Wow - Blogabond

Day 1
The first part of the trip was interesting. Lots of waiting. Starting off with the Coast Flyer was good. Met some nice people moving to New Zealand and talked about plate techtonics of all things. Another lady was a Cruise Broker, what ever that is. The bus got us there an hour early which means an hour longer to wait. So showed up and grabbed some McDognuts for a nice seven bucks…bastards. Then saw Professor Waldorf and his family so I chased them down to talk, but they were taking the early flight. So, I sat down ant met a nice girl who was from Bangkok. Her name meant “deer,” but I don’t remember what it was. As I was talking to her, there were two men sitting next to us who overheard us and chimed in that one was from Bangkok as well and the other was from Manila in the Philippines. Halan, from Bangkok and Gilbert from Manila. Gilbert was very nice and I found out that the two men had been there from two days due to a missed flight. He had missed his sons 6th grade graduation and had been at work for 4 months and had five days off then 4 months back on. Sad story……but he jumped on our flight to Taipei and made it home I’m assuming.
So we got to Taipei fine. The food was interesting and the movies were good. We actually eat better in the mountains, but it was ok for airplane food. Once in Taipei the signs cracked us up. “Escape Sling and Chute”. Awesome. Then from the flight to Chiang Mai was interesting. I had a strung out tweaker about 1 o’clock and an old guy that had a 5 hair beard about 4 inches long off the side of his chin to hide a mole……..I was jealous. Met a nice guy, Marty, who gave us his number and to look him up. He went to OU and lived in Chiang Mai. He knew tons of info.
Krit, or Shane, was with Dr. Waldorf to pick us up. Customs was a little scary, but passed with flying colors. Tons of people waiting in the pick-up section trying to sell you things. So as we waited for the others, I grabbed 5,000 baht ($142) to get started. Went out to the two song-taos. Old school Toyotas with Camper shell and benches. Dane, you would be jealous. Road to the Chiang Mai Flora where we are staying.
The traffic was ridiculous. Not heavy, just crazy drivers! Amusement park. Beautiful scenery with watts and spirit houses. Beautiful place to live. Open patio and just awesome. Rooms are cozy with a shower that goes right onto the floor. Put the key in for power. Cool.
First on the list…..suits. Go in and it was awesome. Mom…..you would go crazy with how much fabric. Guy with a crazy tumor thing on his ear and people were packed in it. Owner new good English and memorized all of our measurements and everything. 244 Dollars for a tailored suit. Not bad. Black with white pin strips with an eggplant color shirt…..I’ll be fly. Went and had dinner. Awesome. Dane…oh ya. Spicy but not to bad. 60 baht(under $2). Came back took a shower and had to go to the seven eleven with Justin(roomie). Came back had a Leo(beer) and then ran off to the Monkey Club. Hahahaha……just silly. Kareoke and free everything…..food, drinks, and mixed drinks. The Smirnoff girls….damn. Not an asian fan, but damn. Got super tired and came back at nine and went to bed.
Slept like crap and shit my brains out. But awesome first day…..well 40 hours in one day.

Day 2
Well, kicked it off with some breakfast down in the main lobby with some fresh papaya which was amazing. We jumped on some song-tows and took off for the university. Showed up and got looked at like we were aliens….which we were. Got to talk with some people about the cultures and the families of the Thai people. Went to lunch with the Chiang Mai University (CMU) students and met "Mix" and "Bank". Nice guys. Went back to class and got Thai language from Aa Caan Dougdamon (Professor) which was sooooo ridiculously hard. Stupid tones. Came back and went to the hot pots for dinner. All you can eat, awesome. Went and got my first fitting of the suit. Looks amazing. Then we went to the night market and I bought a shirt and pants…..too small. But I’ll rock them. Went to Irish Pub (O’Mallys) and saw the Smirnoff girls again. The nasty old man with the lady-boy. Walked around a little more and had some cougars checkin’ me and Josh out. Yikes.

Day 3

Started today with coffee and then we took off to the factories. First the pottery. Mom, you would have loved it. Beautiful pieces of work. Then to the Gem factory. You guys will see the product of that. Off to the Silver…..cool but ok. Then to the silk. Very interesting. Then to the climax….the wood working. Dad…you should have been there. The inlay was amazing rosewood and teak with an abalone inlay. Amazing. Now back at the room to take a nap. Took off to get fitted again. Ends up that suit is already done. Kalen was being ridiculous so I got pretty drunk. Crazy thai bar with people that don’t dance and got in trouble touching a girl's arm.

Day 4

Woke up with a wicked hang over and started toward the Watt. Doi Suthep. Ended up being 11 km (7miles) and I was out of shape. Pretty tough. Got to the watt and it was cool. Lots of gold and budda around. Cool instruments and dancing girls. Banana Waffles. 306 stairs. Came back and ate at a veg restaurant that really wasn’t that great. Took a nap and planning on going to get a massage. No sucky sucky. Came back and went to the Sunday market. Lots of crap…..lots. Everything about the same, however, the music. AWESOME!!!! Two blind, one def, and one normal…..awesome video. Bought some clothes and came back and went to bed.

Day 5

Woke up and went to a bakery. Not that great. First meal that I have been unimpressed by. Came home and took a nap before class. Went to class and had a guest lecture on Buddhism. Very interesting. Came back and went to sushi. Pretty good, except for the 45 minutes wait for it. Good wasabi budo ;) Went on night safari which was really cool. A palace in the middle of the slums. Lights show and the spot lighting of animals. Reminded me of poaching with Billy. Lions, Tigers, and Bears…oh my. Shot so I went to bed.

Day 6

Went to coffee at Doi Changs. Pretty good, little ritzy, but good. Now waiting for class and might take a nap. Wishing for high speed internet to send everyone pictures.

written by

Matt Eastlick on March 26, 2009 from Chiang Mai, Thailand

from the travel blog: Thailand Study Abroad

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