Bugs, Thai Radio, Hill Tribes, Burma?

I'm going to start this week's blog entry with this picture.

Back in Chiang Mai

Yes, my first day back in Chiang Mai after Pai was one of my more adventurous days... I'll get to the bug story in a second. I decided not to do the bike tour around the Old City (surrounded by a moat) and just explore it myself by foot with a friend I made at the hostel, Eric from Chicago. We stumbled across a really interesting house which was turned into a Museum of World Insects, owned by a Thai couple that collected tons of amazing bugs over the decades. This place is worth mentioning because the owner knows absolutely everything about mosquitoes, malaria and the like. There were about 500 dead mosquito species glued behind a glass frame (ew?). The owner had malaria when he was 9, and so on the wall there's this 3 page essay about what it was like to have Malaria and what his treatment was like. Apparently in 1942 they had "magic women" that shoved sharp thorns into malaria-positive patients' buttholes for months at a time until the Malaria actually disappeared (or as he put it, "bled out"). UH.......................................... this guy kept his special 1942 thorn and it is stapled in a ziplock bag on the wall of his museum. Alright??? COOL

Page 1 of his essay. Just read the bottom handwriting. "Oh! my poor anus."

After that slight oddity (actually the whole house is an oddity, but still very cool), we kept exploring the many Wats around the city, found some intensely large gongs that resonated the most beautiful deep notes i've ever heard, notes so low i didn't even know were possible... i thought of my dad and his cymbal collection. Also came across Monk laundry, tons of orange sheets hanging out to dry in the backyard of a temple. 

Now here's the most interesting part of the day. We went to Warorot Market, Chiang Mai's daytime market filled with thai gifts, handicrafts, fruits, vegetables and various delicacies. This is when we stumbled across the bug stand. I wouldn't've tried any of them were it not for Eric buying a full bag of crickets without hesitation for 30 cents. I couldn't believe i might actually do this... put a cricket in my mouth??? Well it turns out they were actually pretty tasty, because i had about 8 that day. This unleashed my curiosity to try some other less common ones.... I kid you not, I tried 4 out of the 5 different plates of bugs in this picture along with 2 other people we bumped into at the stand:

In this pic clockwise from top left are crickets, really fat roasted maggots, skinny worms, beehive eggs, some more beehive eggs and Bully(? not sure at all actually) bugs.

Can't believe I did this but i put one of those juicy fat 'Bully' ones (at the front of the pic) in my mouth. Apparently you have to rip off the lower half of its body out and suck the juice out. Did I really just do that? It sort of tasted like a weird citrus, or like some kind of sour seasoning. It was interesting..... I could NOT finish a whole one. Here's a picture for size reference:

Eric sporting a bully bug, bottom half ripped off

I guess I didn't think trying out that bug was enough because i then proceeded to try the fat roasted maggot. As soon as the 4 of us put these maggots in our mouths, everyone just watched me cringe. You bite into it and all you can feel and taste are the EGGS just GUSHING out and finding their way in and around your teeth. That was disgusting. Then naturally I tried the beehive eggs... No, they did not taste like honey. You know your life has hit a new low when you're washing down Bully bug juice, beehive and maggot eggs with some more crickets (about 5 more of them). One of the cricket legs got stuck in my tonsil for the rest of the day. Problems.

Later that day from 5-7pm I heard of a "Monk Chat" that you can do at one of the Wats just outside the old city. I was supposed to be driven there with a group from my hostel but due to a miscommunication with departure times I wound up getting there on my own, which was a blessing in disguise - Instead of sitting in a room with everyone talking to the monks, I was introduced to one, Phet, who asked me if i wanted to interview him on Thai RADIO!!!!!!! FM 106 Mhz. anyone? This was literally the most unexpected, awesome part of the day. I interviewed Phet, a 24 year old university student on Thai radio for a whole hour and asked him questions about Monk life, his decision in becoming a monk, the difference in all the robe colors, what they all do in their spare time, what buddhism means to them, what the rules are that monks need to follow, the list goes on. i came there with NO questions prepared and just wound up having them all flow to me as our conversation went on. Another monk was filming the entire thing for a documentary which would be turned into a promotional youtube video for the Monk Chat program. 

Bad posture Celine

A fraction of the things I learned: He told me that the different colors represented different temples, and sometimes just different available dyes. Maroon would belong to Monks from Burma, which I later discovered as I met 2 Burmese monks there too. Each monk owns about 2-3 robes. They are not allowed to speak to one another about anything negative, or talk about their emotions. They have to internalize everything and release it through their meditation. They have to shave their heads and not have any facial hair because it has to do with attachment or possessions (ties in with emotion). They never ask for anything, they only receive from people. They are not allowed to have or make any money, no intercourse, no marriage, they're not allowed to lie or steal, or kill (this includes something as small as a mosquito). A day in the life of a monk is waking up early (as early as 430am sometimes), chanting in front of the Buddha, eating breakfast, meditating and praying, lunch, some more meditating, NO dinner (they only drink water for dinner, because they feel that the time it takes to make dinner is more useful for other more important things), and then free time afterwards (which means homework for the monks still in University). Phet in particular said he wanted to become a monk because he was a bad, mean child with anger issues and his parents wanted him to find peace. He's never looked back. Others say they want to become monks for the well-being of their families, their village and country, others want to understand Buddhism better, and others just want to learn English. The answers all vary. It was a fascinating hour and a half.

Me with Phet on the left, and 2 Burmese monks (middle is from a region close to Bangladesh and right one in maroon is from Tachileik, Burma which explains their different robe colors)

Wat Suan Dok, in which it took place. I left at sunset

The next day I took an all-day cooking class for $30, oh my GOD it was so amazing!!!! I learned how to make Pad Thai, Fried Fish Cakes, Hot & Sour Prawn/Shrimp Soup, Panaeng Curry Pork, and Mango Sticky Rice, and eat ALL of it. Needless to say I was stuffed by 4pm and did not eat dinner. We went to a local thai market to buy all of our ingredients and had time to explore the multiple stands.

Part of our work space for the day 

They taught us about all the different kinds of rice you could possibly use 

Huh...

Where we got our veggies

We also got an extensive Thai cook book which included all the dishes we chose and more. The Panaeng Curry Pork.... is to die for. It was the best meal i had my entire time in Thailand. I was one happy camper and thought, "...did I just make that? I made this?" And the Pad Thai was so easy, this experience and thai cook book are gonna be total kitchen game-changers once i come back home. 

My Pad Thai<3

Someone stationed next to me making their fried fish cakes

Eating the Panaeng Curry Pork I made UGH! And yes, we all had to wear those aprons and headbands

The next day I actually just lounged around with friends I made at the Hostel including Chris from Australia and Allie from the States who were both going to Burma together for a week, which made me feel dumb for not getting a Burma visa while I was in Bangkok. I had to finish up my time in Thailand though, because my Thailand Visa was running out in 3 days! This was my last day with friends (aww). So the next day I headed up to Thaton further up north where I spent one night. I was (and still am) all by myself again. I met the nicest locals here. 

From Thaton to Chiang Rai

I was advised by the owner of SpicyThai to travel to Chiang Rai via boat from Thaton instead of a direct bus, which wound up being a pretty cool idea as we stopped by several Hill Tribes and villages along the way, but I still didn't really see much... One of the stops was worthwhile because I approached a woman weaving textiles and decided to walk off the beaten path for an extra 15 minutes, where I bumped into a lone woman from the Akha Tribe, known for their artistry, originated from Tibet. She wore a beautiful headpiece with silver, beaded and feathered adornments. I approached her and went "Sawadee kah, photo? Suay-ma!" which means "Hello, photo? It's/you're beautiful!"

The pier at Thaton where I left to go to Chiang Rai

Really wish that bottle of Fanta wasn't there

Part of the hot springs

This boy was angrily determined to break up that dirt

The woman from the Akha tribe that I asked to photograph with her silver head piece

Passed this while on the boat, tons of mini huts where teenagers from the local villages hung out. I want one of those!

Chiang Rai 

I finally made it to Chiang Rai and went to their night market and stuffed myself with some more food. Chiang Rai's popular mode of transportation is the 1-passenger tricycle, pretty cool. Lots of handmade things at the night market. There was surprisingly another Akha woman there selling hand-made silks and other textiles but I wasn't sure if her costume was for show for the market or not. I bumped into this actor Jack who was filming a pilot for a new TV show where they try exotic drinks from around the world and it could wind up on a channel like Nat Geo. Pretty cool! Chiang Rai at a glance:

This morning before I had to rush up to Mae Sai to renew my visa, I knew I had to visit Wat Rong Khun in the outskirts of Chiang Rai. It is the most beautiful, insane temple i have EVER seen. Painted entirely in white, with a frosty shimmer created with silver mosaic tiles... And crazy plastered arms and limbs, faces and creatures from another world... It was absolutely worth the $1 public transportation I paid there-and-back for it. Made (and still not 100% finished) by a contemporary artist and a large team, they started working on it about 10 years ago. I was just in awe.... Were it not for time constraints, I would've sat down at this temple and drawn sketches in my journal until the sun went down. It is seriously a must-see... I still can't believe how cool this place is. It's just crazy. I have way too many pictures and closeups of this place so the rest are on fb.

Closeup of the silver mosaic detailing

I left this place still in shock, what an amazing work of art. I quickly got on the bus and made my way to Mae Sai, where I crossed the Burmese border for the rest of the day.

Myanmar (Burma)

Turns out i wound up going to Burma after all! I made it to Tachileik, Burma earlier today. Granted I was there for maybe 4 hours but I had to cross no matter what because it was the only way my Thailand Visa could get renewed for free. Can't believe it's already been a month. Well, my 4-hour stay in Myanmar was put to very good use. I walked over the bridge in between Thailand and Myanmar and got the goosebumps haha I don't know why. I guess it felt like I was stepping foot into another world, and a country that not very many people go to.... I was really excited. After the crazy shuffling past eager beggars, counterfeit sellers and tourist motorbike drivers at the bridge, I walked around on my own and stumbled across 2 places that were WELL worth my 4 hours there. I passed by the Shwedagon Pagoda, I think there are 2 in Burma, the other well known one is in Yangon. It is MASSIVE. I walked about a half mile more further into Burma and made my way to the Long Neck tribe, I've been wanting to see forever!!! I also noticed that all of the locals have a yellow powder all over their faces. I read somewhere that apparently it's a powder they think is good for the skin.

Halfway across the Bridge with Burma on the left and Thailand on the Right, divided by the Mekong River

Shwedagon Pagoda in Tachileik, Myanmar

Longneck woman weaving with her granddaughter, who loved pictures (she is too young to start wearing the gold rings).  The grandmother spoke no English at all.

The older daughter, whose English was much better. I asked her at what age she started wearing the gold bands to lengthen her neck and she said when she was 7 years old.

I asked for a typical Burmese meal at a local restaurant. DELICIOUS fish, seasoned noodles with eggs and other spices,  soup, green tea and a freshly squeezed orange juice (which came after i took the pic) for a whopping total of $2. I could get used to that.

Where I Am Now:

The Golden Triangle. I'm right at the intersection where Burma, Thailand and Laos meet and am staying at a REALLY nice bungalow for one night. I'm going to visit the famous Opium Museum and then I'm leaving for Chiang Kong where I can catch a 2-day slow boat the next morning and finish my Thailand Journey, and begin my Laos one. I've been alone the past 3 days, and am OK with it now... I'm getting used to the hellos and goodbyes, the days alone and the days shared with others. Laos will be a busy place with lots of backpackers though, I've been sort of off the beaten path the last few days because the owner of SpicyThai suggested it would be a cool experience, and it certainly has been. I know I will meet people again once i'm on the slow boat, and who knows how Laos will be...