Yesterday we visited a a couple of temples including one made entirely of teak without any nails whatsoever (just carved fittings) Afterwards, we went to the market in Chiang Mai that is supposed to be the biggest and best for buying food stuffs (not grocery, open air). We bought stuff for dinner which we had at the Proworld office which is also David and Porn's house. Dinner was moo ga-ta (aka Korean BBQ), a domed grill set atop an open charcoal fire stove that has room for broth in a moat around the grill where the vegetables are boiled. The meat is grilled on top, or boiled as well. The seating was traditional – on the floor around the fire, with us all tending to the food in the middle, intermittently taking a piece, dipping it in Suki sauce, and munching it down. The food was delicious of course, although my long and inflexible legs caused me constant discomfort scrunched underneath me in a position I rarely assume at home. This was no matter and I simply pretended to be comfortable (although today my right knee is still a bit torqued) until Porn and her friends insisted I change positions (thank goodness). Her one friend named First was pretty I thought. On the car ride back to the guesthouse the three of them liked it when Porn mentioned how David had discouraged her from going out to party with volunteers (sound enough advice), and I responded that there's no reason I couldn't go out with just her friends. They all had an uproar. I absolutely love seeing and hearing Thai people get excited.
Today we left Chiang Mai at eight to the elephant home in Mae Taeng. It was an hour's drive, and the other volunteer, Mae, and I sat in the flatbed. Actually we lay down more comfortably for the majority of the trip. The place excellent, and in fact more than I could have wished for. I have my own little house with a bathroom with a western style toilet – big ups. The manager, Joe, of the elephant camp is my very same age and married to a nice-looking girl born of a Karen (hill tribe) lady now in her forty-somethings(?). Joe and Ooang have a baby boy named Oishi who is absolutely adorable.
Upon arriving at the district office where I'll be working, I momentarily felt intimidated when the Nayok (Sub-district head) held a meeting outside his personal office with a bunch of staff, filling them in about me. I couldn't understand much, but survived to die another day. Noriko is a Japanese lady who speaks excellent English and Thai, and works in tourism and at the coffee shop in the Learning Center on the roadside by the office. She says she used to live in Las Vegas. We then returned to the elephant home, had lunch with Nayok Satiyen, and then went on a little hike with him and one of his aids who was mapping the area via gps. We ended up traversing pretty rough terrain, some of which had brambles that left tiny irritating and painful thorns in the skin and clothes. Off the beaten path indeed (and to be beaten by the unbeaten path as well). There were a few muddy areas, one of which Mae failed to bypass, soiling her shoes. I came out clean, albeit very sweaty and a bit dust-caked. This was all Nayok's land which he had bought with the hopes of restoring and nourishing back to some level of relative use and self-sustainability. This man is indeed of high character, I can tell I'll learn a lot from him. He's tough as an ox too. We ended up hiking more than a couple of km. Upon returning, Mae and I went with Porn and Ooang to the Lotus grocery store to pick up some food stuffs. After dinner with Mae (boring) I returned to my hut to take a cold bucket shower for the first time because the actual shower was no more than a trickle, so I said fuck it. The sensation was jarring in all the right ways, and sure cleaned my tits off nicely. I am now in bed lying in the intense darkness about to try sleeping at 20:58 and waking at 07:25. My life has changed. Good night.
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