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!