Chang Mai Part 2

Ok, if you're just joining us here, you're probably wondering why this is labeled "part 2." Use logic and I bet you'll figure it out... or just scroll down to the next post. Once you've read part 1, then you can come join us up here.

Have you ever had the desire to fly? I know I sure have. The sensation of soaring up through the clouds, the only worry is whether or not you're in restricted airspace... But sadly, we humans-- like so many other creatures--aren't really meant for flight. But, we can look to other animals to see how they cope with this restriction. For example: the mighty Gibbon.

Now, for the general population, the term "gibbon" isn't really a word (unless you're making fun of some gimp with a ribbon! Yeah, ok, that was so much funnier before my fingers completed the typing), but for a very select few, Gibbon refers to a type of monkey. The Gibbons "fly" from tree to tree just like any monkey flys, which really isnt' flying at all-- its jumping. Now my mere mortal arms-- though impressively powerful by human standards, aren't really strong enough to grab onto a limb and launch myself anywhere successfully (except perhaps to the ground), so we decided that, in order to achieve roughly the same experience, zip-lining was our best option. Thus the expirience of "Flight of the Gibbons" began.

The Flight of the Gibbons" is basically a tree-top tour of the jungle. We got hooked into a harness and then zip-lined from treetop to treetop. It was SO fun! And these treetops weren't the tops of little trees. At its highest point, we were zip-lining 300 meters above the ground! In order to control our speed, they gave us pieces of bamboo that were shaped like a "V" and we would pull them down on the cable to break until we were going an acceptable speed to land on the next platform. I'm telling you, way way fun.

Finally, like is always the case, our vacation came to an end. We packed our bags, hopped in a Tuk-Tuk, and headed for the train station. We were dead tired, and looking forward to being able to sleep on the 13 hour ride back to Bangkok. We were pretty optimistic about it, I mean really, what could be worse than the train ride we had getting here?! It just HAD to be better! Right? ...right?

Once again, we ended up at the train station a full hour early (somehow we were really bad at guessing how long it takes to drive places) and, once again, the train was 2 hours late. SO 3 hours later, the train FINALLY pulls into the station. We grabbed all our bags and ran to get in line so we could board the train and find places for all our luggage. It ended up working perfectly! We were directly in front of the door, 1st in line! We stood back as all the passengers got off the train, just waiting for the "go" signal to board. People stopped getting out of the train, and we stood there, every muscle tense and ready... and then the cleaning people started getting on the train and loading new food on (similar to airplane food if you're wondering). Ok, I guess that makes sense. They worked at this for about 30 minutes or so. Finally, everything seemed like it was about ready when... the train pulled away. I stood there watching it start to move thinking to myself, "we did not just miss that..." We waited for three and a half stupid hours and it just left us?! I looked around to make sure we weren't the only people still on the platform, and realized the train left everyone! Nobody else seemed too concerned about it (except the other group of white people who couldn't speak Thai) so I figured something must be going on. A nice old lady, sensing our confusion, smiled and said, "U-turn. Train u-turn." Oh, ok, its just turing around! Phew! I was worried! So I watched the track to know when the train was coming back... and I watched... and watched... one hour later, it finally putters into view (at which point I just want to say I think I can turn a train around faster). We finally got on and placed ourselves in our seats, luggage safely above us. And, as luck would have it, this time the AC worked (See the previous post if you think that seems like an odd thing to notice)! Now the bad thing... the stinken air-conditioning REALLY REALLY WORKED.

This was a night train, so the temperature wasn't really all that uncomfortable to begin with, but this AC was turned on full blast. And I'm not at all exaggerating when I say I have NEVER been so unbelievably cold in my entire life. That includes a rather unfortunate snow-caving adventure with the boy scouts ("snow caves are warm" they said...). They gave us these "blankets" (aka. bath towels) to keep warm. So I'm sitting there wrapped in a towel, just shivering uncontrollably. Finally it dawned on me that my mother, in all her motherly wisdom, made me take my dads sweatshirt with me on the trip! She may have actually saved my life by doing so (so kids, listen to you're mothers)! I got up and pulled the too large sweatshirt over me (at the same time that Michelle was going through her suitcase putting on another shirt, two paris of socks, pulling a skirt on over her jeans...). After another 20 min. or so, I lost feeling in my legs and decided that I had to somehow warm them up. I resorted to curling up in a little ball, pulling the sweater over my knees, pulling my arms into the sweater-- bringing the sleaves with them to make sure no warm air could get out--, pulling my head into the sweater, and grabbing the hood and pulling it inside--effectively sealing off the outside air. I wish I had a picture of me like that actually... there I was, a little frozen ball, trying to balance on my seat as the train jerked back and forth, shivering uncontrollably.

After a few hours, I decided I HAD to somehow warm up a little and get blood flowing through my body or I wouldn't make the 13 hour trip back. So I stood up and ran to the space in between the car, staying there and allowing the night air to warm me up a little. After 15 minutes, I turned to face the blizzard once again. What I saw as I walked back to my seat, I will never forget! It looked almost exactly like a WWII refugee camp you would see on a movie. Groups of people with "blankets" pulled up over their heads, huddled closely together, just shivering and obviously miserable. You could almost see the shrapnel scarred tents surrounding everyone, each person seemingly clinging to survival. It was at that point I realized, dang, if I'm cold how are the Thais doing!? I just had to start laughing! It was so crazy! After nearly baking to death on the train down, there I was, in a tropical climate, freezing to death on the way back! The irony was just too much!

Oh... and to top it off, my tray table still didn't work. Grrrrrr....