Nothing so beautiful

Tonight I took a bike ride around the village by myself, because I've only recently come to appreciate its real true beauty.

My mind was blown.

All I did was take a left turn where I normally take a right, but suddenly it felt like I was in some whimsical indie film. I was literally surrounded by miles and miles of lime green rice paddies punctuated by pools of still water reflecting the sunset. My entire conscious was expanded in the matter of an hour.

There was one stretch of road where the flat green fields were interrupted by a grove of dark looming trees with spindly vines hanging from them. It got darker and quieter all of a sudden, but still I could hear the vibration of insects and the call of birds. I was in complete awe; but it was when a big black butterfly flitted in front of my bike that I was sure that the left turn I'd taken was really the secret entrance to Alice in Wonderland. I had to pedal back and ride through it again, it was that cool.

In other news, this week I've spent my time helping to take care of a premature newborn (more on that later), motorcycling with Noi to Bo Sang for some umbrella village action and then bicycling with Noi to Doi Saket for some chillaxation at a coffee shop and then getting a stellar massage with Noi at a place on the side of the road, making beads out of paper, teaching the kids about the days of the week and months of the year and in general just falling even more in love with Thailand every day.