It is an instrument originating in Laos, but is used in traditional Issan music. After learning about it, I started to notice sculptures and statues around the city that feature the khene.
I had a ton of fun hiking up Doi Suthep. It was a hot day and a steep climb, so I was drenched in sweat by the end, but I still loved walking through the forest on the mountain. The thing I miss most about Seattle is its closeness to mountains.
On the plane flight to Chiang Mai, I read some magazine articles about the best places to travel in Thailand. It mentioned a National Park called Phu Kradueng (pronounced "poo-ka-doong"), which features a large mountain with a few hiking trails used to climb to the top.
In Chiang Mai I played Ultimate Frisbee with a diverse group of athletes from Thailand, Germany, China, Canada and the U.S. Before this, I had only played Ultimate in the U.S., where English is most commonly spoken, so hearing all the different languages was interesting and fun. Instead of "go," people said "bai," the Thai word for "go."
One thing that I noticed about Chiang Mai was the number of foreigners there. Chiang Mai has grown immensely over the past few years due to an increase in tourism. These travelers come from everywhere, including the United States, China, France, Nigeria and everywhere in between. Khon Kaen doesn't attract tourists like Chiang Mai does, which means most of the people that I see here are Thai.
