Passport please

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

I’ve taken it easy today.  After an early morning yesterday, I was desperate to sleep in.  Since I felt like I’d seen the highlights of Bangkok, my goal today was simply to pack, pick up my visa and get on the plane to Chiang Rai.  Spent some time reading and writing.  At noon I stepped out of the hostel for lunch.  I found a street around the corner with a bunch of street stalls and eventually picked one serving a chicken noodle soup.  When I sat down at the table it was empty, but then a group of young Thai girls came and sat down, basically surrounding me.  And they were all giggling and definitely talking about me.  Of course, I had no idea how to eat the soup properly since the Thai add so much sugar and chili to their dishes.  It was tasty though and I focused on not making a mess of myself.

At 2pm I headed over to the Myanmar Embassy knowing that I’d be waiting for a while since pick-up didn’t start until 3pm.  There were a bunch of people milling around and just before 3 there was a massive rush to queue up.  I handed him my receipt and got my passport, with the Myanmar visa.  Woo hoo!  I’m going on the tour after all.  Such a relief; glad it all happened so quickly.  I was back at the hostel at 3:30pm and chatted with Maggie until 5pm when I needed to go to the airport.  Grabbed my bags and took the 10 minute walk to the skytrain, changed lines, and then got on the airport express.  It all went smoothly and check in was a breeze.

Since I was in the domestic departures area, the food selection wasn’t as wide as it had been outside.  I ended up having some chicken tenders from Burger King (don’t remember the last time I ate there) and a pretzel from Auntie Anne’s (couldn’t resist the sour cream and onion).  The flight was just over an hour long and towards the end of it I talked with two men, Warren and David (Seattle) who were in Chiang Rai for business.  We commented on how quickly the Thais tried to get off the plane.  There was quite a bit of pushing.  After I got my backpack, I walked out and looked for Roger (having no idea what he looked like).  A few seconds later I heard my name and we hopped in his truck for the drive to Chiang Rai.

Roger stopped in town for some fruit before heading home.  Roger and Margarett actually live in a small town 20 minutes outside Chiang Rai, so it was best to do the grocery shopping while we were near town.  I didn’t know what to expect of their house, and when Roger opened the gates to their compound my mouth dropped.  This is where I get to spend four nights?!?  Wow.  The house is stunning, in Thai style with fabulous doors and windows (many of which are old temple doors).  They have looked all over the region for materials for the house and the results are amazing.  The house is a work in progress as their container from the States only arrived a few weeks ago.  “My room” has two queen beds and two couches and a gorgeous bathroom; the shower cubicle is made up of a low wall with orchids on the top.  Spent a good time chatting with Margarett and Roger before bed.  I’m really looking forward to spending the next few days here.

My room