The bulk of our day (from 8:30 until 4:30) was spent on two buses en route to Sukhothai, the location of some fantastic ruins. The first bus was so cramped that we couldn't get seats together; I sat behind the driver next to a monk who was constantly smelling some liquid from a vial (he also took a cough drop, so I assume it's some local cold remedy). Carrie sat in the back, where she was able to hear local hill tribe women chatting giddily about something.
Carrie: It was kinda neat. I'm a bit of a novelty here, with my pale skin, so everyone notices me and we smile at each other and people tend to gesture a bit more so I can follow the gist of the conversation, though I obviously won't understand the words.
There was a guy in soldier garb, and his buddy who was holding a windshield for a bike helmet, and the Lisu women. The younger woman sat next to me, and she was kinda plump for a Thai, a so we were nice and cozy. And the Lisu next to her was trying to covertly peep around at me (Hill people don't see nearly the number of farangs that a city person might). I don't know what all of us were smiling about, but it was all so friendly. I guess because we were such an odd assortment of people anyway. That's all the better I can explain it.
Eric: On the second bus, we were stuck in seats with about 6 inches of legroom (no exaggeration). These chairs were not made for big people. They were also permantly reclined, which is great if you want to sleep, but good for little else. Carrie had the window seat, so I was able to stick one of my feet into the aisle. Unfortunately, my seat was also quite crooked and tried it's damnedest for the entire ride to push me into the aisle. Not comfy. I arrived in Sukothai with quite a headache.
Sukothai is actually split between the ruins, which are of the first capitol of Siam and are called Old Sukhothai, and the modern town about 7.5 miles away, called New Sukhothai. We'll see the ruins tomorrow, but we're not impressed with New Sukhothai. It's dirty, smelly, and as far as we can tell, bereft of chocolate. (Carrie: on the positive it is also befeft of chickens. That means we'll be sleeping in. Nothing like a 5 AM chicken coop to annoy a person.)
Think of all of the stereotypes of Detroit, scale it down to 40,000 people, and move it to Thailand, and you'll get the picture. On the bright side, the ruins are supposed to be among the most spectacular in Thailand, according to Christopher and Mongkun at Chiang Dao Rainbow. And we trust both of them, so despite our evening in Thai Detroit, we're looking forward to the morrow.
This guesthouse isn't the best we've been in. But it is much cheaper, so I shouldn't expect high quality, another rock hard bed and the bathroom lacked toilet paper. Fortunately we carry our own. It's called the Garden House, and it does have some neat orchids and trees around the huts. I met my first starfruit tree. Eric and I had tried one early on in the trip, but I don't think it was quite ripe. Kinda tart. These ones didn't look any riper, but perhaps it isn't their season.
Actually I discovered that the mango rice I have enjoyed in both Bangkok and Chiang Mai may have been an anomaly, as mango season is over. I've been searching for it all over. In fact I never did get any while in Chiang Dao. Now that we're here, Eric and I are appreciating even more how truly wonderful Chiang Dao was.
Our evening was mostly spent at an internet cafe getting caught up. A few nice things though. First there are a few beautiful fat toads that like to sit outside along with all the pairs of shoes of the inside gamers. Eric got some good photos. Also while waiting for me on the computer, Eric sat outside and chatted up with a friendly Canadian, who was waiting for her fiance who was on the computer. The four of us ended up going out for beer/sodas and talking a whole lot about our respective governments. They were a lovely couple, but politics do tend to drone on a bit for my liking.
And how's this for a small world. If you recall back to when we were leaving Chiang Mai and we passed on the the little travelers wisdom we had to the two girls, well, here they were again!
And some bad news on the mosquito front. I don't know what happened. Its going to sound like I'm making it up, but honestly Eric can verify. I have 65 bites. Yes, and 51 of them are on the right leg most on the outer side and all but three below the knee. I could tell they were buzzing around while we were sipping our drinks, but I had no idea. They aren't itching for the most part, but geez, 65. Tomorrow I'm buying something to put on them. Looks like I have chickenpox.
Eric only has 6 now. We deduced that his leg hair keeps them away. That's why they seem to focus on his ankles. What's my uglier option, red bumps or hair?
