, but outlasts the show. We will post a fraction of the pictures
taken.
That seemed like an adequate conclusion to the evening, so we wandered
home. Robert beelines for the hawng nam and I explore the grounds a
bit, stumbling upon one of the travelers we met earlier. He recognizes
me and we chat for a while. It's always nice to talk to someone new.
Robert finds me eventually and we stay out talking for quite a while.
We even have to get jackets because the breeze over the river is
actually making me shiver! Wander home, meet up with traveler from
earlier and chat for a while until sleep. Our travel friend lives in
New Hampshire, but is taking three weeks to ride a motorcycle around
the Golden Triangle, where Laos, Myanmar and Thailand meet. He scoffed
at my fear of motorbikes, but he teaches riding in the states, so that
is hardly fair. He told one story of meeting a deer head-on at 80mph
and walking away with a scratch (and a totaled bike). Maybe with
appropriate precautions and some training, motorbikes wouldn't be so
terrifying.
Someone seems to have broken the toilet. A handy-dandy stick fixed the...clog.
SIDEBARS:
Can't Sleep
We have been having trouble getting a restful night of sleep. Going to
sleep is never the problem, sleeping soundly is. We seem to pass out
and then toss all night. The bags under my eyes are growing and
frequently we hit a wall in the afternoon, when it feels like we
haven't slept in days. We literally took a mid-afternoon nap yesterday
(and it was amazing). That being said, we are down to three ambien,
which we would like to reserve for their original purpose of combating
jet lag, so we visited a pharmacy to see if they would sell us any. No
go, joe. It took the pharmacist a while to explain, but from what I
understood, sleep-aides are controlled in Thailand and you can only
get them from the hospital. You don't need to see a doctor per se, he
specified, but you have to tell someone you cant sleep and then you
can purchase them. We will see how we sleep tonight and go from there.
It's no fun being tired, but I don't want to need pills either.
Condensed milk
Three drinks: Thai iced tea (just "iced tea" here), iced coffee and
iced green tea. They all come with a hearty dose of condensed milk,
both within the drink and a topping. BananaCrepeMan (more correctly,
if incorrectly, named BananaRotiMan, after the Indian flatbread of
similar design) tops all of his creations with condensed milk, from
the can, usually with four pour holes lining the lip and one on the
opposite side to ensure adequate flowage. As terrible for you as it
is, it has become a staple in our diet. What will we do when we return
to the land that turns up it's nose at sickly sweet goo?
Stalked by a tuk-tuk
Robert has quipped that tuk-tuk drivers mutter in their sleep,
"tuk-tuk. Tuk-tuk!" I'm not sure he is wrong. These guys (and an
occasional gal) make their living convincing walkers to renounce their
handicap and take to the streets. Occasionally, however, we enjoy
walking. This character defect has frustrated more than a few tuk-tuk
drivers. This morning we had a tuk-tuk slow to a crawl on the busy
street to offer us a ride, frustratingly this entails repeated
cat-calling, which we ignore. Persistent (I want to say "to a fault,"
but that isn't fair as he is only trying to make a living), he stalks
us down the sidewalk - maybe we didn't hear his initial offers.
Eventually he zooms off, and we relax to walk in peace, only to notice
that he has stopped just ahead, preparing an ambush. He once more
proffers his ride and once more we ignore him, experience has taught
us that acknowledgment usually just results in a harder sell or
dangerous traffic maneuvers. Satisfied that we have heard his offer,
he moves down the block to proposition fresh meat.
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