Motorbikes and Media
Friday January 27
We went looking for breakfast but not much was available. It is Chinese New Year and most of the restaurants are not open yet. We finally gave up and walked all the way to the Corner Cafe again. They were only serving western food, no Thai food, because of Chinese New Year. So we had western breakfast. :(
Afterward we walked back to the rooms and made arrangements so we could leave our luggage and have rooms for tomorrow night when we come back.
They were waiting for word from Jonathan and a guy they were wanting to buy a motorbike from, so we got ourselves repacked for the weekend and worked while we waited.
Finally drove to Jonathan's apartment and picked up Adams. Then drove to where we were supposed to meet the guy with the bike. He had run back home so we ended up leaving James to buy the bike and ride by himself out to the Love for Asia Foundation office (an hour). Chiang Mai is a busy city, even though it's not a huge one. There was a lot of traffic on the road.
I kept saying I should stay with him. But Jon said no. Gulp. He's 16 but... I just prayed for him. We went out of the city the same way he would be, but Jon called and told him not to go that way because we passed a police checkpoint and Jon saw them pulling over tourists.
We arrived late for the 1:30 meeting about the studio. Another ministry is going to build a studio near here. Our team will also be able to use it.
We realized it would be 6 pm when we had supper and we hadn't had lunch. Chris walked over to the little store and bought some soy milk and snacks, and they had oranges and watermelon for us at the office. Those were so yummy!
James arrived just after we started snacking, while they were still meeting. He had discovered that the gas gauge on the bike doesn't work and one mirror is a bit floppy. But otherwise, it seems to run well, which is the most important thing!
We decided we should film with the media team, so set up for that and started shooting. Shot with Daniel Bair, Gop and Frame, Baw Baw, Suwit, and Wanida. They all did well even across shyness and language differences. :)
Then Jon headed out to see the property for the other ministry's studio.
James borrowed a bike and took Mary Ann and Lilyann over to Chiang Mai Adventist Academy to shoot there. Gop and Suwit went with them. On the way back, they stopped at a rice field and shot another section of the open. Oops, not sure I was supposed to say that! :)
After they all got back, Luke got on the bike with James and we headed out to buy water and check in to our resort rooms before sundown. It was a beautiful place! Our rooms were in a large log cabin building, which we soon discovered had very good sound boosting capabilities. :).
We had to immediately apply mosquito repellent because they were just as hungry as we were! We discovered a koi pond under the porch there, with standing water. No wonder the mosquitos were abundant and happy!
The team had made supper, so they brought it and we all ate together on the porch of the log building at the resort. Frame especially had worked hard to make Kao Man Kai. At least I think that's the name of it. Ginger and celery root rice (Kao), fried tofu, fried fake chicken (Kai), fried mushrooms, and a special sauce, which she had made in two heats, but even mild was quite spicy for me. :). We also had sliced cucumbers, and oranges.
It was so yummy! The rice by itself was so good! She is a great cook!
We all enjoyed worship together, and went around the circle saying what we were thankful for. Many of us were thankful for the opportunity to be together even for a short time. All the team's whole families were there. It was hard to say goodnight, but we were all tired, which made it easier.
