Village Life

We pretty much just went back in time...at least it seemed like it anyways.  A friend of ours studied abroad in Thailand two years ago with a program that organized home stays in small northern Thai villages.  He got in contact with the program and set up a trip for five of us to go stay in a tiny, little village way up in the mountains for 5 days.  The whole thing was like nothing I've ever experienced before, and will never experience again.

The transportation required to get up there was an adventure in itself.  First we had to take a sleeper train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.  The train was actually pretty nice and comfortable and made the 13 hour journey tolerable.

 
We then had to take a six hour van ride from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son, on a road infamous for the number of turns and curves it has.  Let's just say that a windy road, mixed with a lack of AC, with a big hangover thrown in does not make for a fun ride.  After making it to through that leg, we had to take yet another windy, curvy ride the next day. It was literally a single track dirt road at some points, with super steep inclines and no guard rail separating us from falling off the road to our deaths.  But we safely made it to Huay Tong Kaw and our "village experience" began.

The village of Huay Tong Kaw has a population of about 200 (though it seemed a lot smaller).  It's pretty much self sustained, with little exchange of money.  They grow rice, raise animals, weave clothes and have a blacksmith.  Some of the people speak Thai, but most speak a different northern dialect, and no one speaks English. Other than a few outdated solar panels, there is no electricity and only one hose with running water. Everything about the village was so authentic that it seemed fake; we kept saying it looked like an exhibit at Disney World. Here is a video: Village. As you can tell Cyrus has obviously been practicing his narration since he's been here.

The five of us stayed with a host family, Patti (the dad) and Mugah (the mom).  They also had a few other family members that visited a lot.  Patti is the medicine man in the village, and he's pretty much the coolest man alive.  He knows how to do anything and everything, and is a master with a machete.  Every day we ate on the floor, and they made rice with pumpkin, greens, omelets, cabbage and other things. The food was simple, but really, really good.

We tried to learn a few words in their language, like "sequi" which we thought meant "delicious". During every meal we would say, "sequi, sequi", thinking we were telling them it was really good....that is until Patti told us that it really meant "banana".  So while we intended to complement them on the delicious food, in reality we were just saying nonsense.  They must have thought we were idiots. Just imagine someone coming to your house for dinner and repeatedly telling you, "banana, banana!". Eventually we figured it out, but Patti didn't let us forget about it.

We slept on the wooden floor in their raised hut houses, and I got to sleep right above where the pigs slept (I could literally look through the slits in the floor and see the pigs).  But we became bff's by the end of the trip, so it was OK.  Since there is no electricity we went to bed around 8 or 9 every night, only after we either read or played rummy by candle light (like back in the good old days).  Then at around 5 am or so, the roosters began to crow and it was time to get up.  Here is another video of the home we stayed in: House.

During this time of year, rice growers practice "slash and burn agriculture".  Every so often, they burn the rice fields to refresh the soil and as a way to alternate their different fields.  It's a little controversial though, seeing as the Thai government hates it because it pollutes the air a lot, but the villages and farmers have been doing it forever, and it's good for the land.  The fields were already burned in Huay Tong Kaw when we stayed there, so we helped them gather logs and branches that didn't burn all the way and piled them up to burn some more. It was just a huge field of ash, and it didn't feel the best knowing all of that was going into your lungs, but we definitely did some work and "got our hands dirty".

Another day we went on a hike to a waterfall, but this was no leisurely hike through the woods. At some points the path was straight up or down, in addition to being covered in ash from nearby fields, making the footing a little treacherous. Of course our guide was climbing effortlessly with his plastic loafers and multiple smoking breaks. The hike was a little long, but the waterfall was worth it.

Our days in the village were also spent making bamboo cups, teaching the kids how to play frisbee, seeing a Muay Thai fight, and helping Mugah shuck rice (see the picture below). By the end of the five days, we were ready to be back in civilization and our butts were ready to not sit on the floor anymore, but it was an amazing experience and I would definitely choose to do it again.

 

On the way back from Huay Tong Kaw we stopped in Mae Hong Son and Pai, smaller northern towns popular for their mountain scenery.  Unfortunately though, because of all the slash and burn going on, we just saw a lot of smog.  We hiked up to a look a point and this is the view we were supposed to see:

And this is what we actually saw:

Even though it wasn't as pretty as it would've been without the smog, it was still kind of cool...like looking into an abyss or something.  Or for all you Game of Thrones fans, it was like standing on the Wall (winter must be coming).

After touring the north for awhile, we got back on the sleeper train to Bangkok.  Next week we are going back to Chiang Mai for Songkran, the Thai new year, which is essentially just a country wide waterfight. So that should be a good time.

Lots of love to everyone at home!

More Visitors

Not too long after Cyrus' parents left, we were fortunate enough to have a few more visitors. After weeks and weeks of planning and anticipation, Linda and Debbie finally made it to Thailand.  The whole trip went pretty smooth, though we had a few bumps and sunburns along the way, but nothing too dramatic (well except maybe when Deb was almost stuck in Thailand for a few extra days!).

Cyrus and I met them at the airport in Bangkok, looking only the tiniest bit disheveled. Thankfully my Mom went over every single scenario of us not being able to find them beforehand, so we spotted them right away. We saw the major sights in BKK, and I must say, those two were troopers if I've ever seen them.  They battled through the heat, jetlag, and culture shock like they were traveling pros.  Most of you have already heard the tales from Linda, so I won't go into too much detail. We tried to give them a real "Thai experience", eating at roadside stalls and walking down the not so picturesque streets. We were pretty impressed with how they kept up, and if they were disgusted at all, they didn't admit it...though by the end of the trip we knew Linda was not a fan of all the trash.

I think I have to say that my highlight of BKK was taking those two to Khao San Road (the backpacker/party spot) and at the end of the night, when Cyrus and I were ready for bed, Linda was still trying to get us all to do shots...we were outdone by my mom :)

After spending enough time in the "big city" we headed south to visit the islands. Cyrus and I hadn't been down south yet, so we were pretty excited.  Our first stop was Krabi, just a beach town and jump off point for some of the other islands.  And to be expected of any vacation with Linda and Debbie requiring nice weather, after being in Thailand for 4 months without a drop of rain, our first night in Krabi it poured...for hours. But we still had a good time, and ate at the market and played some Euchre at our hotel.   

Then we took the ferry to Koh Phi Phi, which as everyone refers to as "the island from the movie 'The Beach'" (here's the trailer for those who don't remember it: The Beach). Even though it was super touristy, the island was really, really beautiful and we got to walk in Leo's footsteps.

We stayed in a nice hotel with an awesome view, and basically 'lived the life' for a few nights.  The hotel had a good restaurant (and strong cocktails) so we filled ourselves with seafood, curry, and rum.  I want to give a little shout out to Deb for introducing me to the Singapore Sling...my new drink of choice. We went on an awesome sailboat "booze cruise" around the islands, which was definitely one of our favorite things we've done in Thailand.

After the touristy feel of Phi Phi, we headed to the smaller island of Koh Jam. At first, it was looking like the island was a little too small...aka nothing to do.  But we got into the groove of doing absolutely nothing, and it felt good to just relax and read for a few days.

Don't be fooled though, we were traveling with "the general" so she made sure to schedule in some activities for us to do (participation was mandatory).  We took a trip to the little town on the island, walked along the beach, and did some kayaking.  Continuing with the bad weather theme, it rained almost every day, but it actually wasn't too bad.  We played more euchre than I've ever played, I finished Game of Thrones (which is not the shortest book in the world), and ate lots of good food.

When our island adventure came to an end, we headed back to Bangkok to drop Debbie off at the airport.  I'm sure the story has already circulated through the family, but let's just remind everyone to make sure you are 100% positive on the day your flight leaves.  Thankfully everything worked out, and Debbie got back safe and sound.

Then it was off to Suphan with Linda to tour her around our 'stomping grounds'. Cyrus and I showed her all the sights: the night market, pad thai lady, the coffee shop, and the grocery store.  Everything was an adventure for her, and it was nice for us to see things in a new light after being there for a while.

Then Cyrus went to meet some friends on another island, and the "mother-daughter adventure" officially began.  We had an action packed week, with trips to Ayutthaya to see ancient ruins, and Kanchanaburi for some waterfalls and WWII history (and one bus ride from hell).

My mom and I spent the last few days back in Suphan. She got to see my school and we had a good time seeing some more sights and fitting in her last meals in Thailand.  Then, sadly, it was time to take her back to BKK to catch her flight.  We met Cyrus there, and at my and Cyrus' request, we had a farewell dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant (you have no idea how bad we crave tortilla chips and burritos). 

The three weeks flew by, but we packed a lot of things into the time we had.  I'm glad I got to show my mom and Debbie around, and I think they had a good time...for the most part.  It was also nice to see things through their eyes, because we kind of forget after being here for so long.  Sorry for the lengthy post, but trust me, this is just a fraction of all the things we "saw and learned about".  Thanks again to Linda and Debbie for giving us a really good trip!

Sonny and Lenora Take on Thailand

Hello world, 

Finally getting caught up on some of these blogs over here. We've been doing a lot of traveling so were backtracking on some of these things. Everything has been going good over here though outside of the MSU loss. Luckily we were traveling during the time so I missed the whole game and any news that had to do with it so that made it a little bit easier to get over. 

But about a month and a half ago we had a couple visitors here. My mom and dad were able to make it over pretty unexpectedly. They were taking a trip to Pakistan and right before they left they figured that since they were already 3/4 of the way to Thailand they might as well just finish the trip and visit us. It was really nice to have them here just to be able to see them face-to-face for the first time in however many months. We were still in school so it was kind of a weird schedule but we were able to do a few things with them and they did a little bit of traveling by themselves as well. 

It was pretty funny because the week or two before my parents got here I kept telling my dad to try to get to the library or look up some things he wanted to see or do in Bangkok. His reply email read something like this: "I wish I had time to go to the library and look at books. You figure out what to do and we'll be happy with it." That of course made it very easy for me (not really). But the funny part about it was I laid out an itinerary for us about a week in advance and sent it to my dad to see what he thought about it. He was in Pakistan by this time so he had a lot more time on his hands apparently and proceeded to make and request about 20 changes to the plans. It ended up working out alright and they got to see a lot of different things, but it was ironic (if thats the right use of the word) how he had no cares about the plans and all of a sudden he was the master of planning.

When we picked them up at the Bangkok airport, it was pretty early in the morning but they didn't look too stressed or travel weary surprisingly. It was a little bit easier for them coming from Pakistan because they didn't have as much of a time change making the jet lag a bit less of a problem. We decided to stay in Bangkok for a couple days and see a few of the temples and attractions there. It got to be pretty boring for both Paige and I because we have already seen a lot of temples and after a while they all become the same. But after we had been to one temple and halfway through the next one, my dad surprised me with a "lets get the hell out of here, these are all the same." 

Being in Bangkok can be fun but it is also a hard city to stay in very long because of the amount of trash, people heckling you, and general stress/tension you feel when you are in the city. My parents started feeling this same way too and were relieved when we went back to the airport and sent them to the island of Koh Chang after about two days in Bangkok. Like I said Paige and I were still in school so we weren't able to go with them unfortunately. This was the end of the semester so some time on the beach would have been a welcome trip. It sounded like my parents really enjoyed the island though. 

After my parents got back from the island they came to Suphan for a few days. The first day they got here they came into the school for about an hour and checked it out. They met a lot of our teachers, saw the classrooms we teach in and met a few of our students. The interactions between my students and my parents was pretty funny just because of the language barrier. Since we were in school it was hard for us to do much of anything with them except for go out to dinner in the evening and check out a few markets. They did a bit of exploring on their own and liked our small town. I think my dads favorite thing about the whole trip was the amount of mangoes he was able to buy and for how cheap he could get them. Anytime we left our apartment building it was like he was on a hunt to find mangoes. I have no idea how many he ate in total but I wouldn't be surprised if it was around 100 for the whole week.

After Suphan it was back to the airport in Bangkok. Their flight was early in the morning so we said our goodbyes and they were back on their way to Pakistan for another couple days before returning to the US. Although their trip was only about a week long they got to see a lot of the main attractions of Thailand in Bangkok and when going down south to an island. Even though it was such a short trip, it was great to have them here. I hadn't been planning on them coming to visit so it was just an added bonus for them to come and was definitely a great experience to be able to share with them.