Thailand, how I love you so

It's around this time that I start to miss Thailand. Three years ago (Aug. 24, 2003), Ben and I left for the country from the little airport in the flat plains of Sioux Falls, S.D.

I'm not sure what makes me miss Thailand so much. By the end of December, when we had planned to leave, anxiety had started to sink in. I couldn't wait to step off the plane and onto U.S. soil.

Tonight The Beach is on the WE channel, and the memories have rushed back. If you've seen the movie, which was filmed on an island near Phi Phi Island, you've seen paradise. I recommend to anyone who wants to experience it to go there. No one thinks about Thailand. The biggest expense is the ticket. Once you get there, it's cheap, cheap, cheap. And you'll love, love, love it.

Also, whenever I hear Moby music, I think of Thailand. Ben and I went to the restaurant Basic, which was owned by a Danish chef and had Western food. I saw the white Christmas lights and heard the techno music on so many occasions.

We had a lot of freedom there, even though our days were filled with ritual. We lived in Khon Kaen in the northeast part of the country. It was isolated, and few people outside of the classrooms in which we taught could speak English. We could speak enough Thai to order food and barter.

When classes were over in the early afternoon, we could hardly wait to get home. For me, at least, being an English teacher was not the highlight of my trip. It probably should have been. We would nap. I would break into my stash of M&M's for baking -- Ben's sister, Sarah, had recommended bringing chocolate in case Thailand didn't have it in abundance. I ate enough Oreo's to know that your chocolate needs will be filled in this country. Almost every night we would go to Basic on campus or an outside-style cafeteria for baked chicken, sticky rice and chile sauce. Damn it tasted good. Occasionally I would order Som Tum, only to throw it away after a few bites. No matter how mild you asked for it, the chile seeds always made their way into the spicy papaya salad. Here, I can eat it without incident. My eyes don't water. The snot doesn't run out of my nostrils (gross, what an image).

We read John Grishm like we were his biggest fans, after school and during our travels. I brought a Precious Moments coloring book, and I filled its pages with my elementary art.

We traveled for five weeks there -- three on our own and two with our families. We were lucky. We went to Koh Samui, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Krabi, Koh Pi Pi.

I'm not sure why I was almost desperate to leave. Someday I'll go back. Ben says we have other countries on our list to visit first. But Thailand has a special place in my heart. And my heart says I'll return.