Chiang Mai

So, we're back safe and sound after a tremendous week in Thailand. Thank you for your support, prayers, and well-wishing. Unfortunately, it turned out to be nearly impossible to connect (reliably) to the internet, and what's more, our days were jam-packed with activities, so I gave up the idea of updating this blog a day or so after my last post. I did, however, fill a small pocket notebook with chicken scratch I will try to transcribe in the next few days. Here's a start: 

We left Bangkok for Chiang Mai in time for Yee Peng, or the Floating Lantern Festival, and the longest and weirdest parade I have ever witnessed. I'm not kidding. It went on for over two hours, then it started to rain. And it just kept going. And going. 

On our first night in Chiang Mai, we also had our first taste of the much touted street food. It was good, and cheap. Kris and I both had stir-fried noodles, wontons, and fruit smoothies for less than $4. And the satay was just 30 cents for two skewers! (see close up below; yeah, I ate four of those bad boys)

During Yee Peng, rice paper lanterns are lit and released as a good luck ceremony symbolizing forgiveness. The sky over Chiang Mai was dotted with these flickering lanterns rising like tiny stars. I even spied several young Buddhist monks and a small boy lighting one. We got ours off the ground eventually, but not nearly as artfully as the monks.  

Yee Peng Festival, Chiang Mai

On our second day in Chiang Mai, we visited the Destiny Rescue Cafe & Bakery where we had an amazing lunch.The café is run by a lovely Australian couple and the food and coffee were fantastic.

The beautiful staff at Destiny Rescue Cafe & Bakery

While lunch was being prepared, we got a tour of Destiny Threads, the high-tech screen printing outfit behind the cafe. Someone generous donated this insane piece of equipment, and they're making really cool shirts. You should buy one. Your purchase will go to a good cause. 

After lunch, guided by Sarah (pictured top left above), a sweet, bright, dedicated volunteer who teaches English among other things, we visited the Chiang Mai rescue home.

Chiang Mai rescue home

Later that night (or the next, or the previous, I can’t remember now), we were treated to the Sukhontha Buffet, an indoor-outdoor restaurant the size of Walmart. It was kind of like a Melting Pot only much bigger, and instead of fondue, we grilled our own meats and vegetables on these little hot coal grills. There were hundreds of stainless steel bins filled of meats, seafood, and other unrecognizable food to choose from. I eventually found the pork and chicken (I think) and ate until I could barely move.

Sukhontha Buffet

Later yet, a few of us enjoyed fish footies at one of the spas. If you’ve never enjoyed hundreds of minnows devouring the dried skin from your feet, I recommend it without reservation. It's a game changer. 

Hawk feet with hungry fish

Day One (Continued)

It has been difficult finding time write, so I apologize if these next posts are a little too hurried and piecemeal.

So, after taking the girls to the amusement park (now a couple days ago), we returned to our hotel for a quick dinner and then headed out to visit two of the more popular red light districts in Bangkok: Soi Cowboy and Nana Plaza. 

We were led by an Aussie named D----- (aka Mike), one of the Destiny Rescue guys who rescues girls and organizes and participates in raids with the police. Mike is badass. He recently arranged a raid at Nana Plaza (dubbed the world’s largest adult playground) with the police and managed to successfully shut down an establishment that was employing under-age girls. But just trying to get a cab to take us to the infamous Soi Cowboy (“Soi” is Thai for “Street”) was an ordeal. I watched Mike flag down at least four cabs whose grinning cab drivers just shook their heads and drove off.

Soi Cowboy

Cowboy 2 on Soi Cowboy

It would be difficult and a little painful to try to describe these places. Perhaps because of my own naivety, or because I have never been to Vegas, I wasn’t anticipating all the glitz, nor the absurd “uniforms” the young women wore, eye candy for countless older white men all wide-eyed and drunk. We were instructed not to enter any of the bars, which were basically strip clubs attached to the high rise chain hotels behind them.

Nana Plaza

The most harrowing experience of the night, however, was the mile walk from Soi Cowboy to Nana Plaza where there were more prostitutes but in greater desperation, and countless street vendors peddling their wears—kitsch, DVDs, pipes, rifle scopes, sex toys, you name it. Most troubling of all were the utterly destitute—women with their children asleep on the sidewalk, children who will likely be sold in a few years to the brothels. And then there were the two men lying face down on the concrete, both missing limbs. 

The only comfort I found (dropping change in their cups offered none) is a passage from Psalm 12 my friend Doug sent before we left: 

    In the hovels of the poor
    Into the dark streets where the homeless 
    groan, God speaks: 

    "I've had enough; I'm on my way
    To heal the ache in the heart of the wretched.

Day One (Abbreviated)

I will attempt to fill in the gaps in the next couple days, but wanted to get a quick postcard out now that we finally have reliable wi-fi. The connection in Bangkok, where we stayed our first two nights, was unreliable. We arrived in Chiang Mai today and had our first opportunity to rest from the long flights and a jam-packed day in Bangkok. After sleeping just a few hours, we woke early our first day to visit one the rescue homes and take the girls to church.

Mahapawn Bangkok Alliance Church

Afterward, our team took the girls to Siam Park City amusement park. Most of them had never ridden a roller coaster, so it was a delight—an immeasurable delight—seeing their contagious smiles and reckless laughter. 

Siam Park City

Those are the girls on the left. More on that soon. We're off to dinner and street markets in a few. 

Postcards from Thailand

Dear Friends (Old and New):

Hard to believe seven years have passed since my last entry in the Guatemala Notebook. Easy to believe that, out of pure laziness, I never took the blog down! Now that Kris and I are leaving for Thailand for nine days, her suggestion that I resurrect this notebook made sense. As one reticent about broadcasting anything through social media channels, I thought it a better idea than starting a new blog (or worse, opening a Facebook account!).

In any case, my intention is to post a few dispatches while we’re away. Or call them postcards. Kris will keep you updated through Facebook, and if you're interested, you can check here for what time and internet connectivity allow me to say.