Like my mother I think I must be developing a strange super-power that forces individuals I encounter to divulge their life-story to me. Or maybe Thai people are just really friendly. On the plane from Bangkok to Chang Mai I sat next to a man who had just been in America visiting his daughter. He was very eager to chat and practice his English. As the plane was touching down he told me that he is the police chief of the town near Chang Mai and then he gave me his phone number and told me to call him if I had any problems. I thought that was a lovely offer after only talking for an hour (he even made sure that I had a taxi to my hostel and told the taxi-driver to me nice to me). I checked into the coolest guest house ever (after a taxi ride in which the taxi driver told me all about her life). Gap's House is so beautiful and exactly what you imagine accomodations in Thailand should be. Everything is dark wood, old, and shaded. It has a courtyard full of plants, outdoor restaurants, and random antiques everywhere. The people are all friendly and helpful and people are always just randomly relaxing, sipping coffee or beer and enjoying the peaceful lull. It sortof seems like a step back in time. After a quick nap I went Wat-seeking (looking for temples). There are so many that on my way to the one listed on the map I stumbled across a handful of smaller ones. They are incredibly beautiful (and very different from the temples in Japan). They are bright and have huge murals all over the walls (the Japanese temples tend to be a more subtle kind of beautiful). At a Wat with the biggest pagoda in Thailand, I met some monks who I talked with for awhile. They said that 70% of Thai men become monks at some point in their lives. It was really interesting being able to talk to the monks (who were all about my age) and learn about Thailand, Buddhism and their lives. One of them is studying American history in his spare time and was impressing me with his knowledge about the Civil War (which seems so far away and foreign right now). Being a tourist you don't always get to talk to people about things outside the typical (how much is this? I'll have the pad thai, nice weather, etc).

Today I took a cooking course and learned how to make Green Curry, Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry, Fish Cakes, Fish Souffle, a Lemon-grass soup, Pad Thai, Spring rolls, and pumpkin filled custard. We got to eat all the food we cooked (and take some home for dinner). Such fun. But the truth is that I will never be able to make all of that stuff again. They made it so easy by buying the ingredients, cutting them, and putting them into separate bowls for us. All I had to do was toss things into a wok and add some spices. It was nice pretending I could cook, even for a few hours. They gave us beautiful cooking books with all the recipes we made (and a ton more) and lots of color pictures; this way I can look at it and fondly remember the one time I was able to cook.

Tomorrow I have decided to go on a 3-day (2 night) trek through the jungles of Thailand (I imagine they are jungles, but maybe forests, I will find out soon). We are going to visit two hill tribes (the Hmong and the Karen). They are very interesting and I am really excited. There is quite a bit of hiking involved though. But we get to ride bamboo rafts down the rapids and then ride elephants through the jungle. This being the hot dry season the forests aren't as green, but I was told there are far fewer spiders, snakes and mosquitoes. I am perfectly happy with that. This is also the low season so I will probably be going with quite a small group (I haven't met them yet). So excited!

Traveling alone can be fun (never have to agree with someone, I can just do what I want when I want to), but it can also get quite lonely. I got on really well with the people in my cooking class today (2 Americans and 4 Brits) so we are all going out for drinks tonight. I think that is when I miss having a traveling companion the most-- not during the day when I am busy anyways, but in the evening when I want to go out for a drink but don't want to sit in a bar by myself. Should be good fun.

Well now I'm off for some shopping before dinner and drinks.