The Thais seem to love dubbing movies, instead of subtitling...I watched Jaws in Thai. Actually, it was pretty effective, probably because it's one of those films you've seen heaps of times so you basically know what they are talking about. And the scenes of people getting eaten by a shark don't need a lot of translation...
There is obviously a real skill at dubbing, and the Thai dubbing is quite good. The match the thai words with the lip movements very closely, and they even do all of the sound effects that each person makes, heavy breathing, grunts, squeals and screams. Still, it's pretty obvious these people are not actually Thai people getting eaten by the shark, so the whole dubbing thing is pretty silly. Obviously can't stand watching anything dubbed into English.
I've spent a lot of time in the lobby - which is where there is a bank of computers. For the first two days here they've been playing the same Western songs CD over and over (they've changed it at last, but the music is still shit). It was a compilation of forgotten hits from the 70s and 90s (that's right, not the 80s). Actually I read somewhere that because of some shame or other, the Thais are in total denial about most of the 80s, so they are not allowed to refer to it at all. Crazy Thais.
I'm still sick. I've done to Chang Mai what I did to Kunming - hang around and be sick. Will spend the rest of the day in bed reading, sleeping, and watching Thai tv. Thinking maybe I should even see a doctor...it's been one week now and I'm really struggling to breathe, and I have no energy at all.
I remembered Sam told me I could claim sick leave if I'm sick while on holidays. Then I remembered, I took leave without pay :D
Bangkok tomorrow. Will check out the book stores and see if I can join a riot. I never heard how all that go resolved...did the prime minister step down? Which reminds, the bus I was on from Chang Rai to Chang Mai was stopped for a police check...and also, the minivan I was on to Houayxai in Laos was stopped in the middle of nowhere by men who didn't look like police, but certainly acted like them. The actually searched through the van as well as checking out if the passengers looked suspicious. Unlike the Thais, they didn't actually look at people's IDs (do Lao people have these?) or my passport.
Which also reminds me...on the tuk tuk/taxi from the Chinese border, as we went over the hills, we went through lots of little, very poor, villages by the road. I took a few photos but I missed out on the best two sights.
The first was a huge pile of fruit - they might have been coconuts still in their complete husk. Each fruit was wrapped in one of those foam things they wrap bottles of alcohol in at duty free. There were a dozen guys standing and sitting around, and more than half of them had put the foam thing totally over their heads. They were just sitting there totally indifferent to how silly they looked.
There were a lot of kids in these villages. The second highlight was a skinny brown kid, riding a bike too big for him so he had to stand up on the pedals, and across his eyes he was wearing a scuba diving mask! Special effort. I think he thought it was like a bike helmet. He was probably the coolest kid in the village because he had the scuba mask! Good luck to him.
Because I've been travelling by myself, I've been chatting with people more often. Waiting in Chang Rai for a bus I got chatting with a monk from Bangladesh. He was very happy, thought everyone was good, thought Thailand was a wonderful country, and all the Thais had "beautiful smiles". Well, he was a monk. He is the second person from Bangladesh I've chatted with. The other was on the way from Guangzhou to Kunming. He was dressed in an orthodox muslim fashion, with a little cap and a long, but thin, beard. So we talked about the cricket ;)
Even in Chang Mai, which is a bit of an ugly tourist trap (which is what I thought the first time I came here), I'm happily chatting with the locals who want me to buy things, even if it's just saying hello to all the waiting tuk tuk drivers. I had a conversation with a guy from Burma who wanted me to get a suit made. I remember in the past I would have avoided such encounters, probably because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to say no, at least not without embarrassment. Now I just don't seem to care.
Chang Mai seems really quiet too. There are a few tourists, mostly fat, old guys with local girlfriends. I really try not to stare. Oh well. It's hot (and humid) though, seems to be the hottest time of year. I thought rainy season was supposed to have started, but Tom the Irish guy said up here in the north it starts later.
I've had a few moments of confusion in China, mostly because my mandarin totally sucks. One of these was getting to the bus station to find no sign of any English. In the end got helped by one of the few people who speak English. I was suspicious of course - you tend not to trust locals who speak English and want to come up and talk to you when you are travelling - but he was quite helpful and when I asked if he wanted any cash for helping he said no. Another example of not getting ripped off in China...
The best moment of confusion for me was buying some bread. I went into a small shop selling unleavened bread, cooked with chives (I think) and still warm. I asked for a slice (a lot of pointing) and for the price he showed me 2 fingers, then 5. So I think $2.50, right? Right. So I give him a $5 note. No, not enough! Wtf? Is he saying $25 for some bread?? Surely not. Hmm, so instead of handing over a $100 note, I put a few coins on my hand and he takes 2 of them. So 2 fingers plus 5 fingers equals $7! What a weird way of showing a 7!
I felt like I had been ripped off because he seemed to change the price - I was so sure he had meant $2.50, and $7 seemed pretty expensive for that bread, but it was delicious so I didn't worry.
Delicious enough for me to return the next day, and instead of the old guy, I got the old woman (his wife I guess), serving me. This time I bought four times the amount of bread, including different types of loaves. These are quite small, round loaves, some savoury, some sweet - and you don't know which until you buy and eat them ;) And guess what the price was again? $7!! So, he must have ripped me off!!
I left, shaking my head, but again, all so cheap it wasn't a big deal.
But then! Later that day I bought a can of coke for $4.50. I handed over the $5 note and I received 50 cents change...but instead of getting a 50 cent coin as I was expecting, I got a 50 cent NOTE!!! WTF??? So then it dawned on me. That $5 note I had offered the old guy in the first place, was a 50 cent note!! The price was $2.50 all along, and he hadn't ripped me off! I had just been very confused :D
I took a motorbike, 2 buses, and an expensive gaudy tuk tuk to get to Chang Mai from Chiang Khong. Total cost, $16AUD.
A tuk tuk/taxi, then a minivan from the Chinese/Laos border to Houayxai, cost $140AUD.
Fuck Laos is expensive.
The first bus from Chiang Khong to Chaing Rai was a local bus. Lots of fans attached to the ceilings and doors (front and back) and windows open. Pretty relaxing actually, and I was tired enough to fall asleep sitting up. The bus from Chang Rai to Chang Mai was a luxurious coach with air con and a crazy Thai martial arts movie!
Ok, so getting a minivan in Laos is expensive. That evil woman claimed it should cost 3000baht and so $80US was actually a good deal, but am I going to believe a single word she says? Normal buses in Laos are cheaper. 110 000 kip (um, still $14US) from Houayxai to Luang Phabang, but they are in shit condition, have to go over really bad roads and lots of mountains, and are full of English tourists.