Chiang Mai

We've been here for a very relaxing week now--a combination of laying by the pool and reading, visiting the markets, and sightseeing. On Tuesday we took a Thai cooking class where we learned how to make Pad Thai, green curry, fish souffle carved garnishes, like tomato roses and onion daises, and 3 other dishes. It was a lot of fun. There were three other couples and we did a lot of visiting and joking around. We're feeling pretty confident in our skills now, so we've decided to offer a Thai dinner to our most faithful correspondent--if you're willing to take the risk.

The cattle auction on Saturday was very interesting. We couldn't quite figure out what the process was. It was mostly hundreds of cattle and water buffalo all tied up in areas through which the prospective buyers would wander. We did not find any kind of central auction place and it appeared that it was mostly individuals selling to individuals. We couldn't determine prices for the cattle. There were a lot of interesting looking people there, Thai cowboys I guess.

We also say some cock-fighting going on, with bets all around. It was all men of course. We took a sangthaew from Chiang Mai to this small town. A sangthaew is a pick-up truck with a roof, open sides and two parallel benches. The process is you hail one, ask if it's going where you want, and hop on. It was a little tricky trying to figure out where to get off. You watch the road signs, hoping to see an occasional one in English. Wemissed by only about 1 1/2 miles.

Yesterday we attended a Thai Church. Even tho it's primarily Thai, they are really welcoming and inclusive for foreign guests. They provide headsets with English translation for those who need it and English translation for the songs. It was a great service, even though it did go on for over 2 hours--about 10 minutes of announcements, a half hour sermon and an hour and a half of praise songs.

Today we're heading about an hour north into the mountains and staying a few days at the Chiang Dao Nest, where as you might have guessed we hope to do some birding.