Shelter from the Storm......

Is something that's really not possible here in Mae Sot.  I've been in Thailand, and other areas of SE Asia during the rainy season before, but I've never seen anything like this.  Nor have other "long-timers" of Mae Sot, people who have been here for years.  Apparently Burma is experiencing severe monsoons, which have illegally crossed the border into Mae Sot.

I spent a few days thinking I could avoid the rain.  This had me one day spending an entire afternoon in Hazel Cafe, Mae Sot's version of Starbucks, over-air conditioned, filled with wi-fi and over-priced coffee drinks.   I didn't mind, but realized this couldn't become a daily habit.  The next day I left work late only to find myself in the middle of a down-pour.  Luckily, my friend Matt happened to arrive and provided "shelter from the storm" at his home for about 2 hours, before we both realized the rain wasn't going to stop.  From that point on, I've come to embrace the fact that if I need to go somewhere, I'm going to end up soaked (bad move bringing all the white shirts and fisherman pants, but great call on packing the heavy duty rain coat!)

Sunday, myself and a bunch of farang NGO workers decided we should embrace the weather and cycle out of the city.  While Mae Sot is a great town, there really isn't that much to DO.  It has an active enough nightlife (ok, 3 bars, but at U.S. $1.50 for a litre of beer, no one is complaining) but thats about it.     So a trip to "The Buddha's Footprint" was in store.   

"Just a 20 kilometer trip" to the top of a hill, where apparently a clear footprint, now plated in gold paint, can be found above a Budhist temple.   The ride provided a beautiful tour of the area surrounding Mae Sot, rice fields, hills, and the fast moving river separating Thailand from Burma.  Of course every time someone took a raincoat off the rains started to pour, but we had all grown to accept the fact we would be soaked, and cycled through the rain.  What I wasn't prepared for was the significantly uphill ride we had ahead of us.  As Mae Sot is basically a flat valley, most people, including myself, don't have gears, or speeds, on their bikes.   The first few hills, until I learned to embrace momentum,were certainly a challenge.

Our group did suffer one near disaster, as Jess's back tire went flat just as the road was beginning to go uphill.   Luckily, we had a good team effort, and we were quickly able to lock her bike to a nearby tree and Reed took her the rest of the way, as she sat side-saddle on the back of his bike.

We made it to the temple, exhausted and realizing none of us had been smart enough to bring much food!  It was only then that we learned that we still had a climb to the top.    Climbing 200 or so steps we made it to the top.  The actual foot print was a bit anti-climatic, but the trip was worth it for the view alone!  We were treated to a beautiful landscape and even a few fleeting moments of sunlight!   

The ride home proved, with the exception of many many shaky legs, and of course a few more downpours, to be relatively un-eventful.   All and all a lovely, if very exhausting day!

Pictures can be found here:   Still haven't figured out how to get them right onto the page, but hoping someone will show me in the next 2 weeks (ahem)...............

http://picasaweb.google.com/ejgold/Jun62009?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHWl_v41-GJVg#