June 21, 2011- Chaing Mai, Thailand

            Chaing Mai is a completely different animal than Bangkok. There are no huge sky scrapers stalked on top of one another, and it really has more of a small town feel to it. We met Ajan Khem Pet at the entrance of the city and followed his car until we stopped. When we stopped WE got out of Panyas car and I remember looking at Khem Pets old van. Its old cracking gray paint and probably a exhaust gasket leaking somewhere I could tell the van had seen some better days. Khem Pet then walked over to me gave me a big hug and a firm shake of the hand. Big for a Thai man Khem Pet stands about 5’8” and probably weighs around 175lbs, and has the definite father of daughters look to him. He must have seen me looking at the van, because after he was done shaking my hand he began to tell me why he had this van. Khem pet said-

            “This is a gift from God Brandon. For I can not afford a car for my family, but someone give through God.”    With out even a brake for me to exchange any words he put his hand on my back and pushed me along to the place where we were going to have our dinner.

            With Khem Pet was his youngest daughter Nam(water) who is sixteen or seventeen and his wife Noi(small) who’s age was not asked. The have another daughter named Kaao(rice) who is nineteen, but she had to be at the university for the night. Dinner was the Thai version of Home-Town-Buffet; there was a salad bar and a dessert bar, and the only really big difference was the main bar.  Filed with raw meats of all kinds. From pork to beef, liver to stomach, and even a few things that I couldn’t tell what they were it was a scary sight for American stomachs. That being said; liver is tough and chalky but good when dipped in enough sauce, stomach is chewy and bland and is still not good no matter how much sauce is on it, and the things I didn’t know about turned out to be hole squid, and they are ok with a lot of sauce on them. O and we cooked everything by the way on this little burner they gave us at each table.