Phi Mai

We got back from Phi Mai last night, and it was well worth the journey. We went with promises of a long tail boat race, and a laser light show. We took a 2½ hour bus ride to Korat were we stayed on Friday night. We stayed at the “Tokyo Mansion” which was far from what the name implies, but the A/C worked and the beds weren’t too hard. Korat is a fun city, and it is claimed to be the second largest city in Thailand. After an entertaining night meeting up with friends from the Phuket, we hopped on a bus Saturday morning to Phi Mai, and arrived around noon. We found our living arrangements to be one room with 12 tatami mats that needed to sleep 16 people, but it was cheap and we didn’t care. We set down our bags and headed to the river where the boat races were taking place. We were surprised to see a large stadium-esque lake with three racing lanes, and large boats with over 40 people in them barreling towards us at the finish line. We sat on the dock area and shook the racers hands after their races congratulating them for their victories. After a day filled with some exciting races and even a few rounds of bumper cars we found ourselves enjoying a cheap dinner and making our way to the “laser light show” which turned out to be inside one of the oldest temples in Thailand and did not include one laser. Instead it was a massive display of Thai history through interpretive dance and fireworks. We went out with our crew of 23 pharangs after the show and shared stories from our first two weeks of teaching. We finished the night off by piling 16 people into the small room that reminded me of camping. Woke up the next day and made our way back to Chaiyaphum in a stifling local bus