Bangkok...Here I Come!

First off, I have good news: it looks like I will be studying at Thammasat University next semester! It's a university in Bangkok, and I will be there essentially as an international exchange student. The enormous capital is pretty intimidating, but hopefully I'll be fairly comfortable with most things Thai by then. So I guess it won't be till May-ish that I return to American soil...

Well, we had another Friday Fun Day at school last week. Instead of the usual black and white school uniform, everyone arrived in their hiking gear armed with plenty of water, bugspray, and rain gear. We were hiking Doi Suthep. If you remember, that is the mountain with the huge, beutiful Wat (temple) on top. We left school at around 9 in the morning and drove to the base of the hill. By this time, it had been raining for hours. Not a heavy pouring rain, but a steady light rain. This, however, was much preferable over the potential sun and heat. So basically 33 of us students plus 3 instructors headed up. The trail was obviously wet and therefore muddy and slippery. It was narrow with rainforest surrounding it on both sides and above. You often had to duck under or clamber over downed trunks, leaning branches, or draping vines. Walking over sheets of rock was especially slippery, and shallow roots often criss-crossed through the dirt path. Also, several rivers ran across the trail, necesitating some intricate crossings. Not to mention, the whole switchback thing is a pretty foreign concept, and the trail often headed straight uphill. Add it all up and it made for a fun, messy, and not quite leisurely trek. Plus, it felt so good to be outside moving around again. And we made a few stops along the way.

We had been following a stream up the mountain. As we rounded a corner, the stream widened and flowed thinly over huge sheets of rock. On the opposite bank, a collection of walls, staircases, roofs, and sculptures seemed to grow out of the woods. We had reached a forest Wat (temple). Many buildings made up the compound. Some looked very old, with moss and vegetation flowing out of the cracks in between bricks. The main temple was a newer looking room featuring an impressive buddha peacefully sitting at the front of the space. There was also housing for the monks who lived there. We got some time to explore and admire. It was great because there were no other tourists around. Only us, the occasional monk, and the undisturbed giant spiders waiting in their webs. Since the roots of Buddhism are so ingrained in nature, I feel like it only makes sense to seek enlightenment in such a natural environment.

Our next stop along the mountain was at a waterfall. It was almost as big as the one we had seen on our retreat, and just as beautiful. At the base of the fall, we had lunch. Everyone grabbed a package about the size of a head of lettuce that was wrapped in a giant lotus leaf. We opened up the lotus leaves only to find an apple alongside several other smaller packages wrapped in banana leaves. There were: 2 big pieces of chicken, sticky rice, assorted cooked vegetables (including a delicious pumpkin/squash thing), fried shallots?, and nam prik (spicy chili paste). Everything was SO good! And it was pretty cool to know that all of the 'waste' from our meal was not really waste at all-- we chucked it all in compst bins.

After the waterfall, the trail got a bit steeper as we continued uphill. But it seemed like every 4 turns we took, another roaring waterfall would present itself. It was beautiful, enjoyable hike; despite the occasional leech findings. Eventually we made it up to the National Park center on top of Doi Suthep. There, we changed into some cleaner, more appropriate clothes before our taxis took us around to the front of the mountain. Then, we got an hour to explore the temple. Not surprisingly, it was just as beautiful as the first time I saw it (even if it is a tourist trap). We all enjoyed some snacks and the free time after our long walk. And then, we enjoyed a luxury taxi ride back down the mountain to school.

The rest of the weekend was spent with my family. All of us girls went out to a Korean restaurant one night. Essesntially, there was just a buffet of raw meat and seafood which you then cooked at your table on this little wood burning stove thing. It was delicious and fun, as long as you are patient and don't mind the inevitable cross-contamination of raw and cooked meat. I also went to the zoo with Paw and Fai (she has been talking about it for weeks). It's a huge place and you have to take shuttles to get around, but overall it's not too different from our zoos-- just not as high-tech or clean. The weekend also involved many hours watching a DVD of a Thai popstar's concert, shopping for traditional Lanna (Northern Thai) clothing, discovering the political beliefs of my family, and eating some pig's blood. Unfortunately, it was the last weekend that I will be living my family. On Saturday, we all move into apartments. I'm excited to have alot more independence and freedom, but pretty sad that I won't be coming home to these fun, exciting, and helpful Thai people everyday. No worries though-- they're always asking if I will visit. My reply: Absolutely!