Saturday, August 12, 2006

Muay Thai


Today is Saturday and I think I am finally over my jet lag. There was constant daylight westbound the whole way from San Francisco to Tokyo and then darkness started to creep in on the flight from Tokyo to Bangkok. I was excited for my layover in Tokyo as I planned to eat some authentic sushi but after I finally figured out where I was supposed to be there wasn't time (the airport was a little daunting). I have to tell you about the toilets in the Tokyo airport. Besides the fact they come with a boudet (sp?) they have a button where you can play music. So naturally I pressed it and the sound was of a flushing toilet! Why you would invent a toilet with music playing a flushing sound is a question for the Japanese. I spent the night in Bangkok and flew the next day on Thursday to the north of Thailand to a place called Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand. You can thank my Mom for the Thailand map as it was driving her crazy trying to figure out where the heck I was in Ecuador.

Last night I went to a Muay Thai boxing match. It is a form of kickboxing that kind of looks like the boxers when they aren't punching each other, are grappling standing up.

It was pretty cool to watch and I snagged a seat in the front row. I watched about seven fights and then opted to go to a bar where I listed to the Thai version of Bob Marley play. In Thailand they have a saying, "same same but different" and I guess that the Thai Bob Marley would fall into this category. There were a ton of international travelers there and everyone was super friendly. Maybe too much so because I could have felt better this morning.

Today I took an all day Thai cooking class. I made the chicken lemongrass soup, green curry, fish patties, this type of cashew chicken, pad thai and thai spring rolls.

I hope I remember how to make all of that again! That was a lot of work.

This little girl shyly watched us take our lesson, she was so cute.

Tomorrow I am going on an overnight trek to check out nearby villages which hopefully will include an elephant ride. It is pretty hot here. Going from inside to outside is like going from a cold pool into a hot tub.

This dog, Coffee, has the right idea. As cute as he is, he smells!

7 Comments:

At 9:30 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Heather...
Remember how you always wanted my dog and my kids. Well, I am ready to trade. Rozie doesn't smell...not sure about the boys.
mkb

 
At 12:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Heather,
You look great in your cooking outfit, what a fun thing to do! I LOVE the picture of the little girl. You are becoming quite good at capturing the perfect moment in time. Take care H!
Love,
S

 
At 11:34 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

HA! I'll tell you all you need to know about Tokyo toilets one day...the flushing is for modesty..if you don't want other sounds escaping from your stall. Anyway, I hope you get on an elephant..they are the best creatures in this whole world!! :) Mary

 
At 10:56 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

HAHA heath, just listen to your ipod on the toilet.

how long will you be in thailand? i missed you while you were here! I'd like to come and visit with you - and i have some $$ put aside for a trip just like this :) we talked about it anyway. did you decide to stay for a couple months?

i love your stories. you are much better at blogging than i am. i was so selfish in my china travels. . . no time to write and the internet was so freakin slow! but i guess you speak a little of the language so you can navigate, right? i was so lost in a chinese browser. you are so good!

don't come home soon, but tell me when to get out there

Jess

 
At 6:09 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

wow I thought that was lion at first glance instead of a dog....

how do you make the pictures bigger anyways?

Chelsea

 
At 8:27 PM, Blogger Aimee said...

Three cheers for Heather's mom...I too love the maps. Glad to hear you made it safe and sound...nothing sucks worse then jetlag.
Chelsea..just click on any of the pictures to make bigger.

 
At 12:09 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

H,
So funny about the toilet, I think it's great you thought it was for entertainment! You kill me really! It's always a blessing when someone flushes or turns on the sink at the right moment if you know what I mean...
miss you!
Sarah

 

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