MOTO- SAI!

hi friends and family. this past weekend was one i'll never forget. we were going to take a bus to jomtien, but as we got in our cab, the cab driver made a proposition for him to take us there for 800 baht (which is about 24 dollars). we bartered and got 600 baht (18 dollars)...he agreed, and then immediately put on a techno cd...all english- all techno...for two hours. it was kind of tiring- it felt like a crazy rave from 530-730 pm. and he spoke pretty much no english. i wonder what was going through his head driving us- did he like the techno? did he think we were super into it? not sure.
pattaya- near where we stayed is one of the most saddening, disturbing places in the world i'm pretty sure. it is apparently an worse version of amsterdam. if you want to check out human trafficking - check out IJM.org -- an organization that fights for justice on issues such as these. it made me sad, but i hope for something better.
on a happier side of things, on saturday- the day was moving slow, but by about 4 in the afternoon, megan and i wanted to go somewhere. we've been wanting to try out motorbike taxis, so we did just that. first we both got on a bike with this thai guy who was about half my size, then we took a song tao (a truck with benches in the back) to tesco lotus, and then caught some moto sais back. when we initially left the hotel, megan told everyone "we'll be right back" meanwhile...2 hours later, we get back on these motorbikes. at the little part of the street where you catch them, we told the men to drive together because we couldn't go on one together, and they said "slow slow". both of us were laughing hysterically because this was one of the "white girls in a foreign country" moments where it really is that funny. its funny because
a. the helmets really were ridiculous- think a bowling ball cut in half
b. i told my driver to go faster, then pulled up beside megan and told her to do the same, but "faster" doesn't mean a lot when you don't speak thai and you're on a bike that tops out at about 30 km/h
c. we really were the only white girls in our 20s in the city
d. megan was wearing a skirt

needless to say, a moto sai has become my favorite mode of transportation in thailand. i took one the other night to the grocery store, too. don't worry mom, i'll be safe.

and just an update on the FAFF protest- i did some research on it- the men are protesting the whitening cream found in some of the products here...the "official" groups call it cultural prejudice. if they only knew how many people in north america are trying to be brown.