In The Matter of a Week

It's been a while since I've last posted. Perhaps this is because there is so much going on. Tonight Mark, the other intern, left for his home in Texas. So the past week was spent fitting in all the things he wished to do while he was still here.

One day we went to a Lahu village, which was probably the best day so far. I entirely loved the small town feel of the Lahusi and their genuine hospitality. I also enjoyed the food, some of it a bit strange. The thing that struck me the most was how different Lahu culture is from Thai culture. Yes, the Lahus came from Burmese hills, but it can't make that much of a difference, can it? Not only is the language different, but the food is also entirely different, the attitudes, values, and world views are all different also.

Thursday night I went to a Blindside concert. Blindside being a band that I've loved since 8th grade. I saw them once in high school during a summer music festival, but Chiang Mai, Thailand was the last place I would have thought to see them again. The show was good, but I have to say that the Thai bands that warmed the stage were just as good. Reckless Madness was probably the better of the two Thai bands. I'd label them somewhere in the hardcore/metal genre, but quite good at it. I should warn you that I've been a huge fan of heavy metal and hardcore for years now, and these Thai guys can really belt out some good riffs.

Friday we hired some guides from the Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Association to take us climbing in the hills outside Chiang Mai. These were world class rock faces and were entirely fun. The rocks aren't worn out from too many climbers: there's still plenty of vegetation and interesting rock outcroppings. In fact, the rocks are still sharp enough to leave good sized cuts on my hands. The guides were helpful and showed us some very nice climbing routes as well as a beautiful 180ft rappel into a cave.

Yesterday I walked down over the moat and into the old city. I grabbed some food from a street vendor then walked around for a couple hours. I passed lots of wats, I feel as if there was on every street. I stopped at a street cafe and ordered a rambutan smoothie. Rambutan is a fruit found in Thailand, you can get it at just about any market. So I'm putting a picture of some Rambutan here so you can see what It looks like.

While on the topic of fruit, I must say there's so many different kinds of fruit here, some that I love, some just aren't all that great. One such fruit is the durian fruit, a large spiky fruit that grows all over Thailand, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia. It's hard to crack open, but at once you are hit with a shock wave of stench. The odor is so bad, in fact, that there are "no durian" signs in hotels and public transportation. I also hear that eating durian with alcohol can have fatal effects. The fruit comes in stringy pods that surround the seeds. They remind me of Martian offspring arriving in a self-protecting escape pod.

Perhaps thats it for this post.