Free as a Bird

Don't drive the Mesa C road - in a sedan.....

ropo — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:27:00 GMT

I don't even know how long I've been in Taos - at this point - hard to remember where I've slept the night before last - this town has sucked me up again and I think I'm loving it - remember: when you're living out of your car try not to let it blow-up....again

yep my car has been 86ed again - and it got towed out to Two Peaks - the land of Mad Max - Stella and her baby son Aspen drove me out there to pick up all my belongings - oh and Paper came along for "the adventure" - she hadn't ever been out to Two Peaks before and for that matter I really hadn't ever seen it in the day time - trailers and half built homes - and every once in awhile a solar panel and a nice stack of wood ready for the winter - small gardens growing amongst the sage and goats wandering through the wreckage of dozens of cars that litter most properties - prayer flags - and big wooden signs painted with symbols and people's names - we found the place where my car was sent - and Elf, the care taker was on his way out - pack on his back - big tall walking stick - we waved - and he walked on - I turned a few moments later - but he'd somehow disappeared into the mesa - on the way back out we found Judd's land and Vanes' trailer - Maddy her baby standing in the doorway - saying mama and we let the two babies play in the dirt - as we sat around a table and scoped the view - catchment pots and bowls littered the ground and Judd showed me the devil weed that took over everything - the sky looked like marble and a huge bull blocked the road for a few minutes - we got back to town and I don't know if I'll ever see my car again - I think I will - but out here - in the land of enchantment - Elf walks in out of view and so does certainty

out houses

ropo — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 07:11:00 GMT

taos - what can really be said about coming back to a place like this - ? it's hard really to be here and know how soon I'll be leaving - there is so much here that makes me want to stay - hollyhocks piling up on each other - all different shades of pink - white - tied back from overtaking pathways with shards of rope - rain clouds buzzing over head - and making wet the afternoons - tourists walking - walking - and blocking center traffic - I take showers in town and sleep up the canyon and during the week on the hondo mesa - tonight after work we do the bermuda triangle - and Lost ain't around anymore - along with a few others - a locals joke: "i quite smoking except I let myself at the memorials - so I can't quit - really" morbid - but true - sitting in the shade in the cabana at the tazza - ristras hanging on two sides - and just finished white chocolate pistachio ice cream - the mark(s) own the cafe now and not much has changed - babies are bigger - hair is longer or shorter - new out houses have been dug up - texan - german - accents and everyone wants to try the lavendar ice cream - the pueblo still has cheap cigarrettes and it rained for their pow wow - the same regulars come in the morning and marc the mail man asks about my book - I love this town and how odd all the people are - and how I get to be in it...

Gallery: Chico

ropo — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 04:19:00 GMT

lightning sparks 800-plus fires in California

ropo — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:37:00 GMT

the three of us – dane, curtis and I, were sitting on their porch drinking margaritas and breathing in the heat - a hot one - early hot - walking to get coffee before 9 am and it felt like the dead afternoon where the heat shimmers on the pavement - I don't like this kind of heat even though I grew up in it - we were talking about all sorts of things - and at one point curtis was telling us about computer chess - how you can see it break down the possibilities - and how it looks like lightning on the screen - the probability of chance and logistics - a flash of light across the screen and I made a mental note like I always do and then forget to write it down later and make a poem of it - and we kept talking about Cassandra and the curse of prophecy - of what it means to understand what is behind everything that is behind and then thunder smacked and we couldn't be sure what it was at first - so out of sorts with the day and then lightning spread like fingers through the clouds behind me - the sky has been dark for two days now with the smoke of fires - last week the smoke suspended the streets of downtown and made the night feel gone - end of the world smoke and we drank absinthe and danced while the pianos dueled it out and people walked the streets - this week people ride bikes with scarves over their faces and surgery masks over their mouths – it’s a weird time to be leaving – I don’t know if it’s the movies or just the way the world is – but it’s hard not to imagine collapse – California burning – the arrival at someplace new – the end of things – maybe also it’s how often I end and how often I begin again -

baby raccoons

ropo — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:33:00 GMT

my fingers are stained blue from painting waves on a vanity yesterday for a friend of mine - she’s from Hawaii and misses the ocean - i was drinking skinny dip beer and talking to people coming in and out of the backyard - it was another friend’s birthday and there was a barbecue in progress - dogs running around drinking the painting water and staining their tongues the same color as my fingers - i helped marinate the shish kabobs in parrot bay rum and went back to painting - i had just taken down my tent condo the night before and missed seeing it in their backyard - i was worried about getting back to the house i was staying in - family of raccoons stalking me and the babies are especially menacing - like female killers in horror movies - this morning i put my groceries in the work fridge and everything i own is yet again in my car - it’s a funny feeling - that - i could at this very moment turn the key in the ignition and just go - i am a tree whose blooms i think are really birds so that they keep flapping their wings and the tree lifts and moves and dances and then tries to land again until the birds start flapping and it all begins again…

Back Yard Tour Commences

ropo — Fri, 6 Jun 2008 05:54:00 GMT

I couldn't wait to start regaling others with my thoughts so here I begin again - maybe too early - but as I'm all packed into bags and suitcases - I think I once again qualify as a Nomad and soon - oh so soon - a World Nomad....

For now I am sitting in a cubby - a wooden cubby without windows and a very large computer screen that acts as window...

Since last I set down words on these pages I domiciled myself in a town called Chico in Northern California - to work as a Graphic Designer for well, a horse magazine called Ride! & Western Times - no this is not fiction - this stuff is real - although hard to believe, I know

I got better from the Dengue and surgery and got poison oak and got better and got poison oak again - apparently I am unfit for anything not meant to be in or on my body and I try so hard to degerm myself with a good dousing of a good night out but it somehow doesn't always seem to work - go figure

I have loved the music and art and good people in Chico but – well I get crabby when I stay and do not go and so once again I shall go –

Back Yard Tour of Chico is the first activity – where I will move (with tent) from back yard to back yard until the end of this month – and then to Taos, New Mexico to stay…not yet confirmed – and then to Jinju, South Korea to be a teacher of English once more –

I have thoughts of never coming back or at least being gone the infamous 7 years it takes to be wiped off of financial debts (this has got to be an urban myth but I love it so much I can't let it go) but who knows what the future shall bring - I for one know there is only one certainty in life and that is change

State-side

ropo — Tue, 4 Dec 2007 11:19:00 GMT

I get to Sacramento, California - where my parent's live - to find - that yes - THEY had found me: Jury Duty Summons.... I mean how odd is it - that while most of the people important in my life had no idea that I had been in the hospital in Malaysia and then had just recently returned to the States, but somehow, SOMEHOW, the sixth sense of the judiciary arena had foreseen my imminent return and had requested my presence in the court house!

craziness - I tell you - craziness - for I am as unfit as they come to be judging someone else's misdemeanors or violations or whatever they've outlandishly done

because folks – I am now officially a bum – albeit a bum with a twin bed to sleep on in my parent’s apartment – a bum with a new toothbrush and pencil sharpener – but a bum – although I would like to henceforth be known as The Gypsy – who flies by the whim of her pants – or fleeing organs – whatever comes first

for whatever it’s worth I will not be returning to the lovely, ant filled, scooter driven, noodle bowled world of Thailand and until further notice will instead be somewhere in California, most likely northern California territories – rolling balls up and down hills – Yes, this is my new exciting job prospect and if you’d like to hear more about it – I would love to fill you in on the details – especially in person – since I am in country now – again – for the moment – for ever … who knows and would love to see your mugs – well, mugging it, I guess

my bandages are off, I only need one nap a day, and I’m more or less able to hold a full conversation now that I am off the “drugs” – so exciting are these findings that I went on my first “outing” with my newly married friends Matt and Rachelle – we went OUT for 2 hours! It was awesome and then, I had a nap…..

this shall be my last blog addition for awhile since well this is a TRAVEL blog….and I’m well, not really traveling anymore – just a Gypsy – which is different, isn’t it?

so if you want to catch up with me – do it the old school way: email me!

Gallery: Ao Luk

ropo — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:57:00 GMT

Gallery: Laos

ropo — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:53:00 GMT

Luang Prabang, Vientiane

Gallery: Northern Thailand

ropo — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:51:00 GMT

Gallery: Boat Goodness

ropo — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:43:00 GMT

Whenever I get the Dengue, I....

ropo — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 13:13:00 GMT

So yes its been a minute since my last blog...and well the short of it is that I went to Malaysia, got Dengue Fever and had my appendix out! Yep, that's right folks - Dengue and surgery - all at once and all in Malaysia! Everyone should try it - really - it's great!

Amber and I left Ao Luk last wednesday, the 14th on a Visa Run...yet again. This time we were to get our Non-B Immigrant Visas so we could work in Thailand but oddly enough with all of this we had to leave the country to get the Visa...so we finished up teaching on that Tuesday and left for Krabi town that night

On the van ride into Pinang, the next day my legs started to ache a lot and I felt really hot and then cold but I thought I had just been sitting in the van for too long - yet another bus ride that takes all day.....but by the time we got into Georgetown I knew there was something wrong - I managed to get up to our room and laid down on the bed - Amber went off to find us a Visa Agent and I got hotter and the pain kept getting worse...Amber came back to inform me that after everything we didn't have all the paper work from our company to get our Visas! as she was pacing up and down in the room fuming - i started to realize after feeling bugs crawling on me - that weren't there - and my eyelids being so hot it burned to close them that i probably needed to go to the hospital - by the time we got there i couldn't really walk and my temp was 39 celsius - next thing you know they got me on an IV and I've been admitted to the hospital - the next day they realized I had acute appendicitus and had surgery that night - a few days later I was also diagnosed with Dengue fever...

overall the two together was the most painful - pretty damn horrible thing I've ever been through - but after eight days I'm out of the hospital and not a human pin cushion anymore! yeah! i lucked out i think being in Malaysia because most people here speak relatively good english and most things are written in english which made it all easier - the hospital was very nice and amazingly enough I had health insurance for once in my life (thanks to my mom of course)Amber was absolutely fabulous - going out and getting me magazines and nail polish and making it all seem a little less depressing as i laid in bed hour after hour watching really and I'm talking really bad movies on Cinemax....

And now, if you've read all of this until here - you are rewarded with one more piece of information - I am flying home tomorrow.... I need at least two weeks of recovery time and then ..... it was recommended that I go home to the States to get better as I was in such a weakened state and it would be very easy for me to get sick again if I stayed...so after just two short months in Asia I'm going home! which is exciting and also very sad - for all the obvious reasons - but I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone....much love

Prachasan School

ropo — Sun, 4 Nov 2007 20:38:00 GMT

and I have been defeated once again in trying to get my pictures uploaded! so no pics for you... but I can give you some words at least!

The school has about 2,500 students and is roughly a junior high and high school combined...on friday we had to speak over microphone to the whole school as they crouched or sat on the football field - went like this: main thai english teacher: ok, you go now. me: what!? teacher: ok, you go speak now. me: oh, god! me at podium: hello! good morning! (in head: where the hell am I?) My name is Robin and I am from the United States of America! This is my first time in Thailand and I am very happy to be here to teach you English! Thank you!

And, there it was folks, my few minutes of fame...although here in Ao Luk, and especially at the school we are pretty much celebrity teachers - students actually cheering and clapping when I come into the room! everything we do and say is watched and its always a relief to get to my room and have moments without eyes on me! but everyone is very nice and wanting to teach you thai or show you how to do something - because I am usually bumbling my way through everything from trying to order food to knowing how to walk through a fish market without sliding around on a newly chopped off fish head

i have taught only 4 classes so far but that means 160 students and 15 more classes to meet! needless to say I am spending the first class with all of them making name tags with nicknames on them! although some of the nicknames are as hard to pronounce as their thai names...a few of them pick names like: joke, bank, beer, which are easier but hard to say without laughing...

i have M3 which is like 8th grade and M6 which is like Seniors in High School - each level is fun for different reasons - although the M6 class made me blush by asking if I had a boyfriend and from some of the boys, if they could be my boyfriend!

so wiping off my blush - I just said "too old, too old for you!"

i guess i won't let there be question time for me during class anymore!

Ao Luk

ropo — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:21:00 GMT

i am now living in a small town about an hour from the bigger town of Krabi (where I'm at - at the moment)- we have rooms in a residency hotel - a bathroom with a western toilet, cold shower, a big room with a bed, a tv, a wardrobe and a vanity, and then a balcony - all around us are limestone mountains - as if a giant with skin of limestone had laid down his palms on the soil with his finger tips pointing to the sky - growing emerald trees on the nails...everywhere you look people have wooden bird cages hanging with little black and white birds with dashes of red on their heads - i've seen men on motorcycles holding their birdcages -bringing them...? big cows grazing on the sides of the roads - and as usual in thailand most people are selling something or offering some sort of service from the front of their homes - so there are plenty of places to eat and mostly we order by pointing at noodles and things... there is a little stream with bridges over it behind our building and everything is very green and very wet - lots and lots of rain so that i can't tell if the sheets on my bed are wet or not - everything feels damp and moist now - already - and the power has gone out at least a half a dozen times this weekend - so that it feels like we were back in Taos, we bought yellow buddha candles for light and played cards by the open doorway of amber's balcony as kids played with fireworks and men smoked and drank whiskey down below

this is when the culture shock becomes real and we figure out how to live without language - or food - or the distractions we have been used to...

this is when thailand really sinks in and we come out different on the other side

Jean Attack - Back in Bangkok

ropo — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 23:07:00 GMT

we got back to Bangkok around 5 in the morning yesterday and luckily a room was ready at the guesthouse we went to called Shanti - lots of plants and very hippy - great for first moments back in the craze...we slept for a little while and then met up with some friends who were still in the city - at some point walking around i stopped at a stand with jeans to see if any would actually fit me (since everyone here is super small) any time you look at an item of clothing the sales person will come over and show you how stretchy it is or say too small - they love to point out that we farangs are a little large compared to them...anyway after getting my waist measured (without asking) a man jumps on a motorcycle and drives away - we decide to keep walking as i don't really want to spend any money on jeans...we're about two blocks away when a woman comes running up to me (one that i hadn't seen at the stand) with two pairs of jeans and the tape measure - she basically pulls me back to the stand and then proceeds to put the jeans on to me - even zipping the things up and then taking the skirt off of me that i was wearing! this all happened of course on the main street in front of many people who found my getting physically assaulted by a pair of jeans very funny! needless to say i parted with some baht and left with a new pair of jeans - that actually fit pretty damn well!

today - we spend most of the day light hours with Media Kids people - the company responsible for getting us a placement at a school - our school is located in Ao Luek which is a district of Krabi down south - it sounds amazing - we are teaching with one other woman from the phillipines who we met today -

one more day in the big city and then off to the south!

the asian death cold

ropo — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:02:00 GMT

advice: don't try to go to a (the) hospital in Laos, - no one knows where it is! and i mean no one! although you probably shouldn't go to the hospital here - even if you could find it - so...

I arrive in Vientiane after an overnight bus ride or better known as a "new version of hell" ride to find that my plethora of minor ailments had reached some sort of peak (someone like me probably shouldn't travel in countries like these...): the list as it is - includes namesly a blister type thing on my inner right calf the size of a half dollar (motorcycle burn), at least three different kinds of rashes, some sort of finfer skin problem that consists of pain - pealing skin - and more blisters, and then of course the throat virus - stomach nausea - better described by Ryan (a TEFL friend) in his email: "i do not know what kind of crazy virus i picked up from sleeping next to Doug in BANGKOK for a week, but is a DOOOOZY. i think it is some sort of asian super virus. i have had this thing for like 10 days now. i think i have bronchial chitis of the left and right bronchials, actually i think i may have caught the asain death cold."
i also then will blame doug, but seems like a few of us picked up something from living in the ban phe area that isn't so pleasant....we leave this afternoon on another overnight bus ride to bangkok - all i know is that somehow praise be to Buddha this one has to be better than the last ones...

the "new version of hell" bus ride - went like this: squishing ourselves into our vinyl upholstered seats we found that somehow - although we couldn't understand how - this bus had even less leg room than we had experienced before, also the overhead lights and air didn't work - yep thats right folks - hours and hours of no air and light - but then - oh yes there is more - amber who is sitting on the aisle points out that there is someonw now opening up a seat in the aisle next to her! which means she is squeezed in between men a japanese man who over the night proceeds to fall asleep on her arm..meanwhile we are going through a mountain range - yes a mountian RANGE - which means that we are constantly taking curves - our bodies being slightly thrown from left to right to left to right and the only way to stay in place is to wedge yourself into a position that holds you paralled-vertical-in place - in a palce of smallness that makes one - i dare to say it - makes one actually miss the speed boat!

Vientiane however is a very cool city and we magically yet again found ourselves in the heart of the perfect neighborhood to wander around in - the city is in a big uproar as the river boating contests are this weekend - one of the biggest festivals for this city = so last night as we walked to find dinner the streets were lined with stall and a carnival with a ferris wheel and everything!

Bao Ling

ropo — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 16:04:00 GMT

Its been a month and you know what I miss!? I miss orange juice and jeans - who would have known...? I'd do anything for a glass of tropicana and a pair of jean shorts!

so Bao Ling - (bowling) our first night in Luang Prabang we went out with the four people who'd been in our speedboat - all british of course - which makes for some pretty amusing misunderstandings with phrases - at some point we get on a tuk tuk that is going to take us bowling - the whole town has a curfew at midnight - because everyone gets up at 4 in the morning to give food to the monks - but apparently a few places are "allowed" to stay open - like the bowling and a disco we ended up going to last night..this town is amazing - probably the most beautiful place i've ever seen - today we are taking a another bus to Vientiene the capital of Lao for a night and then going on to Bangkok - our placement has changed and we will actually be teaching in Krabi down south - everything changes in just a few moments...

i promise more details and pictures soon!

mom, don't read this one...

ropo — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 19:32:00 GMT

there was a time i was in a "speed boat" - where i was always in the speed boat - the past, the future - in the speed boat...

we left Chaing Mai on a mini-bus thinking we were going to spend the night in Huay Xie in Laos, instead we ended up (6 hours later) in the border town of Kang in Thailand. The most notable event for me at this point was that I had so far seen in Thailand - entire families on motorcycles, women eating dinner riding sideways in miniskirts, six year olds piled on and going at speed but in Kang I saw a woman driving a motorcycle with a poodle type dog sitting quite comfortably behind her... so it goes in border towns...we spent the night there in a very pink room overlooking the town (pics to come) and got up at dawn to catch our boat to Laos - a notable piece of information is our baggage - amber and i both have rolly bags with a few carry bags - not backpacker style and definitely not something to be taken lightly when taking boats to and in Laos...so after a little confusion with the woman proprietress of the hostel putting stickers on our chests and then riding off on her motorcycle with our passports – we headed down the “pier” with a few others in a songtheau – once getting there I looked eagerly around for our “slowboat” that was to take us on a two day jaunt down the Mekong river to luangprabang – instead we were directed to these very skinny – long wooden boats that hold about six people sitting at the edge of the very muddy bank – and there I am with my rolly… I have pics – and yes it is ridiculous – so we and amazingly enough our baggage get into one of the boats – for a moment I actually imagine that this is our new home for the next 8 hours and start laughing – instead this boat takes us across the river to Laos’ entrance where we do lots of things with our passports and hand American money to people and general walk around doing the five year old traveler thing where you just do whatever they tell you to do and hope for the best – at this point there is much talk about speed boats and how the slow boat is way overcrowded and yada yada – all I know at this point is that the rollys ain’t going on no slow boat! It would just be way too ludicrous! So we opt for the speed boat at the last minute – get separated from the big group we had been with for the last 24 hours and join a few new people in a Sontheau – again following blindly – but with much hope…we get taken to a random spot along the river that at best bet was I think run by the Lao mafia – after setting our bags down two English guys come over and say that they’ve been waiting for a few others to take the boat and were going to come with us – then a pause – and then they ask if we’d seen the speed boats yet…we hadn’t – and I – as a ignorant American had been picturing the speed boats we take on lakes and you know are white and metal and sturdy…instead when we finally see our speed boats, there is instead a very small, skinny wooden – metal boat with a great big engine attached… then they start handing out life jackets and helmets with visors – and a few people are putting bright green ear plugs into their ears… my stomach gets a little queasy… somehow they get our baggage tied on the front of the boat and six of us get in – there are yes three seating areas with wooden slats separating them – but with two people sandwiched into each section you basically become a sardine with a helmut and a bright red life vest..another important piece of info – we had been told this was going to be a 3 hour ride – but we should have known better – because they never ever tell you the right amount of hours… after about 45 minutes the driver pulls over to a house boat and we all sit up or stand up in the boat – legs have already fallen asleep and my ears are ringing from the sound of the engine – but its absolutely breath taking – stunning – everything – everything about it – the scenery - the house boats – the place the driver has stopped to buy a glass of milk – the kids playing and washing in the river – the cows lining the hillsides – we get back into our holes for another two hours or so and stop for lunch – on basically a floating wooden shanty restaurant strapped to the side of a mountain/hill – speed boats all lined up parallel to the place so that everyone has to climb through everyone else’s boats to get to the restaurant – great egg sandwich – and back on we were – for yes another three hours! this time though when we got back in – we planned everything a little more strategically – ipods in ears to stomp out some of the engine sound – bags readjusted for one more inch of leg space – and it was like a second home – pretty near our destination – the driver pulled over to the side of a cliff with a huge cave opening on the side – we climbed up several flights of stone stairs and were suddenly staring at hundreds of Buddha statues covering every part of the cave don’t know what its name is – or its history but was a little more amazing than I think you can imagine… back into the hole and a half n’hour later we land – at the bottom of a steep incline from what looks to be someone’s house – we get out and form a pass off line for the baggage to get to the top but I have to say the rolly was very gratefully taken up by one of the English guys because I think I might still be there right now trying to get it up those hills! As soon as we had landed a very small little girl had run up and started to point at things – mostly a few people’s colorful pillows – which she was quickly given along with amber’s water bottle – interesting welcoming committee… at the top we get into a waiting songtheau and drive through a neighborhood into the city of luangprabang…

for the rest you’ll have to wait – this blog is too long already!

But final thought – there is nothing like sitting in a very small boat probably topping speeds of 100 plus on the Mekong river to make you feel alive and quite in awe that you made it out on the other side – after seeing what you had just seen and fearing for your life a few too many times!

thai time, baby

ropo — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:23:00 GMT

Went to Ko Samet this last Friday morning by ferry with a few friends - Amber (of course), Martin (the most amazing Scottish man), Ryan (crazy Arizonian) and Leah (guitar playing Canadian wonder woman) - first thing we did was have a few drinks and some Indian food - for some reason the food on this little tiny island is some of the most amazing food that I've had yet in this country. We then went and found a few bungalows at Jeb's, which is a few beaches down from Naga, where we were last time. I wish I had gotten a picture of Jeb's for y'all to see...Amazing beach paradise - really hard for me to actually believe now that I'm not there. Ocean moving into beach moving into lounge chairs into wooden tables on the beach into tiny muddy road into jungle and more wooden tables up into hillside full of pathways and bungalows and plants - butterflies and huge huge spiders with epic webs - laundry hanging - I know should have taken a picture....That night after meeting up with more friends - consisted of eating on the beach - low tables, cushion chairs, fire shows, drink buckets, music - karaoke - and lots and lots of dancing - somehow it was 5 in the morning and Amber, Martin and I were sitting around a table and he was singing old Irish tunes...in the morning (or I guess a few hours later) Leah and Stew and I went to breakfast - the craziness of this island (she had the Indian breakfast, Stew had the Mexican and I had the English) and they were all delicious and totally different - this is only a few hours after the island was in total party mode - and now coffee and sun and silence on the newly cleaned beach - dogs everywhere of course - making beds out of sand - that day was spent on the beach and then snorkeling - after the boat took us to a few different spots we stopped at the "fish farm" which consisted of wooden slats tied to floating devices that created a tic tac toe walkway - where in each square of water a different kind of sea animal - sharks and turtles and spitting fish - we were given little bags of fish to feed them - at one square we found these huge and I'm talking mammoth fish (prehistoric fish, like I'm older than god fish)....that night one more dinner on the beach and then some much needed sleep

the next morning Amber and I packed up our stuff and headed for the ferry to take us back to ban phe - on the way there we saw Martin on a four wheeler driving towards us (we'd lost him around 6 in the morning that first night/day) - one of those serendipitous moments that makes you smile - ran into a few more of the guys on the way and we all took the ferry back over together

Went back to Condo Chain to pick up our bags and say good-bye to Mama Kai and giver her the hat we'd gotten her as a thank you gift for being our impromptu travel guide...Amber and I then went to Rayong to get a bus to Chaing Mai – we had a five hour wait so we decided to hit the local mall – hadn't been inside one yet really so we were a little curious – the department store wasn't much different but once you stepped out into the main mall things got a little strange – namely the loud pumping music – karaoke rooms everywhere, kiosks in the middle – signs and more signs – lots and lots of cell phone stores...and then the little food court in front of the movie complex with cooked pig heads – yum yum - wish they had those back home before I stepped in to see the latest romantic comedy! We decided to go see a movie since we had so much time to kill – and as usual for us when stepping into a place a manager comes over to help us – everywhere we go we are watched and treated in a certain way ... hard to explain – so he tries to explain to us that there are no movies in English (they're all dubbed) and there is only one with English subtitles – so we decide to go for it and see what happens...oh man – my tendency to do that has been getting me into all sorts of interesting places and meals this last month but man oh man this movie was – well – it's called (in English – there was no Thai title) Black Family...yes I know (crazy!) and it starts out with this man singing to a few animals who start singing and talking back to him – at this point Amber and I are looking at each other in shock and can't help from laughing out loud – which is a problem because no one around us is laughing – so it moves into this story about a grandfather who plays the lotto loses the farm and all the land - the father, wife and son (who'd been singing) all decide to go to the big city (bangkok) and rob a bank... ok ok – makes some sense right? But then throughout all of this are scenes of this cabby driver who keeps picking up this man who is all kinds of creepy and people making fun of the Chinese and lady boys – we left after about an hour because I felt that i'd had enough culture shock as it was and probably couldn't handle any more....

So then the bus ride – we got a 2^nd class bus with air con and we'd heard it would take 12 hours to get to Chaing Mai – which would put us in about 5:30 in the morning... we got two seats next to each other and settled in for the long ride – which consisted of cockroaches (not just a few but I'm talking a whole tribe) creeping out of the cracks next to me, the ceiling dripping water, the man sitting in front of me randomly and suddenly flinging his chair forward or backward – causing me to either be hit in the head or falling forward – and through intermittent sleep waking up to stops in who knows where at all hours of the night but it was all quite bewildering because we couldn't understand the announcements so weren't ever clear where we were – i'd open my eyes at like 4am and we'd be stopped – i'd close my eyes and feel like maybe i'd slept for 10 minutes but when I opened my eyes – we'd be stopped again and it would be like 3:45 am – crazy overnight bus times – when 5:30 hit we started to get exited until we tried to get off and the guy shook his head at us – the ride ended up being about four more hours – which hey – wasn't all that bad considering the awesome thai music videos they kept playing and the soothing water from the ceiling and my new great friends the Smith cockroach family of 24.....

so we made it to Chaing Mai and tomorrow we're on the slow boat to Laos, baby

Gallery: Ko Samet

ropo — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:18:00 GMT