Adventures

Dear blog,
It has been an adventurous few days, hence the neglected blogging. Forgive me for not spending much time with you. I'll make up for it by letting you know what I've been doing.

Monday, my friend from Coeur d'Alene who has been teaching in South Korea came to Thailand for a visit. Her name is Valerie. Her being here has been a great opportunity for me to be a tourist. I don't generally go out and do tourist things, but having her here has been a great excuse to do those things.

Monday

The day Valerie arrived, we went on a longboat ride about an hour upriver to an elephant camp, where we proceeded to ride an elephant. Our elephant dude was really nice; his name was Nu. He stopped off to let us get some pictures up on the elephant, and while we were riding along he let Val and I take turns sitting on the neck of the elephant. There is nothing quite like riding an elephant barefoot with his floppy, leathery ears bouncing against my toes.

Our boat dude, whose name escapes me, asked if we wanted to stop off at the "Buddha Caves". Since Valerie hadn't been to a temple yet, said, "Yes please" (but in Thai)! The caves were beautiful and intricately created by the Master artist. It saddens me a little that not He, but Buddha, is being glorified in them. It was a sight to see nonetheless.

After getting pictures with our boat dude upon his request, and being dispatched back to our mode of transportation (a motorbike), we headed in to town to experience the Night Bazaar. In addition to eating a tempura battered assortment of fried foods and spicy basil chicken, I had the pleasure of introducing Valerie to a couple of my favorite desserts: rotee with egg and banana and chocolate (http://www.flickr.com/photos/26933430@N07/2586978013/), and kanome buang (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paragon1/3836044718/). Of course, we had to wander around and see all of the unique wares for sale, as well. All in all, it was a good, full day.

Tuesday

One major tourist attraction in Chiang Rai is the White Temple (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wunder_kind/3546606220/), so that is where we went. It is still in construction, though it was started twelve years ago. It is the brainchild of a famous artist in Thailand who wanted to make the most beautiful temple in all of Thailand. I think he may have succeeded. One nice thing about the White Temple is its unique design. Every minute detail is considered, down to the tiny mirrors on the exterior, making it shimmer in the warm Thai sunshine. Throughout the temple and temple grounds, one finds symbols of pop culture such as a statue of Predator, paintings of Neo and Vader and Superman, and many other little things. As a piece of art, it is quite fascinating. There are also some morbid pieces such as a graveyard of hands reaching up to passersby as they approach the temple (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixx0ne/4678243320/), or skulls throughout the grounds. Artistically, the place is intriguing. Spiritually, it is dead and disconcerting.

Next on our list of things to do was to hike up to Khun Korn waterfall (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinamor/431154298/). Even in the dry winter season this waterfall blew me away as I stood before it. A 1.4 kilometer hike brought us to a 70-meter high wall of water that is truly awe-inspiring. Standing at the edge of the pool the waterfall empties into before continuing its descent down the mountain, I felt as though I was in a windy rainstorm while water sprayed me with surprising force, just a hint of the might this beautiful landmark possesses.

After returning to town, we enjoyed the experience of moogata (http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliansimpson/63075113/), finishing it off with mouth-watering coconut ice cream and Thai jelly desserts. Then, it was back to the night bazaar where Val found some more goodies to buy and we found our beloved kanome buang seller. I had the hardest time remembering the name of the dessert, so we just had to go back so we could ask again and, of course, support his business.

A man with a not-so-British accent who we discovered was from New Zealand invited us to a rasta concert of a group called Job 2 Do. I thought it sounded slightly familiar but couldn't place it. Then he started singing one of their songs, and I knew that song! "Do do do do tuh tam, tam mai tung tam gap chan dai?" Translation: "See see see what you do. Why do you do this to me?" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAdZzr0ysxg) I was so excited to hear these guys, since I knew one of their songs! We went and had a great time. One of my favorite things is unexpected GREAT times, such as that night. There's no way we could have planned that, but we just happened to get a flier for a band that just happened to be playing in half an hour who had never been to Chiang Rai before, who I also just happened to know their music and love! It's times like that I am reminded how much my God loves me. It's like a love note saying, "Here, this is for you. I know you're going to love it. I've got a perfect night planned for you."