Sawadee Khap

This is a little bit of an old post, sorry for the delay. Too much time to load videos. More coming soon.

Alright folks first things first. Here are some of the videos I have been threatening to put up!

Weekend market music

Flipping Squirrels

Moving on to yesterdays events. We started the day by renting scooters, a dream come true for me. It was totally awesome and thrilling. I just had to keep repeating to myself "Left side, stay left, left side, stay left" because they drive on the wrong side of the road. Other than that the freedom they provided was amazing.
Our first destination was the Tiger Kingdom, which was supposed to be the best tiger tourist facility around. The tigers were supposed to be treated very well and not drugged. So considering the options, small medium or large tiger. We went Big, I mean why not? Immediately upon getting to the big tigers cage it became terribly obvious that they were fast asleep and not because they were tired. We entered the cage anyway and I pet the tiger before my conscience got the best of me and I left the enclosure. We walked around the facility feeling guilty for paying the 320 baht ($11 or a third of my budget for the day). We did see some very young tigers that were adorable and did not appear to be sedated. Although we were not going to fork over any more cash to play with them or get pictures with them. So we left the Tiger Kingdom to go to an elephant camp.

This elephant camp was also supposed to be very good for the elephants. And upon arrival it seemed to be everything it was cracked up to be. Although a bit more of a circus but awesome to watch nonetheless. Also the elephants there appeared more healthy and full of energy than at the elephant camp on our trek.
After the awesome elephant camp we went for a free ride through the mountains on our scoots. For the record Whitney and I were driving and Mac was on the back of my scoot. They were 4-stroke 100cc Hondas with a surprising amount of torque. We topped out going downhill in 4th gear at almost 90kph. I have no idea what the conversion is but it felt fast enough on those skinny little bike tires. We returned the bikes at 6pm without incident. I don't know what it is about riding things with two wheels and no windscreen but I absolutely love it. The control is probably a huge part of it but also the skill needed adds to the fun. A very cool part about being in control and moving at an un-natural speed in Thailand was the different perceptions by our senses. The temperature was constantly changing with elevation, cooling off and drying our sweat. Then warming and dampening again as we descended. The smells would change at a dizzying rate. One minute we would be choking on the fumes of other cars and bikes and the next you could smell how pure, natural and full of life the air was. Driving through farm towns you could smell the livestock and sometimes even natural wood cookfires. The sounds of our bikes was not impressive but when unknowingly being overtaken by two racing Hayabusas on a long sweeping turn the sound was surprising and even terrifying. Of course the most memorable of all were the sights. Leaving the big city and heading out and up into small humble farming communities. Where the pace of life visibly slowed and wild dogs far out numbered cars. What a great day!

So today things have changed a little. We3be again has become we2be. Whitney has left us for 4 days to travel north to Pai. She is nearing the end of her journey and can hardly sit still. Meanwhile me and Mac are still just beginning and don't mind conserving some baht/dollars kicking back and exploring the area. Tonight we head to the Sunday street market for food, sightseeing, and possibly some purchases.

Adeus.
PS Lately we havent been anywhere for a long period of time. Also finding internet worthy of uploding pictures in Laos is nothing like it was in Bangkok or Thailand so I wil be playing some serious catch up soon!