Chiang Rai Take 2

So this was my second visit to Chiang Rai. I came here before in June after my trip to the US, but this time was a little different. We packed a lot of stuff into just 2 days. Dang and I left on the evening of the 6th. We took an overnight tourbus to Chiang Rai which took a little less than 12 hours. We immediately went to check into the YMCA, showered and met Pastor's Sompong and Taweep for breakfast. At this point they were still formal and polite, and we had a nice breakfast together. Pastor Sompong even offered me his rice soup, but when I found out it was with squid, I passed and told him I would wait for my chicken! Several cups of coffee later and we were headed for our intended destination; the Akha village of Doi Sa Ngo a mere two hours away. Pastor Sompong and Taweep drove up the day before in Pastor Sompong's truck which became our mode of transportation for the two days. We stopped near the Golden Triangle tourist area for more coffee and I even got to eat a flower which Pastor Sompong picked up along the way. We arrived in the village below the village a little before lunch time and switched into a 4-wheel drive truck. Getting to this village isn't the same as getting to Loh Koh, but it still has a few steep climbs. When you are up the mountain far enough you can see Burma and Laos as it's located next to the Golden Triangle. There was a larger crowd of people at the church this time to greet us. Instead of just Pastor Chomwee and his wife, it seemed that all the church members were present too.

Pastor Chomwee's grandson=one of the cutest babies I've ever seen!

My new friends Balika, Aasa and Salika.
They started with business first. I was just fascinated though to see the 3 pastors interact. They have only met once before, but it was like they have been friends since childhood. Formalities-over with. Pastor Chomwee's wife served us tea(after I already drank the water forgetting that we are planning to do a water project here) while we sat and chatted. Actually, I didn't chat much, I was the picture taker. Not too long after business was settled, we ate lunch. The first bowl was this. Yep, that is a bowl of bamboo grubs. Even though I've eaten them before, I was going to pass until I was coerced into eating 1. This eventually became a theme; coercing me into eating weird foods. The rest of the food was delicious and was somewhat similar to Hmong food, though I still prefer the Hmong food.

It was time for group pictures after lunch with the books translated and donated to the church by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. We then got a tour of the village, which was a first for me. Before we knew it, our visit was over and we got another ride down the mountain.

The day was not over by a long shot even though we got back to the YMCA at 4. We decided to rest and regroup at 4:30 when we headed off to visit other local ministries. Earlier in the car Pastor Sompong had asked me whether I was a afraid of snakes, and it wasn't until later halfway on our hike through a rice paddy that I realized why. There were snake holes everywhere, but no one was home thankfully. We were at a fish farm believe it or not, run by a Christian man who uses it as an outreach ministry to train other people subsistence farming. They gave him books too, but we couldn't stay long as we had more places to visit. I was thankful because the flies and mosquitoes were swarming.

We made two more stops to visit friends of theirs and give them books. They each had been to theology school with the Pastor's, so they had a short chance to reconnect and say hi. After that we had to go find a place to eat. I told them first that I would like noodles, but then I said I would eat whatever. This opened the door for them to suggest whatever they wanted and they determined from then on to find the strangest food they could imagine. For dinner we found a restaurant attached to another fresh fish farm, and ended up ordering 3 fish plates, morning glory and snake soup. I don't like to eat seafood, and I originally thought that the snake soup was snails after seeing the snails the fish farm guy fed to the fish. However, I did eat one of the fish plates and it was really good. I think I might be able to say that I actually like one kind of fish and can eat it without wanting to gag!!!!! This is huge folks! Anyway, there was another dish that they insisted I need to eat but the restaurant didn't have it. It's called Gung Tden which means dancing shrimp. It's called that because the miniature shrimp are still alive when you eat them. LOL I soon realized that in general I have to keep my eye out for these two pastors who enjoy pranks and joking.

The second day, I got to send off some postcards before we headed out for the Village of Heuy Kray. We made a stop at a school on the way to meet with the Principal who is Christian, to give hims some books and get a tour of the school. When we got to Pastor Pongsak's house, it felt like coming home. He was in the driveway as soon as we pulled up to greet us. They helped us unload the food we brought, and then we proceeded to spend the next several hours on the front porch in the cool shade talking and shooting the breeze. Neighbors came by periodically with matters of business. Kids in the neighborhood were playing nearby, or washing their clothes including the one's they were wearing while they were wearing them. It was just nice to be able to relax and not have to be formal I guess. I helped bring the lunch food out (happy once again to eat Hmong food) and then we all sat down to eat together. In Hmong society, the family will eat together unless there are guests in which case the women will eat after the men eat. This time we just all ate together. Pastor Pongsak even opened a bottle of scotch afterwards. The weather was also cool since we were up on the mountain. Eventually it was time to go and we headed back to Chiang Rai city.

Dang and I were going to fly back that night but we still had several hours to enjoy. So, the Pastor's took us to a hot springs where people and families go to sit in the whirlpools. It reminded me a lot of Finnish saunas, at least the part about switching back and forth from hot to cold. For dinner, they didn't have Gung Tden either, so we had to settle for frog legs instead. Then, just like that we were at the airport and it was time to go. Another successful trip!