Kindred Spirits meet under the stars

After a day of relaxing here in Pai (oh and some afternoon swimming), I enjoyed a home cooked dinner at my bungalow. They must have sensed my hunger when the owners of the bungalow offered the girls and I a bowl of deliciously prepared egg noodle soup. This is so typical of Thais to be so kind and hospitable.  They love sharing meals with others and i couldnt have been mode grateful for their offering. 

After dinner, Heather and I went down to the night market and ended up meeting a group of travelers outside of a nearby bungalow. There is something magical about a group of travelers from all over the world sitting together. There was guitar playing, singing, and kindred spirits sharing stories and ideas. This is one of the things I love most about traveling. When you meet people who share the same curiosity and zeal for life, it's exhilarating and inspiring. I stayed there for hours singing and sharing ideas and stories  under the stars. Around midnight, it was time to walk back into town to grab a snack. As I was heading towards the crepe stand, I ran into a Swedish girl I had met at lunch.  Actually we had both attended a short meditation course in town and she couldn't stop giggling the entire time.  I knew I wanted to get to know this girl but didnt know when I'd get to see her again. Well, lo and behold, I ran into her at midnight on the street during my desperate pursuit of a snack.  We caught up for a moment and the next thing I knew, I was on the back of her motorbike and we were cruising around town. We decided it'd be funny to stop at all of the bars and awkwardly stare at people while sitting on the motorbike.  When we couldn't control our laughter anymore, we'd cruise on to the next bar.  We finally went home at 2 am and she left this morning for Bali. It was a short friendship but so rich. I wish I had met her earlier... but I have a feeling I'll see her again!

The Canadian girls (my roommates here in Pai) leave town today. I was having to think about accommodation for tonight while at breakfast at a cafe in town. Well, about 5 minutes into my brainstorming and mango-eating, a girl and her friend walk up to me and said "I know this is kind of random but, do you have a place tonight?" She then said that she was staying here but hoping for another roommate to help with cost. Looks like everything is taken care of and I'll have new roomies for the next few nights. That was easy :) 

Greetings from [Pai]radise!

Well I've been too busy living and have not spent enough time reflecting. A blog update is long overdue and so I will have to so some backtracking here. Ill start with where I am now: sitting in front of a stream in the town of Pai in northern Thailand. I arrived here two days ago and I don't know when I'll leave. Pai is a unique place, situated in the middle of mountains, jungle, and hill tribe villages. It's a magical place, the kind of place where you intend to stay for a few days and then weeks later, you find yourself still here drinking heaps of tea, still meeting new friends.

I left Pattaya after having spent a week down there. Before I left for the north, Monica and I spent a day and a half on the island of koh samet. This island is a popular getaway for Thais who live in Bangkok. We spent the day on the beach and ended up befriending a group of young professionals from Bangkok. You'd have never guessed they were our age, they looked so young and were playing keep-away on the beach, giggling incessantly. They were a fun group and they ended up inviting us to dinner. We had no idea what would ensue. We went to a restaurant on the beach where we sat on mats and ate on low, candle-lit tables. Before we knew it, food started coming to our table, and didn't stop for a solid hour. Dish after dish of delicious Thai cuisine kept coming to our table and we had a family-style, delicious dinner right there on the beach with our new friends. Soon after dinner, there was the most spectacular fire show I've ever witnessed. The fire show would eventually turn into one big dance party. Before I knew it, we were dancing on the beach to "apple bottom jeans" with hundreds of Thais and our new bangkokian friends.

We left koh samet and headed back to Pattaya so we could host a dinner party for some of the bar girls that Monica and her friends had befriended over recent weeks. A few girls that came to the party were supposed to be working but New Love Outeach (monicas nonprofit) was able to pay for their bar fines so they could come to the party. It was a great time together involving a delicious meal, broken Thai-English conversations, guitar-playing, and some Bollywood dancing!

The next morning, I took off to Bangkok and then took a flight up to Chiang Mai, in the north of Thailand, near the Myanmar border. I couchsurfed here with an Aussie and left for the mountains on Wednesday morning. I had heard about this town, Pai, and it intrigued from the first time I had heard about it. I had heard that the journey to get here was pretty hair-raising and since I get carsick very easily, I was nervous. It's a three hour bus ride through the mountains with exactly 763 curves. I guess God was watching out for me because I somehow scored the very front seat, next to the driver. I also was able to bum a Dramamine off of a Canadian girl in the bus. Little did I know that this Canadian girl and her friend would be my roommate for the next two nights in Pai! I made it here just fine and was filled excitement the moment I stepped off of the bus. We found a wooden bungalow on the river and the Canadian girls, Heather and Thea, and I took off to explore the town.  This town is not only surrounded by beautiful nature, it bursts with flavor and ambiance. It is full of coffee, art, and book shops and the most magical night market. We explored, had dinner at the market, and ended up at a place called edible jazz where we spent the night playing jinga with the owners of the place. Before the night ended, we made plans to explore the area by motorbike with our new thai friends. The next day (yesterday) I rented a motorbike and a group of us took off the explore. We rode through the hills and ended up on a dirt road, passing by hill tribe villagers and incredible views of the valley. Eventually we found ourselves at a hot springs that not many tourist get to see because its so far off of the beaten path. It was quite a trek to get to this place and there was a lot of mud involved.  I'm thankful that these new Canadian friends of mine were so cute because these Thai guys were so enthusiastic about taking us on an all-day adventure and I have a feeling they were hoping some romance would ensue. I benefited greatly from their pursuit and so my thanks goes out to the
blond Canadian beauties!

We rode all day on the bikes, stopping by canyons, elephants, and rivers. It was spectacular! At the end of the day we landed at a chai tea shop where a girl with dreds served us the best chai I've ever tasted. Guitar playing and singing would soon follow and before we knew it it was time for dinner...but not before one last ride on the bike at sunset. Heather (one of the Canadian girls) and I hopped on the bike in search of the sunset. It was glorious.

Today I'm taking it easy. I'm hoping to spend the night on an organic farm just outside of town. They allow visitors to stay in their bamboo bungalows in exchange for a little bit of work on the farm. I've always wanted to do something this so I will hopefully find a spot here at the tacompei farm for a few days and learn much about gardening and Thai farming! I am in love with this little town and am excited to see what's in store for the next few days.

Days 1 and 2 in Pattaya

Pattaya: It's not exactly where most people vacation when they come to Thailand..unless of course you're a white (creepy) male, typically sporting a rat tail, tatted limbs, and graphic tee (usually sleeveless).  These men are come here for one thing and one thing only: cheap sex. It's dirty, it's wild, it's bourbon street times a million. Pattaya is overwhelming. My friend Monica started a nonprofit called New Love Outreach that helps get girls out of prostitution and I have had the chance to see firsthand what she does. Basically, she goes to the bars and befriends the girls and then invites them to English classes and to a training center where they can learn other skills and pursue other jobs. Many of these girls come from poor villages surrounding pattaya and end up in the sex industry out of financial desperation. Many of the girls are also trafficked that work here.  I've met a few girls whose lives have been changed by what Monica and the Tamar Center are doing. It's really incredible and so wonderfully inspiring. I realize this problem exist not just in Southeast Asia but all over the world, especially in cities like beloved New Orleans. I am challenged to reach out to these women and, if nothing else, offer them grace and a kind word or smile.

Other than seeing what amazing things my friend Monica is doing here, I've had the opportunity to do some exploring on the cheap! Today I got a thai massage and it cost me $10. Lunch was 75 cents and dinner was $2. Ahhh the food: so fresh, so full  of flavor, exotic veggies, and lots of spice.  I'm in love with the street food- it's much better than food served in restaurants and so much cheaper. The markets here are bursting with smells and sounds and are always worth a walk-through. People here work hard and they work a lot. The streets are always buzzing. I did a yoga class tonight to try and find some Serenity. It was taught by an Indian master who spoke so quietly I was blown away that anyone could actually hear him...and that's all I could think about the entire class.

After yoga, Monica picked me up and we met some girls for ice cream and then we zipped around town on the motorbike. It has been a tiring but fulfilling two days in the city and so I ready to seek out some island calm. Tomorrow we will go to Koh Samet and stay the night here. This is a popular weekend getaway for Thais who live in Bangkok. It should be a nice break from the city.  Monday will be my last day in pattaya before heading north!

On a sidenote: I read this great blog today and wanted to share it here on my blog.
It spoke to me as I have been trying to discern between fear and well, disernment.

http://www.allisonvesterfelt.com/fear-or-discernment/

The journey and the trick

I had just sold my last piece of furniture in my New Orleans apartment before setting my alarm for 2:45am on Tuesday morning.  I took a cab to the airport and waited for my 5:30am flight to Chicago.  From Chicago, it'd be 13 hours before arriving to Tokyo and then 6 more hours before finally arriving to Bangkok.  What a journey!  With swollen ankles and a foggy brain, I found Monica in the airport and we met her thai friend Bey. She had told me that he was our taxi driver but it was a bit strange how friendly Monica was being with him.  He was a bit hipster for being a taxi driver and I found it odd that she kept tapping his shoulder and playing with the gauges in his ears while he giggled incessantly.  I was suspicious but thought to myself, perhaps Monica had just become a bit more flirty and extroverted with men since moving in Thailand?!  Finally, when he couldn't stop snickering in the car, he confessed that he wasn't a taxi driver, he was a friend of Monica's.  I had only been in the country for not even 30 minutes and they were playing tricks on me.  Ain't nobody got time for dat!  When we arrived in Pattaya, we stopped to get some food and after a big bowl of curry at 2am, it was time to crash.  After a good night's sleep, I'm refreshed and ready for my first day of adventures in Thailand.  

Mai ben what???

Two days before leaving for Thailand, I had a moving sale in New Orleans and sold just about everything I owned. During the sale, I came across a sweet, eclectic young couple who had recently spent 7 months in Thailand.  They assured me that my time in Thailand would be life-changing and they taught me the expression "mai ben lai".  They explained that it means "don't worry about it!" and that this expression encapsulates the Thai attitude. The phrase has stuck in my mind because I like the way it sounds and I like what it means.  I'm trying to live my life with a "mai ben lai" attitude, putting my trust in God and not the things of this world.  This is where I'll be posting about all of my adventures in Thailand.  Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it and are inspired by what you read.