Getting Acquainted

Last night I went out with the hip young Thai owner of the bungalow complex I'm staying at, along with a handful of his friends who bussed it in from a province four hours away. We all clicked super quickly and just naturally dove into conversation about where we were from and what we were planning to do with our time in Thailand. One of the guys--a fellow Portlander (go figure), said that I had no idea what I was getting myself into by going out with this group. In short, I did not anticipate getting home at 2:30am, my buzz from two Leos having long worn away but the high of dancing still coursing through my veins. Man, those guys can party.

Today was very full, as much as I tried to dub this a "chill out" day. Ventured out around noon to get my hair done--which included the most wonderful, tingly, relaxing scalp massage and a moisturizing mask for my dry hair. After my long stay in the salon, I sought out a song-tao to take me to a restaurant that had been recommended to me by a friend from Portland. After 20 minutes of walking around an amazing outdoor market square trying to figure out where I was, I stumbled upon AUM Vegetarian Restaurant. Kinda one of those hole in the wall places you'd definitely walk past easily on the outside. But once you witness the inner oasis of Thai wood, shelves upon shelves of books for sale, and an upstairs bungalow where you can sit upon a cute little cushion to eat your meal or sip on your freshly pressed juice--you automatically know you're in the right place. I was told that the North is famous for kao soi, a curried noodle dish which I promptly ordered for about $2.25. I'm not kidding when I say that I was utterly absorbed in the absolute goodness of this gem: crunchy fried noodles sprinkled with green onion on top, a rich, creamy red coconut curry base filled with potatoes, oyster mushrooms, marinated fried tofu and egg noodle. Sounds simple, but the flavors were out of this world--nothing needed to be added to it. I definitely could eat there every day, considering that the food is outstanding, simple, and coming from a staff who loves every customer coming into the establishment to be nourished. Indeed, I emerged from this raan aah-haan completely fed.

I couldn't seem to find a song-tao that could take me back to my dwelling, so I decided to take the 25 minute stroll home--which turned out to be so much more entertaining! You can get home faster by song-tao, but the ones up here are far more covered, so the whole "checking out the scenery" thing is out of the question. Walking allowed me to take it all of Old Town in with my eyes, my lens, and my heart. The light is back in my eyes again. I am in love.