so we did our ziplining tour today, and boy was it an eventful one. it got off to a rocky start, but i was fortunate enough to be grouped with some great people, and one not so great person - a family of 3 boys and their parents from australia, a canadian woman currently living in chicago, and a creepy israeli dude who was more likely than not, a rapist. it was much by chance that we ended up with them because we were supposed to start our day at 9, but we were never picked up. once we resolved the issue with the company, they agreed to group us in at 12:30. i was a little disappointed in yaya who seemed to have dropped the ball on this one, until we met our group.
there's something nice about spending time with a family when yours is nowhere nearby.

the late start allowed us to fully gorge on our complimentary breakfast (ie condensed milk) some more, read and nap before embarking on our adventure. the first dude we met was the israeli, who was clearly someone who came to thailand to indulge in the sex industry and opiates. when the boys came on, i believe he kept trying to get them to join him to do sketchy things, but they maintained they were on a fam vacation and left it at that.

let me say that, even though i came to a new country to experience a different culture, it was wonderful to meet a fellow canadian, and a torontonian at that. having been so rooted in the t-dot, I find it hard to even relate to west coast Canadians. nevertheless... she was in her early thirties and had moved to the US a while ago. it was nice hearing her story and even nicer that she could relate to our sense of humour when we made petty judgements about the creepy douchebag. although she moved well before the US buckled down, she gave me a great sense of hope that I could make it there myself, which was a nice relief. AND at the end, she gave me her e-mail and told me if I wanted to work at the LA times during the summer time, she would be glad to help me out with a visa. this is a big deal. not only that- when I heard she worked for the Chicago Tribune, I was considering asking her for a hookup, so for her to offer without me having to feel like I was imposing was very sweet.

although all adventures I have had here are inherently fun and exciting, the people today especially - both our tour group and our ziplining guides - made it so much more enjoyable. so, there is no way i can fault Yaya for this mis-communication with our pickup time, because s/he probably knew, someway, somehow, that we'd have a much more rockin time in the later trip.

this is probably my favourite day in thailand so far, for the feeling of camaraderie and warmth (of the emotional sort, not climate... as it is constantl warm here) so close to chistmas, yet so far from our families.

this present was all i could as for.
:)