Uh Oh

I know it has been a bit since we checked in, but I assure you we are having a fantastic time. In fact, last night, I had one of the best evenings of our trip, thanks largely to the reappearance of one of our favorite people in Thailand, the very handsome Oh.

We first met Oh in Maechan when he helped the local club tour us around for the day. All of us girls were a bit taken by his good looks but even more so by his warm and funny personality. We saw him again the next night at the Rotary meeting, and he volunteered to drive us ladies home so we could all spend an extra half hour together. Such a sweetheart.

So back to last evening. When we checked our new schedule for Chiang Mai, we noticed it now listed a magic show for Wednesday night. We knew Oh and his friend, Jerry, were working on producing a magic show with hill tribe students and a magician from Belgium. We wondered (hoped) if it could me the same show. The prospect of seeing Oh again raised our spirits. (Shopping around the Ban Tawai wood carving village also helped.) When we got in the car, we saw the VIP invitation to the show with a picture of the magician we had met and knew it was indeed the same show.

All day long I looked forward to seeing Oh again, and he did not disappoint. We were hooked up with third row VVIP (yes, very, very) seats at an event for 3,000 people, including an important government minister, and the show was fantastic. I have not seen a magic show as good in the states, and these were high school students who had only been practicing for seven weeks. Afterwards, despite many other offers, Oh chose to go out with the GSE team and our (also handsome) host for the evening, Golf. We had a terrific evening, and as Roger says, “What happens in Chiang Mai stays in Chiang Mai.”

Heather

Aungkhrang Mountain

We began the day by taking an hour and half drive up into the Aungkhrang Mountains. It is the 2nd tallest mountain in Thailand. It is a very curvy drive. We were told that most tourist attempt to go see the Royal Project in the mountains, but are unsuccessful and often turn back around. It was reiterated to us that this was a special treat. It was a very scary drive. The drive had some really sharp turns to make and often we had to stop because horses would be in the middle of the road. It was a very slow trek up the mountain. It was well worth the drive, because the view was delightful. Aungkhrang is the very first project of the Royal family. They conduct lots of agricultural research at this facility. It was established to teach the hill tribes humanitarianism, help the national by reducing the destruction of natural resources in terms of forest and watershed, to stop opium cultivation, to conserve soil and make proper use of land that is to avoid the encroachment of cultivated fields upon forest areas, and to produce cash crops for the benefit of Thai economy. The king purchased this land for 200,000 Baht. I am not quite sure how the hill tribes benefit from this projects. From what my eyes can see they are still struggling.
Then we looked at the Royal Garden, Bonsai Garden, and then we drove to the military base. Across the border we could see the Burmese army at their post. It was a little scary considering the relationship that the two countries have with each other. We were heading to see the Royal home, but it started raining. My team and I didn't really feel like walking in the rain to look at a building from the outside, because you couldn't go in. So we began our journey back down the mountain. Coming down was as scary as going up. It was slippery, wet, and we had to drive even slower. However, we did make it down safely. Kudos to our driver.
We are suppose to walk around the city this evening, but as of now it is still raining. Yei is suppose to take us to her house to teach us how to make a special dish. You guessed it Tum Yum soup. Several of the team members are hoping to try Durian Fruit while we are here. It is suppose to smell really bad, but have a delightful taste. I'm not sure if I will try it or not. We will have to see.

Wendy

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

My father sent that quote to me and I love it. It speaks volumes in one simple line. I am truly enjoying my experience here in Thailand. I believe that each of us are on this journey for our own personal reasons and we are each receiving what we need from this experience to make us better individuals. This trip has allowed much time for meditation and self reflection. There have been moments that were very uncomfortable for me, but there have been way more positive and uplifting moments and experiences. I will cherish these moments throughout my life. I am feeling exhausted and fatigued from the constant go go go and the lack of sleep, but I am still learning so much about Thailand and it's wonderful people that it gives me the strength and the motivation to continue. I have meet people along this journey that I hope will remain lifetime friends. Imagine meeting new people every 2 to 3 days and building friendships with them to only have to leave and start the process all over again. You have to get some pretty tough skin or you'll find yourself crying and missing individuals way too often. This has been and will continue to be such a learning experience for each of us. We will leave Fang on Wednesday and head back to Chiang Mai. From there we will head to Bangkok, Phuket, and then Kao Pi Pi. I am anxiously awaiting the rest of this trip. It is a bitter sweet moment. I will miss a lot of people and sights of Thailand, but I am missing my family and home. Pray that the rest of my time in Thailand be as educational and exciting as the previous days.

Psalm 19:14: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."

Wendy

The Team Leader Checks In

After much prodding and nudging from the Team I have decided to add something to the blog.

We only have a few more days to go and this once in a lifetime experience will be over. But the memories will last forever.

To throw five people together is an event unto itself, but the fact that things have gone extremely well speaks to the quality of the Team.

I appreciate Peter for his input. He is a world traveler and has been helpful to all of us. Wendy I look to for help when things seem to be changing a little too fast. She has been a calming influence for all of us. Jamie brightens things up and has been an inspiration for all of us to try new things. And Heather (better known as Natalie...but that is another story) keeps us going with her wit and wisdom.

The most important factor for me is that they have represented Rotary and especially District 06460 extremely well. I am very proud of all of them.

One Rotary moment. Heather had a birthday Sat. and the conference gave her a cake and flowers. And to top it off we had another party at another place. But, you know what they say..."what happens in Chaing Mai stays in Chaing Mai"

your grizzled veteran team leader
roger

False peak

Last summer, Mom and I were taking a tram up Mount Untersberg near Salzburg, Austria (the mountain Julie Andrews is supposedly but not really climbing in The Sound of Music). As the car shook, it was a bit scary, and most in the tram were looking forward to the peak we could see in the distance. When we got there, however, we kept moving and below us was a steep drop. Ahead was the real peak. We had to brace ourselves again to make it all the way.

This weekend at District Conference seems like a false peak. It was a natural culmination to our exciting journey, but the journey is not over yet. We have another day here in Fang before four more in Chiang Mai. It is not a lot of time, but I think we all need to brace ourselves for the final steep climb.

Heather

Good times, conference style

So, one of the unexpected pleasures of the Rotary district conference that we attended this past weekend was seeing "old" friends. As we had traveled to ten or so different places and met scads of great people, we were excited to see them again in Chiang Mai. Sure enough, folks from every city we had visited were present. Admittedly, I couldn't remember everyone's name or face but those I did were quite welcome sights for these well-traveled eyes.

Best of all, we got to see again three of the five Thai GSE team members who will travel to Illinois next month--and finally meet the fourth and fifth. Predictably, the remaining two folks were as fun as the first three. We went out with them on Friday to Chiang Mai's legendary night bazaar and then again on Saturday night--post conference--to celebrate Heather's birthday at one of the city's many clubs. Lets just say that what happens in Chiang Mai stays in Chiang Mai!

Peter

Celebrating with 300 of my closest friends

This weekend has at the District Conference has been surprisingly relaxing and featured more English than we were expecting. We give our presentation later today. I think it will go well as we are quite prepared.

Yesterday, the girls "surprised" me with a Happy Birthday in front of the entire conference at dinner. I put surprise in quotes because I knew they were planning something. The Thailand GSE team arranged for the biggest and most beautiful flower bouquet I have ever seen and brought over a delicious cheesecake. There was, as always, much smiling and picture taking. If the people thought I looked like Miss Universe before, the look was now complete with the giant bouquet.

Heather