National Anthem

The following was written 7-12 in an alley in Chiang Rai.

6:04PM Chiang Rai is one of the few cities in which the bus station is actually near the center of town. Within walking distance, even with a huge pack.

I didn’t have anything to do this evening, and ate dinner just a block away, so I decided to wander on over and buy a ticket to Chiang Mai for tomorrow.

The bus station is a noisy place, already hard to hear each other speak. As I was talking to the guy at the ticket window, this loud music started blasting. I thought to myself “Cut this horrible racket! I can barely understand this guy as it is.” The music stopped as soon as I finished at the window, and I turned around in time to see the whole station sit back down and return to business.

Oops. It was the National Anthem. Hey, at least I was standing.