Home in the US!
Home in Iowa!
Home and living with my Mom and Dad! (Never thought I would say that again)
Crazy? Surreal? Bittersweet? Exciting? Scary? YES all of the above! More on all of that to come! Until then I will continue with my stories from SE Asia!
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| Perhaps the smallest banana on Earth? |
Friday morning we said farewell to our beloved Wendy House accommodations and had a go with the Sky Train. (Sort of similar to the L in Chicago-The best of BKK's public transportation in my opinion.) Taking this mode of transportation was probably a bit risky, seeing as we had a plane to catch and this was our first time making the connection to the airport. We crossed our fingers that we had the timing figured out and away we went!
High fives for us! We made our way through the new and very clean BKK airport and hopped on a plane to Chiang Mai (north Thailand). We were ready to leave the smells and crowds of Bangkok and had high hopes for Chiang Mai.
High fives for us! We made our way through the new and very clean BKK airport and hopped on a plane to Chiang Mai (north Thailand). We were ready to leave the smells and crowds of Bangkok and had high hopes for Chiang Mai.
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| A busy day in Chiang Mai! |
We were in luck! Chang Mai had our hearts as soon as we stepped out of the airport. We were immediately greeted by a very friendly cab driver willing to take us into town for 120 baht each ($2ea). For all we knew the town was less than a mile away, but at this point we didn't care; we were just excited about a nice driver with a clean car! Not to mention excited about a new town to embark on with air that wasn't so full of pollution!
We made friends with cabbie Anek almost instantly. He informed us that our chosen accommodation wasn't great and graciously drove us to two others, at no extra charge, before we were content. I should add that normally when a driver would tell us this -it was because he was getting paid by another hotel to bring us there instead. There was something about Anek, though, that made him seem more trustworthy than most. He became our personal driver for the extent of our stay in Chiang Mai!
We called Rux Thai, aka Little House, home for 275 baht a night. Translation: $8 a night for our own room, bathroom, TV, air-con and a fridge. Not bad, not bad!
Well not bad that is until we found ants all over the room and our beds...the joys of traveling! A quick change of sheets and a fresh coat of bug spray and our room was as good as new...ish!
As usual, day one in this new location meant a day of exploration. We were pleasantly surprised when we came across the clean, well... cleaner, city square surrounded by a moat. Unlike the murky waters of Bangkok, the water was flowing freely and sans debris! We strolled through a busy food market, and walked down small culture-filled streets. We managed to come across the most delightful meal I had eaten in Thailand yet! A banana smoothie quenched my thirst while I attempted to ignore the extreme heat, sun and humidity. Spring rolls followed the smoothie. The fresh ingredients were laid out in front of us and we filled the rice paper wraps to our liking.
Satisfied and stomachs full, we attempted to walk off lunch while taking in the sites of an ancient temple (the original reason for the moat). The grounds were surrounded by a school for Monks, and before long we were sitting at a picnic table with an orange clad young man. We attempted to educate ourselves about the Monk and his religion (Buddhism) through his broken English. He explained that he was 23, and had been working his way through Monk-hood since he was 8. It was a choice he had made on his own, he assured us. He couldn't say if he would be a Monk forever, but said it was remain his tittle for at least the next two years until he was finished with school. When we asked him for a brief description about what it means to be Buddhist, well...he couldn't exactly tell us. Is it wrong that I found this funny? We said Kap-pun-ka (Thai for thank you) and parted ways with the Monk... still unsure of base this religion sits on.
Coincidentally Lisa and I both heard a beer calling our names, so we decided to give our tired feet a break and enjoy a cold one. These thought provoking sodas always seem to bring about some entertaining conversations. Tonight's convo started with a discussion about what our weddings would look like if we were to get married tomorrow. Long story short- mine small, hers big, both in beautiful destination locations. Next thing you know, after commenting on a woman's purse, there were three of us at the table. The woman appreciated the comment so much she decided to join us for a beer! Her blonde curly hair was everywhere and I quickly determined she was a cat lady. She caught me by surprise though when she said she was a fortune teller too! From Monks to Gypsies...all in one day! Fascinating.
We picked her brain about the profession and throughly enjoyed the surprise entertainment. After a couple more beers with our new friend we went back to the guest house for a quick nap. We had intentions of heading to the night market, but our nap turned into a good night's sleep! Exactly what we needed before another exciting day in Chiang Mai!
As usual, day one in this new location meant a day of exploration. We were pleasantly surprised when we came across the clean, well... cleaner, city square surrounded by a moat. Unlike the murky waters of Bangkok, the water was flowing freely and sans debris! We strolled through a busy food market, and walked down small culture-filled streets. We managed to come across the most delightful meal I had eaten in Thailand yet! A banana smoothie quenched my thirst while I attempted to ignore the extreme heat, sun and humidity. Spring rolls followed the smoothie. The fresh ingredients were laid out in front of us and we filled the rice paper wraps to our liking.
Coincidentally Lisa and I both heard a beer calling our names, so we decided to give our tired feet a break and enjoy a cold one. These thought provoking sodas always seem to bring about some entertaining conversations. Tonight's convo started with a discussion about what our weddings would look like if we were to get married tomorrow. Long story short- mine small, hers big, both in beautiful destination locations. Next thing you know, after commenting on a woman's purse, there were three of us at the table. The woman appreciated the comment so much she decided to join us for a beer! Her blonde curly hair was everywhere and I quickly determined she was a cat lady. She caught me by surprise though when she said she was a fortune teller too! From Monks to Gypsies...all in one day! Fascinating.
We picked her brain about the profession and throughly enjoyed the surprise entertainment. After a couple more beers with our new friend we went back to the guest house for a quick nap. We had intentions of heading to the night market, but our nap turned into a good night's sleep! Exactly what we needed before another exciting day in Chiang Mai!
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| A sneak peak into what happens on day two! |
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