i'm here still, kinda

but my teeth are great. let me tell you i was skeptical but ill get a truly FULL mouth of teeth

steppy the lizard

so i am sure at one time steppy was like the other lizards in thailand. you know, detachable tails and shooting tongues and such. he seemed at peace when we found him all sprawled out and full of vigor. it was also quite helpful that he fit into his new home, my journal with such ease. not a single complaint from this perfect new pet. when i first acquired steppy i think i might have totally grossed out a school girl. you know, seeing as how he was dead and everything but i just figured it would save us money. no vet visits or heating lamps and you can't argue with the grocery bill. he never even showed one sign of frustration when i asked him if he'd ever heard of geico. not our steppy the sidewalk amphibian. he is still with us today and i am going to help sneak him into amerikkka, the land of opportunity. he probably has friends in miami for all i know. so soon he will be steppy the amphibious alien invader from the gallows of northern thailand. i dont even have to fork out cash for a plane ticket. how perfect is that?
so after an eventful evening that left us glowing like paper lamps in a japanese restaurant we unconsciously felt entitled to sleep in the following morning (that's night for all of you). for two individuals whom are accustomed to waking up with the sun in the delectably enchantingly lands of se asia that was quite a victory and soon to become a repetitious one at that! hell yeah! we even had coffee in bed before embarking upon the great trek back to wat rong khun. we strolled to the bus station in the blazing humidity, showing off our farang colors. those being sweat marked shirts and found out that we again take the bus from bay 8. this bus is always there and cost 20B for foreigner and 15B for local. no arguments from me. its a long ways for less than a buck! it was cheaper for both of us to travel to the town and back than to buy a 20oz coke at home. when we got there we were a slightly concerned over the necessity of a tour guide. upon walking up but they let us in for free since we must be rock stars or something of that nature with our appearance! what happened next was a bit overwhelming. the sheer construction and artistic explosion of this wat was akin to figuring out the pattern to a rubics cube on your own when you are nine, more inspiring than reading neil gaiman's sandman series as a depressed 13 year old, more exciting than being the next contestant on the price is right. walking along a bridge with hundreds of hands reaching up for you on either side only to glide in into the wat itself behind a group of monks and aside ms. charity. it makes invigorated a non-descriptive word. then to glance upon the wall behind me and see a painting i could probably dissect for hours amidst the vibrations of such a architecturally sound sculpted worlds i have been engulfed by, god, how did i contain myself? the grounds proved brilliant and his bronze castings in the museum. holy shit (see i said it!), priceless. what wasn't priceless was the souvenirs i forgot in the sawngtheaw when we got back. it seemed we were both becoming a little forgetful more than likely from the heat and it's just stuff, really. on our way out i got coffee at the lad's shop at the same time she was having her cancer further diagnosed. i wrote the family good luck on her healing and health(chook di) in thai (my first time trying to write). while we were waiting for the bus back to chiang rai which was actually the sawngtheaw i left our purchases on some older people started looking at me tattoos and began grabbing me and pointing. they were only accustomed to the older style of tattooing (bamboo) so my detail was astounding to their eyes. they showed another local who was more middle aged and he was attempting to explain it was from a machine. then i made a buzzing sound while circling over my arm so they further understood! it was humbling. i like humbling. they waved energetically to us as we were carried away in our blue carriage!

so i only have a minute as this is the second most expensive computer in existence. just spent 3 days of hell on a small island. by hell i mean helluva good time that is. in chumpon being the main attraction in town. really the whole supermarket stopped to stare at once i think. creeeeepy. anyhow, trian to bangkok tonite and alot of writing coming. really i mean it this time.....

go to the police

so it's sunset time in mae low outside of the wat and i get coffee from this couple who laugh over me asking for it in thai. sit down and we take some more pthotographs and enjoy the sunset. then we head back to find out where to wait for the bus back to chiang rai. only there is one problem. the sun is almost gone and there is no bus coming until following day. we went back to the wat searching for a ride in one of the vans but basically got laughed at and asked a shop owner who sent us to the police station. when we got ahold of them they tried to explain things to us and we did to them which involved laughter and confusion simultaneously. ultimately he waved his hand in teh air and said something and walked inside showing us where to stay sitting. we didn't have a slue as to what we were supposed to or not to be doing. a bus came by and i waved since that's what he did. nobody waved back. no bus pulled over. we had no clues. then he walked out with a huge headlamp. i thought he's gonna flag one down. well he walked in the back, came back out front and had some eggs, he went and picked the coop. so now im and toitally lost. then a car pulled up and a woman asked us to get in. he said to also and so we did. what the hell right? turns out he called around and found us a ride with someone leaving the area. we get in the car and the woman driving is a truama student in bangkok but her mom has neck cancer and she is leaving her studies aside to go take her to the doctor. he mother was the woman who sold me the coffee and had her ask me why i didnt ask her for a ride. funny, i wouldn't have htought too. she speaks english liek a pro and hopes to one day go to america. she has a friend in miami. i htink there is a decent amount of thai people in miami as i ahve heard this city brougt up many times. l.a. takes second. she takes us to town and drops us off at the night bazaar and contiues on ready to take her mother to lampang to the cancer center at 5 in the morning. we feel so fortunate and thankful for the ride. holy crap they saved us. we walk around and grab a fdew goodies then settle down to have a bite to eat. i end up ordering green curry and we watch this drag queen perform with huge stuffed animalesque boobs perfrom a lipsynch about a cnaadian who can't handle the hot food in thialand. it goes on and points out how it's hot gfoing in and hot going out. freakin hilarious. im also stunned because i understand some of it. im getting better. i think my little bit of thai really helps us here with buying things and rides. kinda seperates us from teh other farang and makes things alot cheaper.

kun kow jai pasat thai nit noy krap

yes, i speak a little thai. i was ordering food alot in chiang rai speaking only thai as well as asking to go places and such. it felt really good and i think it was appreciated although i have found out some tonal differences i need to be careful of. primarily ow pet maak maak. which if you say pet in a low tone means spicy but in a high tone means sex. so you are either telling your server you want spicy very much or you want sex very much. which can be hilarious when to a teen but not so when to a grandmother. just thought you should know. so we took a local bus to mae low to go to wat rong khun otherwise known as the white wat. after sitting on the engine for the ride over i was hotter than a man jogging in a snowsuit in new orleans in august. still this wat is better than disneyland. the place is amazing. we got there and went to the food market across the highway to get some delicious we have no idea what we were eating food for dirt cheap (a full meal for 10B or $.30). there were little bones and crunchy parts we just couldn't break through. but we did our best and the stray dogs cleaned up our remains. we walk over to the wat and see that it's closed for the day. but catching it at sundown and walking around taking pictures was still so intense. this is some serious art started in 1998 by chalermchai kositpipat. who is a master at his work. when completed there will be nine buildings on the ground and he is training a team to carry on the work after he dies until their demise as well. a lifetime dedication. no kidding. now be forewarned that there is a sign up saying that foreigner is not allowed any longer without a tour guide due to continued disrespectful behavior. so women cover you legs and shoulders, men do the sam and no taking pictures inside at all or of a buddha image without sitting down. show some respect. i will continue this later with the saga of missing the last bus home...

a little town called chiang rai

so here i am already back in chiang mai and with a full set of teeth on top in my mouth right now and all i can do is rant about the past. what a crock, eh? well what do you expect when i'm busy doin rather than sitting in some 90 degree internet cafe drinking coffee on ice hoping the water in it wont give me diarrhea. so take a drink of whatever is nearest you and heres a little more about chiang rai and the fabulous new guesthouse. so we moved to a new home. it's name is lek house and it rules the address if you end up there is 95 Banphaprakan Road, Chiang Rai. from what i have read this place used to be a dump but has progressed into a wonderful and comfortable living hospice. we were walking there after seeing a room in a pamplet stating 300B and it looked like a 800b room. right before we realized where we were charity exclaimed," could you imagine if you lived here?" little did she know she did. there is a little seating area where they serve you a free breakfast in the morning separate from the restaurant that is overly haunted by locals while open (hence it's good and has an ice cream shoppe), then there's the pool which we never took advantage of but saw the owners in. the room had a huge bed that was super comfortable, great windows and fan and the bathroom was also just as remarkable. it was perfect. and located in a fabulous spot. we were particularly fond of seeing if the lotus flowers were open or not when we left in the morning. its a hard life ya know. oh did i mention they have free, really i'm not screwing around with you, free, wifi. amazing. i actually wrote to you, my valued reader, from that very wifi. no shit.
oh and may i mention one thing. bne was not in chiang rai. thank god. bastard. i'
m going ot go to bed now but know that we are doing great and the weather is colling down. had amazing food tonite and tomorrow we go to doi suthep and wat u-mong all in one day. you wish you were this badass right now! hah. next entry i will talk about wat rhon khun. you dont want to miss it....