Chiangmai Continues

Tigers on Tuesday
"No eat him! No eat her!" the tiger trainer kept saying as Eric and I petted 19-month-old Sunflower, a full-sized tiger. At times I would look up and realize that, as I petted one tiger, there were two others within springing distance.

Of course, there was something unnatural about the harmlessness of these animals. If petting "tame" tigers in a center is safe and ethical, why don't people do it more often? I'm not sure, but tigers are magnificent creatures and I'm glad that I got the chance to get so close to them--and even more glad that they didn't eat me.

But petting the tigers wasn't even the highlight of the day. Oh no. That came later, when Eric and I spent a lazy evening listening to live music, sipping drinks, and chatting.

Elephants!

I'm always afraid to trust the people I meet when I'm traveling. Does the seemingly nice lady who comes up to me on the street really want to help, or is she just looking to sell me something? Will the "great deal" actually turn out to be a sham? Traveling though Thailand, I've been amazed to see how many people actually do want to help and really are just being friendly.

That's the way I felt about elephants. They're big! They're heavy! When the first one came bounding up to me this morning, I was cautious. But, within the first five minutes of Eric's and my Mahout (elephant rider) training course, I knew those guys just wanted to have fun. And eat bananas. Lots and lots of bananas.

Banjos in Thailand

One thing I've seen a lot of living in Asia: markets. I've seen regular Chinese markets, tourist markets, a high altitude Himalayan market, Muslim markets, livestock markets--I wasn't expecting that much from Bangkok's weekend extravaganza.

But Lonely Planet wasn't kidding when it said this was one of the largest markets in the world. The massive map showed stalls selling food, clothes, animals, animal feed, and even a tiny square marked "cock fighting." Eric and I thought we had seen most of it, only to check the map and realize that our hours of wandering had covered less than a third of the market's area.

And this market was different from other markets I've seen in Asia. Yeah, it had some fake purses, but there was also artwork, fresh smoothies, and cool T-shirts. Toursity or not, I was impressed.

Beach Days

"Sunset everday!" advertises one of the guesthouses near ours. "Really?" I want to ask, "Every day?"

But that's the point of life here on Koh Phangan, an Island in southern Thailand: when your routine is eat, sunbathe, swim, repeat, there's no need to do anything out of the ordinary. We did make an exception for massages, though.

Koh Phangan is the party capitol of the world, but with Eric on antibiotics (and finally feeling a bit better!) and me no big fan of drinking alone, we've been keeping to our quiet beach bungalow in the northern part of the island.

Lying on a beach may be fun, but it doesn't make for riveting reading, so I'll keep this short. More to come in the next few days as we head back to Bangkok an then on to some more cultural destinations!

Hello, Thailand!

I kept saying I wasn't going to Thailand. Everyone goes to Thailand, I said. All there is to do is sit on the beach and eat and drink and get massages, I said. I say the darndest things.

Luckily, I decided there are worse things than a beach vacation, and it might be, you know, fun. With my first bites of Thai curry, I was wholeheartedly eating any naysaying words. And then I had dinner again at a different restaurant, because the food here is that good.

Home Away from Home

One of the best things about having the family in China is that I've gotten to enjoy a lot of the things I've missed over the last year, among them eating Christmas cookies, swapping music with Eric, and losing at Scrabble (Thanks, Mom. The world is at peace.).

But if the family is bringing a bit of home to me, it's even more fun to show them some of my favorite things about China and there's no better place to do that than Yangshuo, where I've spent much of my time over the last year. We've eaten at some of my favorite restaurants, relaxed in one of my favorite coffee shops, and even visited my favorite massage parlor.

A Christmas Spectacle

At an acrobatics show in Beijing last week, it was easy to forget that I was in China. Seeing a circus with my family? Yeah, that's pretty much Piper childhood 101 (Did I never mention the three years when we shared our house with circus performers?). Sure, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall were unusual, but it took Christmas Eve in Xi'an to get it through my head that, even though my family is here, we are not in America.

After about a week in bustling Beijing, we were glad to get to a smaller city (Xi'an is only the size of the Chicago Metropolitan Area. How tiny.) and spend a day visiting one of the best history museums in the country and wandering around the Muslim district. But when darkness fell on Christmas eve, the city transformed. People took to the streets in costume: glittering masks, light up santa hats, devil horns, Scream masks, witch hats, and blonde wigs. I don't know what people in Xi'an do for Halloween, but I'm pretty sure they'll be able to recycle their Christmas outfits when the time comes.