So I’m back in Mae Sot again, but this time Andrew and I flew in for the first time! It was definitely strange to arriving via plane and not at 7am groggy after a 9 hour night bus ride. The flight was only about 1,300B and was total worth it! I might never be able to go back to a VIP night buses again – especially since I’m pretty sure Mo Chit bus station is a level in Dante’s hell…
After managing to get a tuk tuk to Baan Tung Guesthouse we set off immediately to buy some presents for the Burmese Migrant Trade School that Andrew was going to visit. Then to KDHW for some long overdue hellos. It’s been at least 2 years since Andrew has been back to Mae Sot and visited his friends from KDHW and it was really great to catch up with everyone, even though many people have left. Eventually Thala See Lu wanders down and we get to start our meeting early! Unlike the last time in July it seems that we can go to the refugee camp starting bright and early tomorrow morning! Only one, issue Wah Paw was supposed to come back yesterday, but she has yet to show up for work today. Since she is the head of the TB program for KDHW and went with me last time I was hoping that she would be able to come again, but it seems that if we are to go tomorrow I will have to go without her, since no one can get in touch with her! Only a momentary set back however since Thala See Lu suggests that Mweh Paw take her place since Wah Paw had suggested that she become involved in the TB program any ways. At first I was a bit worried since Wah Paw was a bit older and therefore able to help make meetings happen once we were in the camps, but if leaving tomorrow would only happen with Mweh Paw I am sure we will figure it out. We decided to meet at 7am the next day to start out on the 5 hour drive to the river, which left only a few hours to get things ready for the trip!
Baan Tung Guesthouse- home away from home in Mae Sot
Since I would be in the camp for 10 days this time I thought it would be important to bring food with me to help feed the workers helping me and so that I do not need to eat the limited amount of food in the camp. So with Mweh Paw as my trusty motor bike driver off we went to Mae Sot’s equivalent of a super market to buy food for our trip. The food stuffs mostly consisted of 2 boxes of mama noodles (read instant noodle, but way better), cans of tomatoes and sardines (sounds gross, but is actually pretty good, until you’ve eaten it for every meal 6 days in a row in some fashion or another – then it’s not so good), and extra creamy instant coffee which she assures me the Karen will prefer, and knowing that it is 47% sugar, 46% powered milk, and 6 % coffee I believe her! The Thais and Karen do love their stuff sweet! We also picked up some dried fish, a large bag of rice, and enough onions and garlic to keep a horde of vampires away for all of eternity!
Finally done with our chores it’s off to the guesthouse for a little rest and then meeting up with Tha Wah at “The Shrimp Place”. If you’ve ever been to Mae Sot than you know the place I mean, if not than let me say you’re missing out on the best and biggest prawns ever!
Eating 2 kilos of tiger prawns is harder than it looks!
Catching up over TWO kilos worth of prawns – we had to hold Andrew back from ordering more, insisting that two kilos would be more than enough- was wonderful and sad. Tha Wah has grown so much since when we first all lived together in Mae Sot back in 2008 – he’s down right responsible now! And sad because I wish we could all see each other more, but maybe one day he’ll take us up on our offer to visit the states.
After it was an insane packing session, which was a mix between camping – head lamp and REI quick drying towel-, traditional Karen clothes with all my borrowed KDHW polo’s (Thanks Jade!), and toilet paper- they don’t have that there! Since it would be the last night of just me and Andrew until I return to SF of the 18th (Andrew and I will have to stay in different houses because we are not married, plus it’s not like there is any privacy any ways in a bamboo hut with only 4’ walls and no door…) I probably shouldn’t have gotten into bed and immediately passed out… Oh well, it’s how they say ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’