After several days, I began to settle into my new country and time zone.  I was now less shocked to see four people on a motorbike or a dozen people in the back of a truck.  All the streets that had seemed so winding and confusing before, now developed a sense of organization and familiarity.

A couple weeks into the trip, I was feeling burnt out.  The end seemed so far away.  The food once so unique and flavorful, now all tasted the same.  And somewhere along the way, I felt I had lost myself in the tsunami of people around me.  One day during this time, I enjoyed KFC like I never have before in my life because it brought me a little morsel of home.

As the weeks went by, I started to feel more and more a part of Thailand as it grew to become a part of me.  When I would see white people or others who looked like me, I would condescendingly think, “farang.”  I was no longer a tourist.

A month into my journey, I was beginning to feel ready to come home, tired of short doors and stiff mattresses, but the siren call of the southern beaches kept me from homesickness.  As we said goodbye to the Rotarians, I did not feel much sorrow.  I had met many nice people and a small few who I hope will always be my friends.  More than specific people, however, I would miss all of the Thai people with their friendly attitudes and warm smiles.

During my last week in Thailand, the beaches followed through on their promise of being some of the most beautiful in the world.  The water was warm and clear, the skies blue, and limestone cliffs rose from the edges of the white sand.  No words can accurately capture the beauty of the area, and I wiled away my days frolicking in the waves and diving into the pools, each time thinking nothing could be more refreshing than where I was at that moment.  I even went snorkeling for the first time, and the first 15 minutes were some of the most interesting I’ve ever spent.  I never knew there were fish that were purple and aqua and never dreamed that I would be swimming among them.

And now I sit in an airport, waiting on the first of many flights that will take me back to Jacksonville.  I am ready.  I miss my family, my friends, my cat, and my bed.  But part of me worries that I have forgotten that life.  I have never been on holiday for so long, and I wonder if I can regain my normal life.  What will it be like to go back to work five days a week with no wats, motorbikes, or Tom Yum Goong (thank God!)?  How will I adjust to being nobody again when everyone here treated me like a beauty queen?  I will survive; I kind of like carrying my own bags and doing my own laundry. 

But I am sure that each time the scent of jasmine wafts through the air, I will remember all the garlands I have worn and know that I left a little part of myself in Thailand and carry a little part of it with me.

This is where we are now.  Heather is very happy.

I am happy to report that it is a beautiful city (a bit more clean and modern than others we have visited).  The people, like everywhere else, have been fantastic.  It has been nice to be able to sample cuisine other than Thai, and it is the first stop on our journey where we have had free time to spend getting to know our host family and their city.  It has been an excellent experience overall.

And tomorrow it ends.  We fly to Bangkok for the day and for the first time will have some much needed independence.  The question is: Can we survive in a foreign culture without our lovely hosts?

I sure hope so.

We have reached Chiang Mai, the last stop on our journey, and the people here have been very wonderful.  We got to go shopping at Ban Tawai wood carving village, which I had been looking forward to the whole trip, and we were reunited with our dear friend from Maechan, Oh.  It was such a great surprise to see Oh again.  After an amazing magic performance by some high school students he works with, we all hit the town.  I won’t divulge many details other than that we found out what time bars close in Chiang Mai.

Today we gave our final presentation to a noon Rotary club meeting, and tonight we are having dinner again with Oh.  Oh is always so genuinely friendly and excited to hang out with us.  If we were to vote on our group’s favorite person, it would probably be him.

In just a few short days, our journey will be over.  I am getting excited about seeing all of my friends and family back home, but I am also still interested in the wonders of Thailand left to unfold in the next week.

I was once again caught by the short bathroom door frame as my teeth shuttered against each other and I cursed out loud. I sat there, thinking, “I just want to go home to where the door frames are a normal size (and I don’t have to put the key in a holder to turn on the lights).”

Ever since we noticed the trend of short bathroom doors, we have been asking our hosts to try to figure out why this is the case. Roger hypothesized a good theory that it was to designate to guests which door leads to the bathroom. He suggested this to a host, who completely denied it. There is no reason for the short door, and so I have hit my head on them many times (though none as hard as today).

Members of both GSE teams (names shall be withheld to protect the innocent) went out to the Hot Spot to dance and celebrate. It was one of the most fantastic birthdays of my life! The Thai club was not what I was expecting. The farang were looking around for the dance floor as we entered but instead found a stage and rows of perpendicular tables. We were the first people there. I was skeptical.

Then a band took the stage, a few people (mainly older farang and young Thai women) started to filter in, and my skepticism grew. The music was “broken heart” songs as the locals called it. I was wondering how soon we could leave. The band, however, was very interesting. Each song featured a new lead singer and most sported very special “costumes.” My favorite was the guy whose look I can only describe as a mullet, mixed with a Mohawk done Flock of Seagulls style with clothes that were ’80s meets Japan.

When the music and the crowd started to pick up, the costumes became even more outrageous (and smaller for the women whose look switched from streetwalker to stripper), and they added boy-band style back up dancers. It was fantastic! I have never seen such unintentional spectacle. The music was also fun to dance to, so I had a club plus a floorshow. I was giddy. Our whole group was breaking it down, and I think it might go down as one of the most special nights of the trip.

Thanks Thailand GSE for such a spectacular birthday.

A few towns ago, Jamie and I were staying with the same host, who pretty much did not speak English. Jamie took a shower in the evening and managed to procure a towel by pointing to the one in the bathroom to express her need.

I tried the same trick in the morning. She seemed to scurry about for a bit but with no results. I tried asking again. Eventually, she pointed towards our room and said something including song (two in Thai) while holding up her fingers. As near as I could translate, she had only two towels (the one in the bathroom and Jamie’s), and Jamie and I must share. In fact, she seemed a bit affronted that I would ask for a towel.

When telling this strange story to Wendy, she mentioned that her host explained that most Thais travel with their own towel. This somewhat explains the situation but does not relieve the fact that Jamie and I shared the same towel for two days.

Oh, but it got worse. At our last host, we could not find them in the morning to ask for towels, so Jamie and I air-dried. I employed three methods: 1) shaking like a dog, 2) brushing off the water with my hands, and 3) using my pajamas for excess moisture. For two days, I did this. It was especially hard to get my hair dry.

It is nice to be in a hotel now.

Our morning drive to Mesai brought one of the best experiences of my trip (although it started out a bit bumpy).  We pulled up to a wat, always beautiful in the morning light, and one of the girls noticed a monkey.  I’ve been on a hunt for monkeys since arriving in Thailand.  My step-niece Kiley love monkeys, and I promised to bring her photos and some monkey trinket.  I was very excited when we noticed there were monkeys everywhere.

Our host got out of the car (and left us), and we followed … the girls a bit more cautious than I.  The phrases “monkey business” and “monkeying around” come from somewhere, and we all knew the animals could get a little excited.  But I was determined to get some photos for my girl.  As I was trying to get a good angle on one (in fact the one above, I believe), another one started running at me.  The girls fled.  I started to freak a bit, as I am not quite sure how dangerous monkeys are, but I figured he wouldn’t actually attack me, would he?  Then he jumped onto my dress and was hanging from the skirt.  I do believe I screamed.  (I wasn’t sure if monkeys have claws or not, but I can remember when my cat used to climb up me as a kitten; it wasn’t fun.)  He dropped off and ran away.  I was only slightly shaken, completely unharmed and not at all deterred from my Kiley mission.

Shortly thereafter we found the monkey handlers, as I shall call them.  For 10 baht, I could feed the monkeys peanuts.  Not liking to carry coins, I readily agreed.  It was the best 10 baht I’ve ever spent.  As the girls hid in the car (Jamie eventually came out to take some pictures and feed one monkey), I handed peanuts to every monkey I could find.  They were so gentle in their grasps.  I felt like I was handing something to a baby as their little hands wrapped around the peanuts (and, in fact, some of them were baby monkeys).  I even got to get in a quick pet of one of the babies before he ran away.  A few tried to climb my skirt still, but a wave of the hand or a stern word, and they would leave.  The handler was always around with a stick just in case.  Most of the monkeys were pretty fearful of the stick, and just waving it was enough.

Interacting with somewhat wild animals like this is an experience that I never would have had in Illinois.  Feeding monkeys will be one of the highlights of my trip to Thailand and something I shall never forget.  Maybe someday I’ll bring Kiley here so she can do it too.

Dad, please share this with Kiley and let her know that I have many more pictures (and video!) to show her when I get home.  I can’t wait to see everyone.