A few weeks ago we made it to Jae Sarn National park. From Lampang, it’s only accessible through private transportation, so we decided to motorbike it. So we (Margo, Apple, & I) set out on a drive to Tao’s house, which is on the way to the park. It took about an hour and a half in total, not including the time it took to pick up Tao & enjoy a meal while looking at family pictures. The ride was beautiful…once we got out of Lampang, there were just us, the roads, and the mountains around us. The sun warmed our backs so there was no need for long sleeves. We got to the park, which holds a few waterfalls, and a hot springs. After seeing the waterfalls in Thoen (especially the second one) this one wasn’t much to see. But we settled for a picnic at the hot springs complete with (almost) hard-boiled eggs that we cooked ourselves in the springs.
On the ride back, as the sun was setting, I knew I was in for trouble. When the sun hid behind the mountains that’s when it got bad. I had a long-sleeve shirt, but that wasn’t enough to keep the cold wind from penetrating my thin layers and jeans. By the time we got to Tao’s house my fingers were starting to swell from the cold, so Margo ended up driving my motorbike & I back while Apple drove Margo’s with Tao in tow. I spent most of the ride using my hands to cover my ears, which are particularly susceptible to the cold, and getting pelted by bugs. But after what seemed like forever, I started recognizing the scenery and made it back home safe, where I fell into my bed and slept like a baby.
The weekend after that we took our third trip to Apple’s house in Thoen: this time not for a visit to a waterfall, but to a cave. The cave was not quite like any of the caves I’ve been to. We climbed to the top of a set of stairs to the entrance, where Apple lit a candle and rang a bell to ask the spirits of the cave for their permission to enter. The cave was dimly lit; at times I thought we had come to a dead end only to see an arrow pointing our way down another dark alley or signaling us to crawl under a rock formation to another section of the cave. One dark park of the cave we heard some squeaking noises and when we looked up we could see the wall of the cave above us covered in hanging bats, which umm to say the least scared me a bit. The most memorable moment was when Margo literally jumped across the cave when she heard “a bat laughing in her ear” and I look over to see Apple and Margo hugging each other and cowering in fear. Behind where Margo had been standing was a stalactite in which a bat must have been sleeping and made a noise that Margo claimed was a laugh. We finally made it to an opening in the cave and climbed out and then to the top of the mountain. The whole cave exploration would have been a lot easier if we had sneakers on instead of flip-flops, but we managed.
I got home that evening and had a package…but I wasn’t sure from who. I knew my parents were sending one but that won’t be here until January at some point. So I was super surprised to see it was from Dawn. I ran up to my room and opened a package full of candy, cookies, and Christmas stuff. It was like Halloween and Christmas rolled into one. I had been craving chocolate cookies for the longest time so immediately went for those and brought them over to share with Margo and Apple. With the surplus of candy and a stocking I got in the package, I brought candy to my class that I was proctoring during midterms week. They were all very excited to try American candy, and I watched some of their faces of shock when they tried sweet-tarts and realized they weren’t that sweet after all. On Christmas Eve, I received another package from Alyse and Dan with more chocolate and goodies. It didn’t really feel like Christmas this year being away from home, but the cards and packages were a nice taste of home
Christmas was an odd one this year. We were done with school around 12 since it was midterms the whole week. Margo & I celebrated by listening to Christmas music and drinking what my brother likes to call “Christmas tree drinks” (otherwise known as gin & tonics) and dancing around.
My favorite Christmas picture...
I went out to dinner with the rest of the Farangs to exchange our secret Santa gifts. The rest of the night included bare-foot bowling, beers, and pool.
Another Holiday away from home came and went…
Now, I’m looking forward to New Years in Chiang Mai! We got some visitors (Margo’s sister Mariana & friends) so it should be a good time!
Happy New Year to all!
This is me & some of my students!
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