mike_s Posted March 12, 2006 Share Posted March 12, 2006 North to Chiang Mai! Michael sees Doi Suthep, commits a cultural faux-paus, and executes a strategic withdrawl. The trip to Chiang Mai was uneventful, and kind of fun. We had to wait a few hours for a flight, so the day was pretty well shot by the time we arrived. I stayed in a hotel near my expat friends house, and arranged with my "little-sister", Nee to meet her the next morning to go to Doi Sutep. The hotel was quite modern, and not expensive. The courtyard was very very nice. The expats name is Kelly, and he used to own a resteraunt in Florida until he visited Thailand and fell in love with it. He sold the resteraunt and moved to Thailand. He lives pretty comfortably on about $1000/month. Doi Sutep was stunning. The view is marvelous. I declined to walk the 306 steps to the top, and took the tram. There was a haze over Chiang Mai, so I am not happy with my picture of the view. Some better pictures are available at http://www.hasekamp.net/suthep.htm My trip to Doi Suthep was marred by one little problem. Pan and Nee did not get along. AT ALL! They were bickering in Thai most of the time, and though I couldnt understand much of what was said, I was pretty sure they weren't making arrangements to do each others hair later. Each of them had a friend, so you have four Thai ladies arguing, me nursing a hangover (Thai beer was an unexpected 6.9%), and wondering how to get out of this. I had to break this up somehow, so I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and I got sick. After we saw Doi Suthep I developed an acute case of food poisoning that required an immediate return to the hotel. Nee and I had a little chat, and I will see her next trip. She really does just want to be friends, but she was terrified that I would fall for Pan, and marry her. You see, Thai society is very caste-oriented. If you are an upper-class(sometimes called hi-so) Thai, or if you are very well educated, you would not dream of being seen socializing with someone from the lower class. Foreigners are considered fairly high-caste, until they do something stupid like socialize with their poor lower-caste girlfriend in front of God and everyone. This caused me to lose a great deal of face. (Good thing I don't care about face, eh?) Nee was trying to save me, by annoying Pan so badly she left. The caste thing is something I think Americans in particular have problems grasping, because our culture is so egalitarian. Pan on the other hand, was having the time of her life. She was with a "rich" guy who was taking care of her, and gaining great face by being with me. (and trust me, she trotted quite a few of her friends by to see me) Because Pan is poor, divorced, and has one child, she will never remarry a Thai. Fair or not, in Thai society she is "damaged goods" and no Thai man would ever touch her. The fact she is extremely pretty and quite bright never enters into the discussion. That is why she is out to find a caucasian husband. We generally don't care about stuff like that, and according to her, Kelly treats his wife better than she has ever seen a wife treated. She wants to sign up. Aren't cultural differences interesting? Regards from the Road, mike_s pictures at www.jaggedweb.com PS - I now understand why the Chinese ideograph for "Trouble" is the same as the one for "Two women under one roof". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maryanne Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 I am really enjoying looking at all the pics. some are really breathtaking. I love the one with the poool in the middle of the orchid garden with the rainbow through it. That one should be blown up. Pam is adorable... Maryanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_s Posted March 21, 2006 Author Share Posted March 21, 2006 I am really enjoying looking at all the pics. some are really breathtaking. I love the one with the poool in the middle of the orchid garden with the rainbow through it. That one should be blown up. Actually all of the pictures are far larger than the ones I posted on the website. I cut every picture down to 640x480 in case someone was calling in on a slow phone line. If you go back to www.jaggedweb.com you will find I posted the full-size pic, just for you. If you want to save a copy on your own machine, you are most welcome to do so. Right-click your mouse on the pic, and do "Save image as", and you will have a copy. Pam is adorable... Maryanne Pan (like Peter Pan) is a very sweet gal, but she still wants to go out and hit the clubs all the time. That is just not what I do. My liver could barely handle it for a week, much less long-term. We will remain friends, but that is all. She is still gunning for an American or European husband, and she is determined enough I bet she finds one. She is awfully pretty. Naphalai, is another story. I still talk with her every week-end, and I am kind of crazy about her. She is responsible, quite a little businesslady, does not drink or smoke, and understands that I had cancer, and it might come back. She does not care what country we live in, so long as we are together. I am considering asking her to marry me, but wrestling with the ethics of marrying someone from another culture so soon after diagnosis. Even with two years NED, there are no guarantees. Regards, mike_s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_s Posted March 21, 2006 Author Share Posted March 21, 2006 Anyone who has read all of my posts will notice a little change in my attitude about Naphalai. Language problems. I finally hired a professional translation service to interpret emails between us because I was not sure that her friend Mary was doing an exact translation. I am pretty happy with the results. My Thai is getting better, and so is her English so hopefully we can dispense with the translator soon. Regards, mike_s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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