Lori and Drew's Visit

From January 2-7th we were visited by my dear friend Lori (a roommate at Flora Way) and her boyfriend Andrew. Coming from a freezing Chicago, they were so excited to be in balmy Thailand. Otto and I picked them up at the airport at 11 pm and took them back to the hotel. We only had one night in Bangkok so we explored the backpacker district on Kao San road and once that was shut down, walked around by the river and stayed up late talking. The next day we checked out the Royal Palace and walked through a big amulet market. We took a ferry over to Wat Arun (temple of the dawn) and were lucky enough to be able to attend a new years blessing ceremony there. monks chanted and sprinkled holy water on us and also tied the protective magic thread (sai sin) around our wrists. We took a crazy tuk-tuk ride and then went to the airport for our flight to Chiang Mai.

Otto had left his car in Chiang Mai so we got around easily. We took them to our favorite little guesthouse called the Pagoda Inn. It has a cute garden and is painted with bright colors and has lots of little Buddhist touches. We took them to the night bazaar after dinner, but jet lag was definitely setting in so we called it an early night.

Sunday morning we had a huge brunch and then spent an hour in a crystal/rock shop. We found the most amazing pendants and stones there and Lori and Drew definitely didn't want to leave! We took off for Lampang and stopped at the Elephant Center and the jungle market on the way. Once in Lampang, we showed them around our house and i opened lots of awesome gifts from Lori! she brought tons of good snacks from america, an amazing-smelling candle and some cute jewelry and soaps. We had dinner at our favorite Issan restaurant and then they went off to the night market.

The next day, i brought Lori and Drew to school with me. I had my students interview them by asking personal questions. I knew that my students would be nervous, but i had no idea that L and D would be nervous too! I'm glad they got to see where i work and get an idea of my job. We took them to the Herbal Center for body scrubs and massages. Unfortunately, there is no heating in thailand and it was quite a cold day. They had to get naked for the scrubs and it was freezing! I could hear them shouting from another room! To make it even worse, they had to take cold showers afterwards to wash off the scrub. However, they mentioned that their skin felt great after it was all over. They loved the Thai massages! They also got to visit a ceramic outlet with Otto while i was busy teaching. That night we took them to a dinner place situated on bamboo rafts. It was a lovely atmosphere and they got to meet some of our friends in Lampang.

On Tuesday, we went to the prison for foot massages and then they got to visit the oldest temple in Lampang, Wat Pra That Lampang Luang. After school, we drove back to Chiang Mai and stayed once again at the Pagoda Inn. We had our last dinner together and then took them out for a night on the town. The first place we took them was a quiet little bar that Otto used to go to when he lived in Chiang Mai. The whole bar is situated under a huge banyan tree and thus it was dubbed "The big tree bar" by Otto. We were the only customers there and enjoyed the quite and chill atmosphere. Then we went to hear some live bluegrass music at Sudsanan bar. The trio consisted of a father who sang and played guitar, his 18-year old daughter on fiddle and his older son on slide guitar. drew tried out the local whiskey (yuck!) and they bought a Thai reggae CD. Then it was on to the reggae bar where Otto and I met (Roots Rock Reggae) for lots of dancing. After breakfast on Wednesday, we dropped them off at the airport. They were off for a few days on Phuket and Koh Phi Phi. Lori and I both teared up. It was so good seeing her and getting to show them where i live and work. I hope that more friends have the opportunity to visit in the future!

New Years Eve 2008

In front of the temple with Chan's family

Ringing in the New Year: Otto loved this gong!

Taking a scenic walk down to the river

Rick and Chan demonstrating the gong that was being donated to the local temple

The scene of our village party

Setting up camp in this gorgeous field



New Years Day cock fighting!

This year we spent NYE in our friend Chanika's village 30 minutes north of Chiang Mai. Her family had organized a "tam boon" (alms-giving ceremony) at their local temple and there was a big village party at her sister's house. We showed up to loud karioke music and slightly-drunken old men encouraging us to dance with them. We brought our tents which we put up in a field outside the village. The panoramic views of the mountains were amazing and the weather was cold enough that it was nice to be snuggled in a sleeping bag. The afternoon was spent singing karioke, drinking and chatting with the villagers and holding random babies. After dinner, all the people at the party had a procession to the temple. There was a band made up of drums and gongs and all the women were dancing as we approached the temple. Once there, we saw a group of women doing traditional Thai dancing and we walked in a circle around the temple once. The monks said a blessing for the new year and then we all went back to the party. We ended up going to bed even before midnight but were woken up by the sound of all the fireworks in Chiang Mai. We opened the door of our tent and could see fireworks and the beautiful Thai lanterns lighting up the sky in all directions. It was so cozy and romantic...a wonderful way to start out the year! The next morning we had breakfast and were invited to watch a local cock fight. I never in my life thought I would see something like this, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I always had the impression that the roosters killed each other, but they don't and actually it isn't bloody at all. We didn't stay for the whole thing, but it was interesting to see the villagers betting on the roosters and getting into it. I'm sure, however, that i will never again attend such an event.