Chiang Mai 4

I started Week 3 out with a mini volunteer project. David and Porn came up to the sanctuary, and we went out into the jungle with some hilltribesmen to cut bamboo. David and Nayok, the tribal leader, plan to get some of the locals building bamboo furniture, and we were going to get the ball rolling by cutting the bamboo for the first piece they would make. We trekked up a steep hillside and cut some decent-sized bamboo logs, then, after a lunch break, hauled them back down the mountain to our truck. On the first trip down, David and I had carried a log together, but on the second we decided to speed things up (and not look like wimps compared to the locals) by each taking a log. This was surprisingly easy - bamboo is very light, and the only real challenge was maneuvering the 5-meter logs through some of the more dense clusters of trees - so we managed to get the logs down in about ten minutes. As I walked out of the jungle, a group of backpack-laden tourists came trundling up a path on the other side of the truck. At this point, I was carrying the log balanced on one shoulder, with a machete in my free hand. They did a double-take; I nodded at them in a knowing manner, and kept sauntering along. One woman was looking bemusedly back at me until they disappeared around a corner. So that was entertaining. Apart from that, the week wasn't too eventful, just more tree maintenance, English teaching, and swimming with elephants (as I said, nothing special). One interesting thing that did happen was a housewarming party in Maetaman village, which Joe invited me to. I was a bit lost at the party, speaking hardly any Thai, but the locals seemed very pleased that a farang had made an appearance (at one point, a man actually kissed me on the cheek), so I just smiled and nodded at pretty much whatever they said. I also got to watch some fireworks that they set off in a typically suicidal Thai manner. The other somewhat interesting event was my farewell party, on Thursday night. Joe and I went out and bought a dozen large bottles of beer, which, when I brought them out after class, disappeared in about ten minutes. The mahouts borrowed my guitar and started belting Thai pop songs at the top of their lungs, causing O-Ishi, Joe's son, to dance around and look cute. Meanwhile, Joe, Prida (one of the non-mahout employees) and I got a hundred-baht poker game going. I was doing alright until two men from the village showed up with a bottle of Thai whiskey. The game switched from poker to a Thai version of rummy, and I managed to lose 160 baht, which would have been a lot more upsetting if 160 baht didn't work out to be about $5. As it was, the money was well worth the experience of gambling and drinking with Thai villagers, although I do wonder if they might have been cheating me. The next day, I said goodbye to the elephant home. I had a really fun time there, and it was a truly unique experience. If any of you are ever in Thailand, I would highly recommend visiting Thai Elephant Home and blah dee blah blah. Sorry if this blog entry is unusually prosaic, but I'm kind of tired and hungry...anyway, I hung out in Chiang Mai for a few days, said goodbye to David and Porn, and, this morning, caught a bus up to the small town of Pai. Pai is a pretty major tourist place, but it's in a pleasant mountain valley (there were actually pine trees on the way up!) and I'm hoping to meet a few people. I've got the next week to explore, so we'll see what happens. LYA