Entries this day: Day_trip State_of_My_Life_Address

Day trip

2:24pm ICT Saturday 12 June 2010 (day 14689)

Air drove me on her motorcycle to a cool temple on a hill. The temple included a school for young monks (monkies?) and some huge beautiful paintings on the walls, depicting the chains of the real world vs the freedom of nirvana.

Further along the road to an animal research center place that had monkeys in reallllly too small cages, and I was like, "I want to let them all out!" They were going stir crazy in their cells, some of them alone, or up to four monkeys in one cage.

Recorded a bit of video of some cute piglets, and then some video of peacocks flying themselves up at the top of their cage, and one of them escaping. Nice!!

Now we're in a little shop on the side of the road having noodles and veggies.

5:15pm ICT Saturday 12 June 2010 (day 14689)

Air said her head hurt a bit after climbing 300+ steps (and driving motorcycle all morning in the sun) and is taking a quick nap in this temple with a view overlooking Chiang Mai.

State of My Life Address

5:17pm ICT Saturday 12 June 2010 (day 14689)

State of My Life Address

1. I live in Imm Eco, my resort away from home, in Chiang Mai, Thailand!

2. I'm in the middle of 3 months in Thailand, most of which I'm spending in Chiang Mai (2.5 months), most of which I'm attending Sunshine Massage School (9 weeks X 30 hours per week)

3. Tik is my favorite receptionist at Imm Eco. She works basically from 3pm to midnight, or 2pm to 11pm. She recently helped me move from room 1111 to 4217 (because Imm Eco moved everyone out of my building to do some roof repair).

4. On Friday I finished my 2nd two week Thai massage course, with Shane, Shawn, and Wayne as my fellow students. Air taught the class, her first in English!

5. Have made some videos featuring U-Cow in the pool at Imm Eco. Fun times.

6. Online, have Johnny's website with several pictures. I'm hoping to get U-Cow shifted to a new easier-to-use website.

7. I've finished two beginner courses of Thai massage at Sunshine Massage School. One with Ohm and the second with Air. I'll take my third course starting Monday with Air.

8. Been hanging out with Shawn, Shane, and Wayne from the class a lot. We went to Tiger Kingdom, and to an elephant show and snake show (behind the scenes abuse in the first two cases (tigers are drugged, elephants are mentally broken), and, ignored, but abuse right during the snake show.

   Also went to "long neck" village last weekend and met Mana. I asked curious questions about her life. Six years in the village the size of a few sports fields, can't go back to Burma, but life is better here where water and food are more readily available. She learned English and Thai by listening to tourists for 6 years. In the village, they still speak Kayan. Her husband regularly makes 100 baht per day (enough for 3 small servings (no drink) at street vendors). She makes between 0 and 500 baht per day. It costs 500 baht per month to send her son to school.

3:36pm ICT Monday 14 June 2010 (day 14691)

1. Have now essentially finished the first day of my third beginner course.