Yeah.. so I survived the big V-day… I think the e-mail from Cass really helped. As much as it didn’t bring her any closer… it sorta felt that way for a little bit.
I went to the No Viagara Needed Party at Forest Drunk, a bar here in Chiang Mai which is owned by this really funky Thai chick named Tak who is friends with Ooh. She gave us chocolate and strawberries.. it was nice.
I got a bit worried when I went to the bar for a drink (Thai Silk – if you get a chance, get this drink!) and returned to Ooh and Naomi and they were no where to be found. So… I sat there and wondered what had happened to them (not ruling out alien abduction – I really was not looking forward to returning to their place and finding their bodies missing their lips and major organs…) – eventually I got up the courage to go to a table that had two girls at it and ply for sympathy that my friends had disappeared. Turned out that (a) they knew Naomi and Ooh and (b) the one girl was from Hamilton.. I chatted with them and eventually the couple returned with smiles on their faces.. reminding myself what day it was… I left it alone.
Eventually I got bored with the guy that had also joined our table. He was a “hustler” and sometimes English teacher from Vegas who had been living in Thailand for like three years… he just seemed like a cocky punk to me. So I went to the bar and grabbed a pineapple rum drink and chatted with this girl from Detroit. Turns out she’s a photographer, mostly freelance but recently started her own studio.. in Thailand for about 20 more days but may extend her trip… we chatted for about an hour or so… and then realized that there was a remarkable number of police at the entrance (the whole bar is outside, it is very cool!). Best we could figure, one of Tak’s rival bars fed the police a tip that there was a lot of drugs at her bar… so they came and started searching people. Fortunately for me I left my crack pipe and opium refinery kit in my other pants – not that I got searched… but you know.. you can never be to cautious.
After that little thing, the vibe of the place was killed and it was about 1:30 anyway.. so hopping on Ooh’s scooter, Ooh, Naomi and myself headed home.
Today I’ve spent randomly wandering around Chiang Mai… it is a nice city… and as much as everyone said it is nearly as big as Bangkok.. I can’t see it… it seems much smaller. I also set myself up with a trek tomorrow morning. For 800 Bhat (about $25-30) I get picked up from where I’m staying, vanned out to an elephant camp where we take elephants for an hour long trek towards a hill tribe village. We then walk back, take a van up to a spot where we do some bamboo rafting, then some food and another hike to another hill tribe village. The money was a bit pricey, but I have this small list of things I want to do in Thailand, and riding an elephant is one of them.
I also spent some time in the city’s royal wat (Buddhist temple) and then cruised the Sunday Market where I finally got the cotton pants I’ve been wanting (also got a cotton shirt… together for 160 bhat (or like $5)… and I picked up a little something for Cass for Valentine’s Day.
Now I’m going to walk back down to Ooh’s and depending on the price, I might catch a movie at the mall.. I heard it was cheap and, I’m betting it’ll be air con’d.
