Update

So I know that my last post was something like March 5th and I need some catching up to do... now is not the time. I will be posting blogs as much as I can within the next week or so. Here is a brief recap of what I have been doing:

Working on the Queens farming project in the middle of the jungle
Trekking in the jungle
Riding elephants
Holding Snakes
Jumping off waterfalls
Helping with building a health center in a village
Cat fish fishing with a net(really hard)
Playing local games with the kids in the village
Lots of driving everywhere throughout the jungle

Basically, I am really busy so I will try to keep this updated when I can. Below is a link to some photos if you want to check them out

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scotthamptonthailand/

March 4th

Today I went through a lot of training to learn about the Akha tribe and culture. One funny tribe I learned about builds houses with banana with leaf roofs. When the leaves turn yellow, the whole tribe relocates (weird, but what ever floats their boat). After practicing some basic language, it was time for food. For lunch, we had sou with pig, baby bees (yes, bees), fish heads, and amazing spinach with peanut sauce. I think the best part of all the food is organic. If the food can't be found where I am staying, people go the the nearby jungle to get it. Around 4:00 two people came back from one of the villages, Kent and Lay Jay. Kent is a volunteer from Minnesota and Lay Jay is in the Akha tribe working for AFECT as a translator.

That night we all went to the night market in Chiang Rai. This market is the tourist spot for the city and has many little shops and two big courtyards with stages and performers. We all drank a lot of beer (1. to get drunk and 2. Forty oz. of good beer is $1.25, how can I say no?) After many beers, and too much whiskey (the Akha drink of choice) we met the weirdest guy, John. John has an unknown age (my guess is about 45), he has no hair, tattoos fro head to toe, bloodshot eyes (guaranteed he was on crack), missing teeth, originally French but does not affiliate himself with them anymore, has lived in seven different countries (ten years in Thailand0, claims that money is everywhere so he does not need a job, and is about the most squirrely individual I have ever seen. Everything about him was weird.

Anyway, after even more beers our table was saying "chitu" (cheers in Akha) to everything we were talking about. We were going to every table around and saying cheers with them as well. Our table was by far the rowdiest and most entertaining, everyone was watching us. Lee Jay, being the oddball he is, went around calling everyone "my honey" and got girls to come to our table. Soon our one table of four grew to three tables of six. I was having the time of my life

Around 12:00 a.m. the four of us went to some random night club that John knew about. It was hilarious watching the live band singing American songs with Asian Accents! I couldn't help but laugh. John was hitting on women and men (he got the number of our male server) which did not surprise me. After about an hour, two Thai women (I thought) had bought me some drinks. Twenty minutes later, Lee Jay pulled me aside and informed me they were, in fact, lady boys. I hate this town. Around 2:00 a.m. I was ready to go home so we got a Tuk Tuk and I passed out the second we got back to Akha headquarters.

March 3rd

Jet lag got the best of me and I could not sleep through the night. After lying awake for a good three hours, it was finally breakfast time. We had sticky rice with a mushy topping consisting of pumpkin, milk, sugar, and egg all wrapped up in a banana peel. There was also a full plate of papaya to go along with this dish. It was delicious. After breakfast, I spoke with the creator of AFECT, A Too, about what I am going to be doing for the next three weeks.

Around 1:00 we had a big lunch- rice, soup with egg, egg plant, fresh vegetables, and some other plates that I don't know what they were, just that it was tasty. I slept for the next fourhours only to wake up and eat again ( I can't stop eating here, the food is amazing). After dinner, I met someone named Pearl who is making a documentary on AFECT and the Akha tribe which was really interesting to learn about.

Pearl and I went to the night market in the city, Chiang Rai, and had yet another dinner. In the courtyard where we sat, there was a show with singers and dancers. The dancers were beautiful and extremely talented; however, just five minutes after this thought, Pearl informed me that the performers were in fact what Thai people call "ladyboys". I thought to myself, wonderful, how am I going to even look at a girl and know if she is actually a woman? Pearl and I discussed the physical differences between Thai women and ladyboys. As we walked around the night market looking at all the useless yet cool souvenirs, I practiced spotting the ladyboys. My judgement, or lack therof, got better throughout the night, but it is still very difficult to distinguish ladyboys from women.

At the end of the night, I got an infamous Thai massage for an hour which cost me a whole $6. Afterwards, I took the Thai form of a Taxi, a Tuk Tuk, to go home. These tiny three wheeled cars are blue and decorated with a bunch of different photos and lights. The experience of taking the Tuk Tuk was unforgettable considering they are insane drivers that consistently come inches away from crashing.

Taiwan

I thought my layover was in China, but apparently I was wrong. That's nothing new. I am now in Taiwan waiting eight hours for my next flight to Bangkok.

The flight over here was the longest trip I have been on. I think the only one that comes close was the 12 hour drive to Tahoe on my mom's birthday years ago. What a birthday. Haha. China air-lines is not good. It feels like a southwest plane, but a lot bigger with three main tv's to watch movies I have never heard of, and for good reason. They were as bad as the Batman movie with the termiantor. For those of you who haven't scene Batman 4 with Mr. Freeze, don't. However, they did show How I Met Your Mother, so I can't complain. The trip wasn't that bad, probably because I am stoked for Thailand.

Anyway, the Taipei airport is not that exciting at all. I thought it would be full of shops and restaurants, but those are limited. I was really excited to see that they have a nice shower that all transferring passengers can use. When I saw this, I dashed to the counter in order to use the shower, only to find out they were out of towels. After the disappointment of the shower, I went back to the bathroom. I opened one of the stalls and froze for a second. When I looked down, I realized that the toilets are in the ground, literally. I was perplexed. It may not be new to some of you, but for a guy who has not traveled, going to the bathroom while sitting on the ground is quite awkward... It was the experience that counted though and this is just the start of weird things I am going to have to get used to.

I'm crazy tired and need to get some sleep before my next flight. I'll keep this updated probably every couple of days. Take care