The Misadventures of Joey Tafuro

Just updating to let everyone know there is no update. I will update a real update as soon as I can. I have some pictures from Songkran water festival. Hold tight.

In Bangkok now.

Last Thursday I had met a couple of girls who are teaching in Bangkok but originally from the Philippines. We went out for drinks and realized we both had plans to head down to Pattaya this week. They were going for the weekend on holiday and I was planning on meeting a co-worker of mine. They headed down early in the morning and I followed at around 12pm. I was really excited about having some people to go to Pattaya with because like much of Thailand it isn’t exactly a place where you want to be alone unless you are looking for something in particular. Pattaya was originally a rest and relaxation port for soldiers during the Vietnam war so over the last few decades it has kept its reputation as a place to come and let loose, relax and pay for just about anything you want. The city is about 10% beach town and 90% red light district. Of course you can go out and have a good time while avoiding the ladies and the lady boys but what is the fun in that?

Lyndaile, Jeaneane and I headed out to Walking Street. Walking Street is a stretch of gogo bars, clubs and restaurants that stretches a couple of kilometers along the beach street. It is quite a spectacle. You get offers from both sides of the street for unique sex shows, terrible drink specials and other interesting night activities. There are side streets along Walking Street that seem to specialize. One road may cater to those looking for Russian or eastern European women and the next street may cater to the gay crowd. The make up of patrons to Walking Street is amazingly diverse. You have your typical 40+ single western men coming to meet their dream Thai girl and take her home with them, you have your backpacker groups that come to check out the attraction, tourists from around Asia, Africans, Muslims and strangely enough… families with young children. It is just as much a “sight to see” as it is a place to actually take advantage of the debauchery.

We eventually made it to Club Lucifer where we spent 2 nights dancing for several hours. The 3 of us did check out one gogo bar but I have to admit I was less than impressed. After a great weekend in good company the girls had to head back to work on Monday so I have been left alone in Pattaya until Mark shows up. The hotel reception keeps asking me why I have no ladies with me when I come home at night so that gives you an idea of what is the norm around Pattaya.

I don’t want to dwell on it so I will make this fast. I got robbed my first night in Pattaya. They made off with my Ipod and my emergency cash. I am in high spirits and expected that at some point I was going to let my guard down and someone was going to take advantage. I would rather not get into details other than that I am over it and just miss my music now.

I am as lost as I have ever been as far as what my next step is. I have no where special I need to be at anytime other than that I wanted to head into Cambodia soon. Lyndaile invited me back up to Bangkok to hang with her for a few more days before she goes on holiday again next weekend. I may do that since Songkran (Thai new year) is coming soon and it would be ashame to miss it. The festival is supposedly really fun and the entire country gets out their water guns, buckets and balloons and has a 3 day water fight. Regardless, I will be leaving Thailand shortly and moving back to the third world. I am pretty excited about it. Thailand has been great, not so great to me personally but I have found the enjoyment through all the tough times.

Hip-hop at Club Lucifer

Morning after dancing all night, Lyndaile and I… Don’t I just look so excited?

I have rarely lost my temper with locals during any of my travels so far. In fact, today I was a bit shocked and disappointed in hearing a farang (foreigner in Thai) argue with the hotel staff at the place I am staying. At a lot of hotels in countries around the world you leave your key at the front desk and pick it up when you get back. I personally like to take the key with me as to avoid any problems. Apparently the reception gave someone else his key on accident that was right next door to his room. The man was really upset and was yelling in the lobby about how he was a jewelry dealer and that this was unacceptable and that someone could have taken all of his stuff and he wanted them to tell him that they were sorry. I was very close to stopping in my tracks, turning around and telling him to lock his shit up if it is so damn important to him. There are signs all over this guest house and EVERY guest house telling guests to lock up anything that they would not want stolen or lost and that the hotel is not responsible for anything missing. I always take this as a warning that even the hotel management can’t be held responsible for the actions of their cleaning personnel or any other staff. It is common sense when traveling to take care of your valuables.

All of this being said, for the first time in 3 months I raised my voice in anger and frustration with a local. Tuk-Tuks are a common mode of transportation in Thailand and 80% of the time there is no problem. I walk around and they hiss or psst in my direction and ask me where I am going. It is very easy to shrug them off if I don’t need them but the problem comes when I actually need to go somewhere. I noticed the Tuk-Tuk drivers operating around Kaosan Rd. are absolutely relentless. Like I have stated previously Kaosan Rd. is a backpacker mecca. Tons of accommodation, restaurants and shops catering to any travelers needs. If anyone saw the movie The Beach it is where Leonardo DiCaprio headed to his first night in Bangkok and enjoyed a nice sampling of snakes blood. While it isn’t that crazy it is definitely a spectacle. Anyway, back to my story… Bangkok is really crowded and traffic is so horrid that it takes an hour to cross town and several minutes to travel short distances. I woke up this morning with the plan to head off to a local mall to buy a pair of quality shorts. Everything I have found on Kaosan Rd is either too expensive or of bad quality, or both. I wanted to find something that I could try on in a dressing room and street vendors were not the place to do it. A good pair of shorts are important to me and worth the trip to a standard mall. I was told that the trip should only cost 50 baht which is about $1.50. I flagged down a Tuk-Tuk driver and told him where I wanted to go.

Me: “Sawasdi krap, pin klao mall?”
Driver: “Why you go there?”
Me: “Need to go, can you take me?”
Driver: “Ah”
Me: “Tao Rin? (how much?)”
Driver: “Where you go after?”
Me: “Forget it”

Repeat this process for about 20 minutes and you have Kaosan Rd. Tuk Tuk drivers. They want to know where you are going and what you are doing after because they want to take you around to shops and drop you off so they pay the driver commission on bringing you there. It is nearly impossible to find an honest driver that will take you to your location at a normal price. I got offers of 100 baht plus stopping at 2 shops of his choice to “look around, no buy” or taking me to a place to buy a Thai girl at a good price. It is pretty frustrating when all you want to do is get to your destination and not answer any questions.

After the 5th time of being asked why I want to go there I told him that it was none of his business and made a loud scene. I immediately realized that it might have been better to just walk away but I was starting to think there was no way I could leave Kaosan Rd without either visiting his cousin’s jewelry shop or agreeing to go to some sort of sex show in Patpong (redlight district) tonight.

I wandered away from Kaosan Rd. off to some other side streets that were a bit quieter and told the driver to please just take me to the mall for 50 baht and let me be. He agreed and all was fine.

Just thought I’d share a little story of annoyance with local transportation. I will say this right now. Bangkok is NOT my town. When I leave here I won’t look back. Not just because of this but it is just so difficult to travel within the city you are almost confined to the part of town you sleep in.

While I sit here in Bangkok escaping the insane heat (97F with a UV index of +10 bringing the feels like temperature to 116F) I ponder the length of my trip. I have made it halfway. 90 days and counting. At times it feels like 3 more months is a long time and other times it feels like it will fly by. Times haven’t all been good but they haven’t all been bad either. Maybe it is time to look back. This is my blog’s version of a clip show. Enjoy…

FAVORITE MOMENTS:

The first long distance trip in Ethiopia from Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar where I got to see the countryside and felt like I had a true African experience.

Hanging out with the Australian guys in Bahir Dar and Gondar, Ethiopia.

Daisy and I missing our stop in Ruhengeri and having to hitch a ride on the back of a kids bicycle to get back into town.

Trekking through the jungle in Rwanda search of the mountain gorillas.

Hanging out in Ruhengeri and Gisenyi, Rwanda with Daisy drinking Mutzigs.

The day trip into Goma, DR Congo and getting to see UN, UNICEF and other aid organizations.

Smiling kids in DR Congo pointing and yelling MZUNGU!!!

Going to the drum and bass club in Singapore with Shawn.

Going to the top of KL Tower in Kuala Lumpur and seeing the view of the city with the Petronas Towers.

Wondering Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur.

Hanging out at Red Dragon Hostel in Kuala Lumpur watching movies and drinking cheap beer with other travelers.

Playing pool with Nadia in Georgetown, Penang.

Feeling the anticipation of the full moon party on the ferry from the mainland to Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand.

Meeting Apple in Chiang Mai.

Getting to experience a traditional northern Thai wedding.

WORST MOMENTS:

Realizing I didn’t have enough money to see all the rock-hewn churches in Lalibela and get back to Addis Ababa.

Getting sick in Lalibela.

Bus ride from Lalibela to Dessie, Ethiopia.

The realization that ATMs are not widespread in Rwanda.

The plane ride from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam.

Shawn busting his toe in Singapore and having to go to the hospital the next day.

Getting sick the day of the Beastie Boys concert in Singapore.

Hungover in Kuala Lumpur too many times.

The “accident” in Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand.

The after effects of the “accident” being felt for a full month after. Including infection, hygene and the inability to be in the sun.

Food poisoning in Chiang Mai.

SOME COOL PEOPLE THAT I HAVE MET:

Mick and Craig, the Aussies in Ethiopia.

Kid in Bahir Dar that gave me a free smoothie from his family’s shop plus his Ethiopian wristband.

Kid on the bus ride from Lalibela to Dessie and his friends who shared their food with me.

Dutch guys in Zanzibar.

The group of Canadians in Kuala Lumpur.

Apple in Chiang Mai.

Marisa’s family and friends at the wedding in Chiang Mai.

BEST SCENERY:

Seeing Ethiopians walking on the side of the street, hearding livestock, cooking out of their huts and waving to people driving by.

The mountains just south of Dessie in Ethiopia en route to Addis Ababa.

Just about every sight in Rwanda. The volcano national park and the drive from Gisenyi back to Kigali.

Virunga Mountains in the Democratic Republic of Congo outside of Goma.

Pongwe Beach Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Kuala Lumpur skyline with the Petronas Towers and the green throughout the city.

The drive from Penang, Malaysia north to the Thai border.

The drive from the Thai border to Hat Yai, Thailand.

Hong Kong’s cityscape.

Ok, I don’t have pictures up yet because this internet cafe doesn’t have USB cable but last night after the Rugby matches I met with a few Scots and English guys and we headed out to this pub for drinks. They were really cool but a bit rowdy. Some of the Scots even had kilts on. They traveled to Hong Kong specifically for the rugby event and the Scots got beat pretty badly by Fiji.

At about 1am we headed off to another bar and on the way there was a tattoo parlor. One of the guys had gotten a tattoo the previous year at the same place and said it was good. Most of you that know me understand that I don’t like tattoos but with the energy of the day and the excitement for traveling maybe my head was a little foggy. The 2-3 pints of Guinness probably didn’t help. We all went in and got different tattoos. I went with a half lion and half dragon on my right arm that has a tail that wraps up to my shoulder blade. I got the lion because I am a LEO and the dragon since I am in Asia, specifically China and it has a lot of meaning. I am the year of the monkey in China but I thought a half monkey half lion would look silly. I have to go back today and tomorrow to get it finished. It is really big but it looks pretty cool!!!! It surprisingly didn’t hurt too much but I’m not sure if that was the Guinness again.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh mom is gonna KILL ME!

I guess there is no point in regretting it now.

The first night in Hong Kong was pretty strange. I decided to move to a different guest house seeing as though there was a sign above the elevator on my floor that said “NO JEWS, USA OR UK” so I figured I wasn’t wanted there so it was time to find a new place. After getting moved in I immediately headed for Victoria Peak or known to locals as “The Peak”. It is the hill directly behind the business district of Hong Kong Island that overlooks the entire city. There is a lot to do once you get to the top by tram. I played a game of Madden and NHL 2007 for Xbox 360 at the Electronic Arts Experience, had japanese iced tea at a coffee shop and wandered around the shopping area. I eventually made my way out to the viewing terrace and took a few shots. It was an incredibly cloudy day so it didn’t make for very good photos but it added to the ambience of view if you aren’t concerned about a camera.

View from The Peak during the day.

I headed back to my hotel and called Sathi who is a member of couchsurfing.com. Couch surfing is a website dedicated to helping the budget traveler find places to sleep for free. You put your profile up, offer what you can and host people who are passing through your city. I am a member in Tampa however I don’t have a couch to offer so I can only meet people for drinks or to guide them around for an afternoon. Sathi currently had a surfer at her place so I wasn’t able to stay with her but she invited me out for dinner and drinks with some other local couch surfers. We met with Jim, a Chinese guy who lives in New York City but lived most of his life in Canada who is moving to Hong Kong for work. And then there was Imran, a really dedicated member of couch surfing who is Pakistani born but transplanted to Hong Kong for most of his life. I love the mixed group we had and it made for very interesting conversation over dinner. We bounced around to a few places and eventually split up to go home. This was my first experience meeting people from couch surfing but I will definitely do it again.

Every year there is a huge Rugby tournament held in Hong Kong called the Hong Kong Sevens. They hold the same tournament in different cities around the world but this is the big one. I happened to be on the ferry that morning and noticed an entire team making their way to the main island. I couldn’t tell what country they were at first but I looked closely at one of their bags and it said “MADE FOR U.S. RUGBY”. I over heard one of them talking to a British guy about their match later that day. They played France and ended up beating them. As soon as I realized the situation I made it a point to at least find a bar to watch the matches, hopefully with other Americans so I can support our team. I don’t know the first thing about Rugby but I can’t pass up a sporting event like this.

I took towards Hong Kong Stadium this afternoon and within 30 seconds I was approached with tickets. I overpaid slightly but it was sold out and figured this was the best I could get. I made my way inside the stadium and joined in the festivities.

Tunisia was playing France when I first sat down.

I asked a few people for the rundown on this tournament and it works a lot like the World Cup except it is condensed into 3 days. Today was the 2nd day of group play and U.S.A. was in a difficult group with Australia, France and Tunisia. We beat France yesterday and lost to Australia today and would need to beat Tunisia to advance through to Sunday’s final rounds. These rugby matches are very short. Two 7 minute halves and then the next 2 teams immediately start playing their match. The atmosphere was pretty electric. I have never experienced international competition so the excitement was something new to me. I have been to plenty of college football games and hockey games and they all have their own things that make them fun. I won’t say this was better or worse, it was just different. The Aussie’s were by far the rowdiest, followed by England, Scotland and New Zealand. It was like one big costume party as lots of fans were dressed up. There were plenty of guys dressed in drag, girls dressed as bunnies, young girls dressed as old ladies, Scots in kilts and any other strange site you can think of.

USA FANS!

This kid was from Montana. I don’t think I have ever met someone from Montana while in the United States.

U.S.A. played at about 4:45pm and when they announced the teams and they came on to the field I was prepared for boo’s. Surprisingly the crowd was in full support of the United States. A small Chinese kid next to me with his mother kept chanting “U-S-A!!! U-S-A!!!”. France was the only team that I heard a full crowd of boo’s when they scored. Tunisia scored first but missed the extra points and then U.S.A. went up 2 scores and finished off 14-5.

USA 14 – Tunisia 5

Budweiser representing overseas.

I’ll have another Heineken.

I asked this kid what team he represented and he said he was 45% Swedish and then stuttered for about 10 seconds and finally got out that he was 50% Scottish. The flag on his face was Scottish. Funny kid though.

Canada didn’t fair too well.

After a pretty rough 12 hour bus ride from Chiang Mai I arrived in Bangkok this morning around 6am. Luckily my stomach held up pretty well. It was supposed to be a VIP bus but they pretty much lied to us and dressed up the picture used to sell it. I thought it was going to be worse but I eventually ended up sleeping for half the trip. The bus dropped us off at Kaosan Rd. and I got a discounted room to sleep in for a few hours before heading off to the airport.

I arrived in Hong Kong at 6:15p and made my way to Kowloon. There are 2 main districts, Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. The cheaper accommodation is here and mostly located in 2 large buildings that house guesthouses, hostels and other assorted accommodation. From the outside this place looks terrible and so far it doesn’t get much better on the inside. Cheap accommodation is difficult to come by in Hong Kong seeing as though property is so expensive so the bed you do get usually isn’t anything special. I have a room that is literally the size of a decent walk in closet. I have a TV and a fan but no room to move around. The bathroom is shared out in the hallway. I am going to make my way to the other building and see if I can find something at least a little better. I can’t spend 4 nights in a box. I am not quite that hardcore.

Hong Kong’s biggest and just about only pull for me was its skyline. I caught a glimpse of it as we pulled out from under the tunnel on the way to Kowloon. It took my breath away. I love skylines and have been waiting to see them for a long time much like the Petronas Towers in Malaysia. Nothing… and I mean NOTHING beats Hong Kong’s skyline. I can’t even give New York City the credit of coming in a close second because it just wouldn’t be fair to Hong Kong. It is so bright and so long and so tall and so beautiful. Bright blues, neon greens, reds and whites, sharp color patterns, lights bouncing off the channel, mountains in the background… it is simply incredible! It is a skyline lover’s grand canyon and one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

Here are a few photos that don’t even begin to give it justice but enjoy anyway!
I haven’t changed the size so they are pretty big files and it may take a few minutes to load.

(…continued from previous post)

Around 9pm all hell broke lose. I really want to spare details because it seems like for the last month I have had 10 bad things to talk about for every 1 or 2 good experiences. I promise that March will be the last of it. At least I hope. I spent the last 3 days hotel bound and trying to rehydrate myself from the worse case of the big “D” I have ever encounter I haven’t even been able to see Marisa and I wasn’t able to get on the bus to Burma to renew my visa. I am now going on my 29th allowable day in Thailand. If I don’t leave tomorrow I will suffer a 500 baht per day fine from the government for overstaying my visa. I am not sure where it came from but 24/48 hours prior I had some suspect deep fried prawns and minced pork.

Simply put… March has been rough. The beginning had me crippled from a motorcycle accident, the middle had me choked with pollution and the end now has me battling with food poisoning. April can NOT come soon enough. Don’t worry about me though. This was all part of the plan from the beginning. Challenges, obstacles and new experiences. Some of you may wonder why the hell I would pay all this money to travel around the world if so many things can go wrong. Well, you just have to experience it to understand. It is like the ancient Buddhist adage, “bad pizza is still pizza”. Well, I may be sick a lot and I may be in pain but I’m still traveling and seeing new things.

Again, April WILL be better. So much better that I already have exciting news. Since I have to be out of the country tomorrow I have no time to do a land crossing into Burma so that means I must fly somewhere. I could fly to Laos or Cambodia but I already plan on visiting both countries before I leave so that left me with a few choices. I decided on Hong Kong. Tonight I catch an overnight bus to Bangkok and then fly to Hong Kong at 2pm tomorrow. I will spend the weekend there and then return to Bangkok on Tuesday the April 2nd with a renewed 30 day Thai visa giving me enough time to visit the south again and enjoy some beaches. Hong Kong was one of the destinations I originally planned to go but then scratched off as too expensive; however, now I have to fly somewhere so if I am going to spend the money on a flight it might as well be somewhere that I wouldn’t be able to make it overland to.

Be prepared for some killer skyscraper photos.

So, see you in China!!!!

The day after the wedding which would be last Friday the group headed outside of Chiang Mai to visit Doi Suthep which is a very important Buddhist temple high in the mountains. It sits atop Thailand’s highest peak at about 8,000 ft. It is a beautiful complex; however, the trip up is winding and steep and in the back of a songteaw (covered pick up truck taxi) it was cause for serious nausea. Once you reach the top you pay a few dollars and take the cable car up to the temple itself. The mystique of visiting a Buddhist temple is quickly taken away once you realized the amount of tourists are there. The view of Chiang Mai from above was hindered from the lingering haze but it was still nice. We had about an hour to walk around the entire complex. Bells surrounded the temple as well as statues of Buddha and depictions of different stories of Buddha’s life.

View of Chiang Mai from Doi Suthep

Main pagoda of Doi Suthep

Statue outside of the temple

Statue of Buddha inside the temple

On Saturday we went on an organized one day trekking tour. It started off at 8am which consequently is about when my stomach started to take a turn for the worse. I took some immodium for the long day ahead and made it through the day but we will revisit this scenario at a later time. The driver took us about an hour outside of Chiang Mai to the hills where we would ride elephants through the jungle. Everyone paired up into groups of two except for one person who had to ride solo. Guess who that was? The single guy of course. We rode the elephants for about an hour and came back to where we started. I have now ridden elephants, camels and horses and I must say the elephant is the least enjoyable. I was ready to get off after the first 30 minutes. It may have been because the scenery itself wasn’t very stunning. It is the dry season here so everything looks dead.

Elephant trekking

The driver then took us to a river nearby where we took off our shoes, rolled up our pants and boarded thin bamboo rafts for a nice trip down the river. I was very concerned about the last scab on my right leg that still had the potential to fall off prematurely so I wrapped it up in gauze and then taped a plastic bag over it. The driver said the more wet you are the more fun you will have. I actually got on the raft with Marisa’s sister who had a foot problem and couldn’t get it wet so I felt that we were safe enough at least from one of us trying to flip it. The water was shallow but I have no idea what kind of bacteria is floating around in there so I didn’t wanna take any chances. We made it about 3/4th of the way down and came across some drunk Thai’s probably coming in from the city to get drunk and float down the river. (Sounds like some of our days on the Hillsborough River) They looked like trouble right from the start and as soon as we got close to them the attack began. The kid in the sideways hat and the 40 ounce beer in his hand looked the most dangerous. He splashed and splashed and yelled as me and Alyssa begged for them to stop. I tried covering my wound even more with my hand but it was a wasted effort. After about 10 seconds of being mad I just gave up and enjoyed the deluge. They all dumped water on us from the back and we were all soaked. I really wished I didn’t have the leg problem because I would have been in that water in a heart beat giving the same treatment back. It would have been fun. We crossed through a few really fun but not so dangerous sections of rapids and then to the end.

After a quick lunch we headed to a small Karen Village. Karen is a tribe originally from Burma that made its way across into Thailand and Laos mostly as refugees. Visiting the hillside Karen tribes are a huge tourist attraction in Chiang Mai but I can’t say I enjoyed this portion. I was unaware we would be visiting them and already made a conscious decision prior to arriving in Thailand that I would not go on any organized tour to disturb local villages. The tourism industry here exploits their culture and treats them as an exhibit at a zoo. I don’t even feel as though the village we went to was authentic. For all we know it could have been set up by the government in order to bring in hoards of tourists to purchase the scarfs that they sit around and make all day long. I have no problem with anthropological studies or small groups visiting tribes but this didn’t have a good feeling associated with it. I only took photos of some of the scarfs and long shots of the village itself but opted against shooting the people in the tribe.

The tour ended with a trip to Maewang Falls and a short jungle trek. The spot was beautiful and the water was cold but unfortunately I couldn’t join in swimming with the rest of the group so I propped myself up on a rock and watched from a distance. Sean and Sarah both took jumps from the rocky edge into the water. I was extremely jealous but I vowed to find another waterfall before I come home.

Maewang Falls

We arrived back at the pick up point around 5pm and most of us went our separate ways. I was really tired and wanted to rest so I headed back to my hotel. My stomach made it through the day but was slowly beginning to come back and bother me. (to be continued…)

I am back in full form and as active as I have been since February it seems. The last 3 days have been hectic but really fun. I will start with the wedding and then maybe post tomorrow about the other 2 days.

Thursday Marisa and Sean got married. Who the hell is Marisa you ask? She is a friend of mine that I met through an online travel community, the one that is hosting this travel blog. It is a place for like minded people to share helpful tips and experiences and has been a huge part of making this trip easier. She knew about my trip and that I would be near Chiang Mai around the same time as the wedding so she sent me an invitation. I am extremely grateful for that since I got to experience a whole new culture.

Marisa is American born with Thai parents and Sean is also American. They wanted to do a traditional Thai wedding so they got with a local wedding planner and everything was taken care of. It started off Thursday morning with Marisa and Sean getting up at 4:30 in the morning to gather offerings for the monks that would be doing the ceremony. They put together a basket full of fruit and other assorted needs since the monks live a life without possession they count dearly on offerings. We were picked up from the hotel around 1:30pm and taken to the first venue. A beautiful temple (or Wat in Thai) just outside of Chiang Mai. We took off our shoes and entered. There are rules for being inside the temple that you must follow. The dress code doesn’t allow for male or female knees to be showing and you must cover your shoulders at all times. Black is considered unlucky for a wedding so a lot of us had to shop for an outfit the night before in the night market.

Sean and Marisa outside of the first wedding venue.

The first ceremony was a traditional Thai wedding where the monk blesses them and chants for about 15 minutes. The family and friends then get blessed. I wasn’t able to get a photo of myself kneeling before the monk with my hands clasped so you will just have to imagine it. He says a prayer and ties a small piece of string around your left arm that is bad luck if you remove it before it naturally falls off. After the initial ceremony the entire wedding group which is about 30 people are lead outside to watch Marisa and Sean release 9 birds for good merit and then 9 baby catfish into the river. We were then lead even further outside of Chiang Mai to a small ceremonial area where the wedding planner lives and the second “northern Thailand” wedding would be held.

After stepping out of the vans we were greeted with traditional Thai music and a flower parade down a winding path through the woods. As with Thai tradition 2 females, in this instance Sarah (her friend) and Alyssa (her sister) have to ask Sean 3 questions before he could pass on. After a few embarassing moments Sean was accepted and allowed to pass. Before stepping into the final ceremonial area he was to suffer the same barrage of questions from his soon to be mother-in-law. Fortunately for Sean she was way too sweet to embarass him so she allowed him to pass into the next area where Marisa waited.

Sean’s worthiest of Marisa being questioned by Sarah and Marisa’s sister Alyssa. He passed.

Once everyone was seated the 2nd ceremony began and much like the first the monk began his chant. In Thailand they literally tie the knot so they were both connected by a string wrapped around their head. The ring ceremony and kiss were done here and once again the wedding guests were involved and got to each tie a piece of string around both of their wrists which can not be removed until it naturally falls off. I felt kind of bad so I tied a pretty loose knot! I really enjoyed the audience participation for the wedding but this next part was almost a little too much.

Sean giving Marisa the ring while all Thai’d up

It was starting to get dark and everyone was beginning to get hungry as the ceremony went on for a long time. The in-laws were now supposed to lead the newly weds to their bedroom which was a honeymoon cabin right above the dinner area. The wedding planner asked if someone strong could carry the huge flower arrangement. I thought she just wanted it moved a few feet so I offered to help. She then instructed me to get in front of the in-laws and the couple and lead them to the bedroom. Suddenly I was a part of the ceremony again only this time I was front and center holding a beautiful arrangement of flowers. The photographer snapped away as the the wedding planner told me to slow down. We paraded up the stairs and into the bedroom. I was the first person in and placed the flowers on the bed. I couldn’t help but feel like Owen Wilson or Vince Vaughn from the movie Wedding Crashers. Here, this internet friend is suddenly going to be in a bunch of wedding photos acting as the “flower girl”. I know, laugh it up. It was an honor but I scooted out of the room as quick as possible as it felt a little uncomfortable. I mean, Marisa did have a brother-in-law that could have done a great job too! Sorry no photos of this from me but I’m sure I will have some sent from Marisa once she gets home.

We were finally seated to have dinner and drinks. It was a great selection of different Thai food. Spring rolls, jungle curry, potatoes, chicken skewers, beef, rice and other assorted items. The bartender poured Singha after Singha (beer) and fanta for the none drinkers as Kantoke (traditional Thai) dancers came out and entertained us.

Thai food at the wedding

Kantoke dancers

After the meal we were treated to a more western tradition of cake. I am so glad I was able to snap a picture because what I am about to tell you wouldn’t be believed otherwise. I held up the cake to my face to start eating it and Laura motioned for me to stop and advised me that there was a bug on the icing. I turned the cake around and took a careful look. At first I thought it was a mosquito or a fly but it had an odd shape. I looked closer and noticed a small hook tail. I decided to test it out and put my finger on its back and the tail struck down to my finger. There was a SCORPION in my cake. Not just a scorpion but a tiny almost invisible baby scorpion. Luckily I have proof so here you go.

And a close up shot. Notice the 2 prong stinger at the tip of the tubed tail.

The final event of the night was a fireworks show and a fire balloon release. Here are some shots of that. I’m really proud of these. I used a time delay to get the firework effects down.