Mekvilai Hotel Tak

... it didn't feel fun at all to be packing up our bags and handing them over to be stored for the day, but alas! his is the nature of travel and Chiang Mai is one place we will most definitely be making it back to. <br><br>We spent most of the day lounging around and drinking coffee, I still can't get over how good the coffee is up her and wished that I had of picked up a bag, although we are ...

... would pay all my expenses, I would live in the residence of the Karen Woman&#8217;s Organisation and on the side run The Branch Foundation, and go to MHS on weekends to catch up with the Ethnic Migrant Family Society of which The Branch Foundation is a donor organisation.  So good start really. <br><br>I did catch up with Markus a friend from the Gypsy Tea Rooms in Bangkok and just ate yummy food, drank cold beer, went for walks in the heat and discovered abit more ...

... but we didn't. We were tired from the long day of traveling and Collin &amp; Beau had gone drinking at some club called Spicy Disco. I will tell you this though, Bangkok is laden with transvestites, cheap alcohol and amazing street food. Even though the padthai vendors are completely unhygienic and violate every FDA regulation known to man, they make some delicious ****! I craved it the next day and I crave it now, but alas, they are only found in Bangkok for some reason. Also, if ...

... the dark side of the tourism industry in Chiang Mai, Pat (my partner in crime for this venture) wanted to create a project that symbolised the opposite of this. So far, I think we're on the right track. My apologies beforehand, for in this blog there are no fancy trying to impress writing styles, just me and my thoughts as they enter my head, the experiences and stories I pass during my journey through sustainable travel!

... it OK to drive - but you just have to be so alert. Debbie and I have been sharing the driving. And we sing along to some cheap CD's as they play over and over and over. We drove to a small town called Tak where we planned to just stay overnight and continue on our way the next day. We got there around 4pm and went for a wander through the town and found it to be quite a charming little town. In the end, we decided ...

Almost 10pm, ancient, old capital of Thai (Lanna) kingdom-Sukothai. Cool, bright fluorescent lights, timer program on PC showing cost minute by minute, uploading videos of elephant riding Mood: glad to be here, missing company, twinge of sad on bus Today I had a leisurely morning as didn't sleep wel last few nights. Mattress was thin and hard, and actually got chilly under the fan. Thinking about ...

... has a better life in Thailand. It was really neat to see the Burmese... many of the men wore the traditional longyi or sarong around town (man, I wish I could ware a dress)... and the women and children wore paint on their faces... we got different answers as to the purpose... but we settled on sun protection as the reason for this custom. I am sure fashion also played a role... Anyway, the main reason for us to stick around was to participate in an English camp ...

... into Myanmar, but the way the Burmese treated us you'd think I was literally glowing white or something. So perhaps they don't see many Westerners. Maybe because they all immediately high-tail it back across the border in intimidation. (We actually saw one Western-looking couple do this. They couldn't have gone a block from the immigration booth, and they turned around and headed straight back.) But we did not however. Dane decided if they could ...

... moved in next door and everyone wants to go say hello to, and show around town, and teach about local coital customs. More a novelty like the new hermaphroditic doctor who set up shop in the abandoned barber shop on Main Street and is giving everyone large suppositories like they do in the Old Country. We were clearly a pain in everyone's ass. There are no restaurants to speak of ...

... But we looked out our windows and saw Thailand surrounding us. Green of every hue in every direction. Brilliantly colored flowers seemed to grow without assistance all over the village. Mountains surrounded us. The air was cool. We woke up to a perfect day and the previous night's madness disappeared like an unpleasant dream. So next...we'll have a look around. Some of the photos are from the ride back from Um Phang. Shhhhh. Don't tell anyone.