Last night we had dinner with the people from The Confucius Center at Mae Fah Luong University (see photos from yesterday), and we had a jolly time with our Chinese and Thai colleagues, including ONE little boy, 5 year old Jerry, who is the only youngster in the photographs. I included a photo of the chickens' feet, none of which our group ate, but the nice Thai-Chinese man who ordered our food for us. 
Today we went to the border or Thailand and Myanmar, and I took gazillions of pictures, not ONE of which turned out! Then, we went to the entrance to the border to see the market and the people pouring back and forth between the two countries, but THEN we went to the Golden Triangle. Still, the damn camera did not perform; when I got home, I had only these measly photos even though we ate lunch on the Mekong, overlooking the three countries, Laos, Burma and Thailand, Laos and Burma's casinos looming over the horizon... Sigh. We went up to Wat Phra Thai Pu Khon, walking up the many, many steps and then taking pictures of the gorgeous scenery below. I'm so, so sad, but then I remember the way my camera fell down the muddy path as I was trekking down from Everest in the dark - 500 pictures down the mountain! These are just reminders of the transiency of our lives; nothing is permanent. It certainly reminds me that attachment is not worth it!!
This afternoon we went to the big Opium Museum, which was fantastic; we were not allowed to take photos, but I confess that I snuck this photo of the entrance into the actual museum, a really spooky, long walk with engravings along the side of people in agony; see photo below. The museum was really effective, and I watched the movies, read ALL the signs, and then the guide had to come fetch me because everybody was in the bus waiting! I missed the last room - the Reflection Room, but I think I have reflected often and painfully enough about the effects of drugs so that I was good to go. I admire Thailand for creating such a compelling museum and gather than an American man actually did all the research for it. 
This was at last night's dinner, and I think you can see the man who ordered our food on the right. The one on the left is John, an economic geographer who lives in Washington state but grew up in Maine. He is extraordinarily quick witted but at the same time unobtrusively kind; I have seen him give money to the poor without anybody else noticing, and he never mentions it or calls attention to himself. Strangely enough, in this business of academic cynicism, he is Catholic.
This was part of the night market last night, a market I don't plan to attend tonight. If I can stay awake until 9, I will try to be a team player and go downstairs for the karaoke that my colleagues are all planning to attend. I sing all day long, driving my Philadelphia colleagues nuts, but this idea of standing up and belting out a song just doesn't quite resonate. I'm game though...
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