Safe in Mae Sot

Sorry, no pictures yet, I have been just wandering around and getting oriented. (Get it, "ORIENT-ed"? Ha, ha.)

So I am no anthropologist, but I think that I can safely say that Thailand is a lot different from Yemen. It is less organized but a lot cleaner. The big difference is that it seems to be be a lot more productive... other then mothers who are sitting around watching their children, everyone is doing something. Gone are the qat chewers, and the only people who seem to be partaking in the local and plentiful beer are the older male tourists. There are women everywhere, including women scooting around on the scooters that everyone rides here. If I stay in Bangkok (please remember that upon arriving in Sanaa I immediately decided that I was going to reside there) then I have got to get one of those bikes!!

Unlike Sanaa, NO ONE speaks English here. Before going to Yemen I studied Arabic very hard and frankly it turns out that I wasted my time. Most of my attempts to speak to the shopkeepers in Arabic were rewarded with an answer in English. Here, it is the opposite. Although I know not one word of Thai, I have not met anyone who is able to respond with more then a "yes" or a "no", even at the more touristy places like the bus station. All the signs are in Thai and the words are mushed together so it's impossible to even learn from the bilingual signs, apart from the first letter. This has been the more disorienting thing that I have had to face since I got here.

But, it can't be too bad since I made it to Mae Sot from Bangkok, a trip of 7 hours. Here I seem to be the only Westerner and yet no one seems to notice me, which at first was really nice but I am starting to get a little lonely. Gone are the cat calls, the "hey babys" and people attempting to show off what little English they know in hopes of getting my attention. A few little kids said "hi, hi" with smiles and a mother at a restaurant that I stopped at encouraged her daughter to say "Good morning" to me but that's about it.

So other then the language barrier I am very impressed. Would you believe that there is a limited amount of bugs? The weather is hot and muggy but I am in my Samoan clothes so I am fairly comfortable. There are yellow-robed monks wandering around everywhere and three temples in town, but they appear closed. I did find the Muslim area of town and had a laugh at the girls wearing colorful headscarfs jetting around on scooters, looking quite different from the black ghosts of Sanaa. I have to admit that seeing the Arabic text on the mosque gave me a feeling of comfort, at least I could catch the word "Allah".

Anyway, I just wanted everyone to know that I am safe and sound. I am going to get some more sleep and then I will write again soon.