Tucking In

This place is awesome!

I can't seem to go longer than an hour without venting about just how awesome Chang Mai is. Megan and I left Luang Probang, Laos three days ago. We hopped aboard a river boat and heading began a two-day trip upstream, through the beautiful mountains to Huay Xai, which is a Laos-Thai border crossing. The boat was an estimated 100 feet long with a maximum birth of just 10 feet. It was loaded with what looked like car seats. There was an enormous 12 cylinder engine in the stern which was loud. Each day we spent nearly 10 hours on the boat, stopping for the night in Pak Beng. It was a very pleasant trip in all. We had plenty of bananas, baquettes, and water and each of us had our respective book to read. I could probably think up a creative way to better describe the trip but to be completely honest, the two-day boat trip was as expected. It was beautiful and it took two days.

After crossing the border we took a quick 5 hour bus ride to Chang Mai. Chang Mai is the pride and joy of Thailand. It is the capital of the North. It is the place to be; the place that I'm told sucks passer-by backpackers into month or even year long visits.

After that last sentence, I was distracted with something that I can't even remember now. A full week has passed in Chang Mai. After spending a couple nights in our first place, we found home near the southern part of the Old City. It is a bar guesthouse with free Internet, coffee, tea, and water. We made a deal to pay for a single bed in a small room and the ability to use the kitchen when we like. This was the perfect setup to enjoy Loy Kathang which is an incredible Thai holiday in which everyone lights lanterns that float up into the sky. We also made a deal with a bike rental place in order to have bikes all week. Our days have mostly consisted of big breakfasts with bad coffee, biking in extremely heavily populated areas (both vehicle and foot), and spending our evenings walking through markets and creating reasons to eat big dinners. Megan was also able to performs a couple of her Thai songs on a flood benefit stage in downtown. Tomorrow we are set up to leave Chang Mai en route to Nong Tao children's home. It is a home about an hour North of town run by a local family. Although it is separate from 'Partners' (the organization that we've been in contact with about volunterering http://www.partnersworld.org/index.html), they are one of the main financial sponsors. 

As I look back at our time in Chang Mai, I feel like our time was spent in a much different manner than I expected. I think that I expected us to buy plenty of things, visit popular places, party, and socialize. Sure, we've done a bit of each of those. But I will probably forget those things. What I will always remember about Chang Mai is the endless wandering alleys, biking through dark rainy nights, racing through bumper to bumper traffic with poor bike brakes, and enjoying enormous burritos with free chips and salsa and too much hot sauce. I will also never forget setting off two lanterns at the very pinnacle of Loy Kathang; the first rising beautifully and the second tearing and half floating to a graceful landing on the river and being quickly swept out of sight. Oh yeah, and the other thing that will always be remembered about Chang Mai is this is where my long hair was finally shed (as the pictures obviously show).

Part of me feels that I haven't quite described our time in Chang Mai accurately enough. I'm just having trouble writing tonight. As I sit here in the lobby of our guesthouse, I've realized that what has made this place so special to us is the pure feeling of having a home. Perhaps I'm losing my edge on life, but in the last couple of months, a feeling of home has somehow risen a bit above a feeling adventure on my ladder of priorities... Its tough to admit, but I suppose it comes with wearing a ring... Or maybe its more like a tank that empties and can be filled over time. To be more precise, a long time in Peter White Library writing business plans and economic theory!

Corey

 We spent the day volunteering and learning out on a sustainable farm of Partners.  It felt good to get our hands dirty for once....not to mention several red ant bites that swelled up for multiple days.