Zen-like

Yesterday, I entered a zen-like state that every backpacker dreams about. I woke up early in the morning in Chiang Rai and felt like being adventurous--Lonely Planet be damned. Speaking very little Thai, I got on a bus whose direction and destination I did not know. Being the only gringo, I got a lot of attention during the ride and fast made friends with half a dozen Thais. (I knew I was in when Seli gave me a wallet-sized picture of him.) I got off when the bus would not go any further.

Arriving in Chiang Saen, a border town on the Mekong, I found an old Thai woman with a guest house willing to put me up. From there I was able to rent a motorcycle (sorry mom) and drive all around the countryside. I would stop whenever I saw people farming or fishing and tried to impress them with the few Thai words that I know (hello, thank you, good, sun, rain, rice, horse, nine, beautiful, friend). There were huge smiles and laughs all the way around yesterday.

The other good news is that I am still able to find other places beautiful after being in Nepal. The countryside is gorgeous, and was what I came to south east Asia expecting to find. Rice fields dominate the landscape, interrupted only occasionally by lush mountains. The rain can be torrential but lasts only for a few minutes. The mighty Mekong is indeed mighty...and muddy. I am in my happy place.