Day 4

Dear Family and Friends back in the States,

We are having a wonderful trip so far, and we still have two more weeks to soak up the Thai culture. Last night was very eventful. After our afternoon nap and swim time, we went out to "Condoms and Cabbages" for dinner. DON’T WORRY PARENTS! Your daughters are being taken care of! The restaurant was started a few years ago by a former government official named Mei Chi. The profits from the restaurant go towards AIDS education and prevention throughout Thailand. Our meal was marvelous, as usual. Chicken and cashews, sticky rice and mangos, and coconut and chicken soup were some of the highlights.

After dinner, we went to Pat Pong, the Bangkok Night Market (a.k.a. the Red Light District). Again, PARENTS DON’T WORRY! Mike Leming is taking good care of us. This was quite an experience! It was very relevant to our restuarant choice earlier that night. We walked around Pat Pong for about 45 minutes. We glanced at the Gucci watches, Polo shirts, and Pokemon paraphenalia that the Thai people were selling in nice neat rows. But the thing that really caught our eyes were the extracurricular activities going on barely five feet from us. Young men and women would approach the males in our group of about 45 Americans and try to entice them to enter the sex shops. The doors of these shops were open for all of us to see. Let me be the first to say that blatant prostitution like that is not something that I have ever seen. We were all anxious to leave that environment, but in typical Carleton fashion, the discussions didn’t stop there. We talked on the bus, into the night, and even the following day about the sights from Pat Pong.

Luckily, three of my teammates (Bridget, Renee, and Cassie) had done research for a women’s studies class last term on prostitution business in Thailand. They were able to give us information which we wouldn’t have known otherwise. For instance, what we saw at Pat Pong was the "tourist prostitution" aimed at the foreigners who come to visit Thailand. The frightening thing is that this tourist prostitution is the higher-class prostitution where the women receive more money and frequent AIDS tests. In other words, there is worst prostitution than what we witnessed. Scary! The whole experience was very eye-opening. I’m glad that we got to see Pat Pong so that we could be aware of what goes on night in and night out throughout Thailand and other countries around the world. I also feel fortunate that we come from a country where our option are open. In the USA, females can participate in sports, we can go to college, and we can even choose our careers after college.

Tammy told us that this would be a trip that we wouldn’t soon forget. She’s been right on so far, and we still get to be here for two more weeks.

Today we traveled to Chiang Mai. I’m excited to leave the big city and to travel to smaller places where we can meet more of the local Thai people. The airplane ride was only an hour. That’s nothing compared to the two long (11 hour and 6 hour) flights to get here in the first place!

Once in Chiang Mai, we went to the Wat Doi Suthep, a temple on the top of a mountain that over looks the whole city of Chiang Mai. Getting up there was a challenge since we rode in these vehicles that were basically pick-up trucks with benches put in the back. Going up the mountain and around all the curves was a bit nauseating, but the view at the top ( after we climbed 306 stone stairs) was amazing! Then it was back down the mountain and to our hotel for some relaxing before dinner.

One more thing before my moment of fame on the world wide web is over:
HI MOM! HI DAD!
Things just seem to be getting better and better ever since I shook President Clinton’s hand at commencements and got my Carleton diploma!
Thailand rocks!
Give Misty a pat on the head, and tell her Ill be home to the wonderful state of Texas soon.

Love,
Claire Lasher ’00
PS – Dad, there were about 30 Texas A&M students on our plane today from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. It’s a small world but don’t worry, I know they are UT’s rivals, so I only spoke with the Aggies for 5 minutes or so. Have a great day!