Mae Sot Day 1 | Mar 15 |

Hey Gang,

So now that you've read about our adventure just getting to Mae Sot, the fun of actually being here begins. We arrived at Brian and Jessica's house around 6:30am. Jess and their golden retriever puppy, Kushi, had just woken up (or maybe we had woken them up with our overburdened Tuk Tuk tearing down the street). It was so great to see where they've been living for the last year. This is their second house here in Mae Sot, but still.

They have a roommate as well, she's from Whitman and works at the same school they do. So we tried not to be too loud in our hello hugs and tired sighs. Jess made us some coffee and we started talking about of various adventures. Soon it was time to head out on the town.

Our first stop was to Auntie's Coffee where we rented 3 bicycles for the week. These bikes would become our best friends and our only form of transportation for the duration of our stay here. Brian ran off to get a 4th bike and then we headed over to a Burmese restaurant for a traditional Burmese breakfast.

The breakfast consisted of heated chickpeas, oil and crunchy toasted onions (I'm sure there were other spices involved as well) and freshly made Na'an. The way they made the Na'an bread was quite unique with a oven/stove specifically designed to make this type of bread. It was salty and warm and delicious. A great introduction to Burmese cuisine.

After breakfast we checked in to the Rujira Guest House, our home for the next few days. We were going to stay with Brian and Jess, but then 4 additional people is a bit much in your home :).

This guest house is a short walk from their home (down a red dirt cattle path) but it takes you through several diferent areas in a short period of time. Brian and Jess live in a row of town houses that are relatively nice for the area, a block down you start seeing shacks and houses that seem to be standing up by luck alone, as you walk down the cattle path you see all types of animals from cows, goats, ducks, chickens, to stray dogs. Small children are running around (some clothed, some not) and playing in the rice patty fields. Then you reach our guest house which is a quiet oasis compared to the surrounding area. Our room had air conditioning and a shower that is just a spray head in the same room as the sink and the toilet.

We took another great shower at that point and we were ready to start our volunteer work. We will post more about our volunteer work later. There are some things we're not allowed to talk about, so we'll write about that specifically once we know what restrictions there are. (Please look for the post titled VOLUNTEERING IN MAE SOT later on)

After some morning volunteering we rode our bikes to T Corner for a delicious meal of Green curry rice with chicken and pineapple, chicken and rice. Hands down the Green Curry rice was the winner and deliciously spicy!

We volunteered all afternoon and then went to the fanciest restaurant for dinner, called Ayia. It's a Burmese and Thai restaurant with a variety of food. Favorites were the Paanang curry with chicken and the Ginger Salad. While we were eating dinner a lady walked into the restaurant and sold us some Banana Chips (apparently Brian plays pool with her son - small world!)

After our long first day in Mae Sot it was time for some sleep. Our first bed nights rest since Wednesday in Hawaii. Believe me it was amazing. It was a great first day with Brian and Jess in their town. Can't wait for what the rest of the week holds.

Throughout our stay we keep finding reasons that Becky should have been born Thai. We'll share these with you as we discover them. So far we have:

Reasons Becky should have been born Thai:
-Small portions
-Spicy food
-Love of straws (the whole nation loves them and distributes them with all drinks regardless of if you buy them at a restaurant of 7-11)
-Lots of meals and snacks