Sawasadee, Thailand!

As the H1N1 paranoia continues, my place of employment has continuously lost business and has forced us teachers to endure endless amounts of programming, creating potential new classes such as: survival class, suburban living class, and birthday party class, to name a few. In addition to being enslaved in the computer lab compiling ESL lessons, we were also asked to use a week of our mandatory vacation time.

So, I booked a ticket to Thailand and before I knew it, I was on the Seoul subway en route to Incheon International Airport. Considering I had about two hours of sleep, I was quite lethargic and a bit delusional. I woke up just as the plane was landing to the sound of the pilot welcoming the passengers to Hong Kong. Huh? My flight itinerary was booked by a Korean co-worker, and thus was in Korean, so I had no idea I had a stopover. After figuring this out, I had some Chinese tea in the Hong Kong airport and re-boarded the plane. Thai Airlines has been one of my favorite companies to fly with. The seats are upholstered in fuchsias, magentas, and purples (my favorite color scheme) and the charming flight attendants are adorned in semi-traditional silk Thai apparel. Upon entering the aircraft, passengers are welcomed with "Sawasadee," and given a respectful wai. A wai is the traditional Thai greeting in which the "sender" slightly bows with his or her palms pressed together in a prayer-like fashion held just below the chin. There are various types of wais, depending on the social status of both the "sender" and "receiver". I picked this up very quickly, as I found it not only proper Thai etiquette, but also lots of fun to do. As much as I hate to admit it, "Sawasadee" was the only Thai I used throughout my trip. I suppose it was because I was completely and utterly enamored by the fact that almost everyone around me could speak English, something I hadn't experienced in five months.

After my connecting flight in Bangkok was delayed, I arrived in Chiang Mai a bit later than expected. I peered out my window through the darkness as the plane descended and was surprised to see something I also had not witnessed in a long time: houses. This sounds odd, but I was quite excited to see one and two story homes, with lawns and driveways and even swimming pools. I was glad that I had only brought a carry-on, as I hopped off the plane and was met by my driver provided to me by my hotel, The Castle, in a matter of a few minutes. On the way to the hotel, I also noticed that unlike Seoul, the city is spread out horizontally rather than vertically. The third thing that caught my eye were the motorbikes.