Today I learned that many Thai people have difficulty distinguishing the difference in pronunciation between 'jungle' and 'young girl'.

I was talking with my new Buddhist monk friend that I met on the plane today and he asked me what I liked about Chiang Mai.

What I actually said:

"I love Chiang Mai for many reasons. But I especially love the jungle. Being in the jungle makes me happy."

What he thought I said:

"I love Chiang Mai for many reasons. But I especially love the young girl. Being in the young girl makes me happy."

After an increasingly bizarre line of questioning ("why do you like to take advantage of jungle", "why do you prefer Thai jungle over English jungle", "men who come to Thailand for jungle have sickness" etc...), it finally dawned on me that we were both talking about two very different subjects.

Luckily, my flawless impression of a tree and a monkey cleared up the confusion and he has invited me to his temple next Tuesday.