A Good Weekend

Sorry if this is poorly written and kind of long, but I've been exhausted, and I just really needed to post something before I accrue more to write about this upcoming weekend. Also, blogger is being really annoying, so not many embedding pictures in this one. Click through to Picasa for pictures. Sorry.

I had a pretty darn good weekend last week. Things started on Friday night, when I came home to the Thai version of grilling out back... there was a charcoal fire in a small bucket, on top of which was a slotted metal plate for grilling pork, chicken, and buffalo, and surrounding the grill was a trough of broth for boiling mushrooms, noodles, and other unidentified tasty things.

Small kids were there doing adorable things. One of my little Thai cousins speaks two phrases of English: “shake hands” and “happy birthday to you.” Actually, he knows the Happy Birthday Song. It might be the cutest thing ever. His parents make him shake my hand every time to say hello, but then he runs right back to his dad, because I think he's afraid of my pale skin. Anyway, it's adorable, and it's just so nice to be around little kids after 4 years of living in a dorm.

On Saturday I headed into Chiang Mai and met up with PiAers Nick and Ali. We rode motorbikes up Doi Suthep (actually, they drove and I rode), which is the perfect way to see a beautiful mountain. I, like an idiot, forgot my camera in Nick's apartment, and have no pictures. Will steal some from him when he posts, or I'll just take twice as many next time I go, which is likely to be soon.

Spent Saturday night in the city, and met up for dinner to celebrate PiAer Lexi's birthday. There was much rejoicing.

Sunday morning I met up with the Chiang Mai Rock Climbing crew for a totally different celebration. Marshall, an old friend of Josh's (and of the company) is leaving Thailand to go back to the States semi-permanently, so we threw him a going-away party. Except for outdoorsy types, that means doing something really really cool outdoors.

So we got up pretty early and set out for Mae On, where there was this cave that supposedly had amazing crystals inside. I say “supposedly,” because this cave was on private property, and the owner didn't appreciate people stealing crystals from his cave, and generally was very hostile to anybody interested in exploring.

Anyway, after a lot of hard work, someone found someone who knew how to get to the place and would take us there for a small fee, so six of us were able to spend most of Sunday in this super-secret/illegal/beautiful crystal cave. I have a few pictures, but they really don't do anything justice, especially because none of my pictures from inside the cave turned out at all – all of the ones here are just from the entrance. One member of our group is a real photographer, and took a few hundred photos, so if I can get my hands on any, I'll be sure to pass them along (although he's understandably nervous about posting any, because he's kind of a big deal, and needs to keep the locals happy).

Anyway, here's Marshall explaining how these things form (it's a geothermal cave with calcium carbonate and argonite crystals, for those interested). Marshall's really into caves, and did a lot to develop CMRCA's caving programs. Plus, he's a cool guy, and loves rocks. We are all sad that he's leaving us.

And here's my best effort at documenting what this place looked like. It's really unbelievable – inside there were crystals on every single surface. Some looked like huge cauliflower; others were dusted with red dirt and looked like roasted marshmallows. Some were like icicles sticking in every direction, and other formations looked exactly like freezer burn. The crystals are rock, but are pretty fragile, and now that the cave is opened, they have stopped growing – that means that the crystals are in better shape now than they ever will be again, and I feel extremely lucky to have seen them.

Anyway, this coming week(end) promises more fun. There's a 4^th of July BBQ at the US Consulate in Chiang Mai that should be fun, and then I think I have above-ground outdoor fun lined up for Saturday, so all-in-all, there should be plenty more material for next week's posts.

Sorry again for the half-assed post.