Northern Thailand by Foot, Bike, Bus, and Motorbike

Compilation of thoughts from emails sent in Northern Thailand to different people on November 30^th after a 4-day motorbike (110cc of pure power) adventure, chasing the Burmese border, and preparing to head to Laos:

things are going really well...sadly i had to turn in my little blue motorbike yesterday, ah, but he was good company. there was even a bob marley sticker on the side of him. ha! not my doing... i had a good time in mae sai, and some great conversations with a burmese (of the shan people) man yesterday morning. learned a lot more about the political situation there; was moved by the plight of the different people groups in myanmar/burma and their hope for just rule. he also let me borrow a book "twilight over burma: my life as a shan princess" which was actually very well-written and a great intro to burmese history. after that, i rode to chiang sean, and was planning to spend the night there. but i passed through the golden triangle on my way from mae sai, and after sitting there for a while and watching the river, decided that i'd ride the long way back to chiang rai instead. i enjoyed riding the empty backroads of thailand immensely - great time for thinking and contemplating, too. thoughts about oppressed people everywhere (tibetans, burmese/shans, latinos, systemic discrimination, etc, etc), thoughts about my time in thailand, what to do in laos, wondering what my family is up to, hoping my former students are doing okay, all while passing through the golden fields of rural thailand.

stayed the night in chiang rai. wandered into a night bazaar with live music. wanted to paint a picture of what it was like. i was sitting at a yellow folding table on a yellow folding chair in the middle of a U-shape of vendors, listening to music, watching a performance. thai families eating, groups of teenagers mingling over with fruit shakes and fried noodles, pad thai, green curry, fried intestines on the menus. lady boys. foreign couples. old men with young thai women. nearly full moon, stars obscured by city light. florescent pink lights on the stage. an occasional cockroach scurrying by. laughter, conversations, people talking, walking, watching.

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