We have found that the unexpected is the norm here in Thailand. We stood up for the Thai national anthem the other night. But we weren’t at a ballgame; we were at a movie theatre. After all the commercials and previews, a notice flashed up on the screen: “Please stand and pay homage to His Majesty The King.” A song played (which His Majesty himself composed, by the way) and a photo montage featuring His Majesty at various stately functions filled the screen. When it ended we noticed that a few audience members made the ‘wah’ gesture of respect - palms pressed together, fingertips touching the forehead (think “The King and I” here). Then everyone sat down, dug into their popcorn and enjoyed “The Titanic.” (Yes, in English, with Thai subtitles)

Rich is relative. We visited the northwestern hill village of Jabo (Black Lahu tribe. They wear black cloaks as opposed to the Red Karen tribe, who wear red cloaks). The village chief asked us, through our Thai guide, what it cost to fly to Thailand from where we lived. We told him about 45,000 Thai Baht (about $1000) per person. He found this hard to grasp. He is the CHIEF and he’s never been to Chiang Mai, which is just 100 km away, because he could not afford the 80 Baht ($1.75) bus trip. He looked kind of stumped when we told him we were from America. He said he didn’t know where it was for sure but he had heard of it. His wife loved the photo I showed her of my kids. She put her hands over her heart and asked me to give her the photo so she could pin it to the wall of her bamboo hut. The pigs and chickens live on the ground floor and the family on the second floor and I wasn’t sure on which floor she planned to hang this photo, so I gave her a postcard of Dallas instead.