elephant day.

Yesterday we went to the elephant camp.  I loved it! :)  There were so many elephants.  The strange part to me is that you basically just walked around with them out in the open.  We decided not to do the elephant rides in the jungle.  But, it was sure fun sitting on their legs, petting them, and taking photos with them! :)  We watched the elephant show, where they played soccer and drew pictures... it was awesome!  Last night, we went to the night market.  Fun.  Did I mention that I LOVE watermelon juice shakes? :)  (and lemon filled cookies and lemongrass tea)  I'm going to miss Thailand.  We have had a wonderful trip... we are flying out this afternoon.  I'm really going to miss Kelly. :)  But, she will be coming home soon.  Well, I'm off to make the most of the time we have left here. :)

chiang mai.

It has been quite a full day... backing up to yesterday...  We went to the celadon, gem, and silk factories... ate lunch at an awesome thai restaurant... the decor was fabulous... very eccentric.  Then, we made a stop for coffee at Wawee coffee.  Yum!  The rest of the afternoon was pretty chill.  Then, we met up with Kelly's friend, Jared, at an Italian restaurant... then went to ice cream at Iberry.  I had coconut almond ice cream.  We went to bed early because of our early morning today. :)  This morning, we were up at 5:15 am before the sun... and drove to the base of the mountain to take pics of the monks.  The religion here is so heart-wrenching... the people are so desperate for God... but they are looking in all the wrong places.  It breaks my heart to see the people on their faces, distraught, and bowing down to Buddha... hoping he can save them.  It's such an utterly hopeless way to live.  Oh, they desperately need Jesus.  After that, we came back to the hotel for breakfast.  Dad and I went across the street to a temple for me to take pictures.  Someone there told me that I looked part Thai with a different color of hair.  lol.  I still can't see it. :)  (maybe cuz I didn't have eye makeup on)  Then, we went to church with Kelly then to Japanese lunch and Black Canyon coffee. :)  We sent Dad back to the room on a "tuk tuk"... sure that was an adventure. :)  And, the girls went for pedicures!  We got to see Kelly's apartment today... she has a lovely view from her place of the city and mountain.  And, tonight was the Sunday night walking street.  I thought it was fabulous... convinced that I could have shopped all night! :)  So fun... and bargains galore. :)  In the morning, we are going to see the elephants... I can't believe our time here is almost over.  We have had such a great time.  I guess I will just have to plan more trips and see the world. :)

in between here and there.

Well, we made it to Chiang Mai last night.  Because of a delay in Phuket, we missed our flight in Bangkok and had to hang out in the airport for a few hours.  We are staying at a quaint bed & breakfast in Chiang Mai.  This morning, Hona, Mom, and I took a "tuk tuk" to the flower/food market.  We bought some pretty red roses for fun.  :)  Kelly met up with us for lunch.  I had oatmeal with bananas and raisins... and a watermelon 'shake'... slightly random, but it sounded yummy. :)  Then, we went to some jewelry stores and starbucks. :)  We are just chilling in our room right now... watching rugby on t.v.... I really don't understand the game... it seems dangerous. :)  And, I'm going to upload some pics.  Tonight, we are going to the Thai Cultural Center for dinner and show.  Fun! :)  Side note:  I think it's odd that everyone in Asian culture likes to see photos of the food they are going to order... even starbucks.

phi phi island.

long-tail boats.

just doing a little kayaking.

 

jumping into the crystal water.

 

beautiful.

  

they wanted a photo with us.

Today we took a day trip over to Phi Phi Island.  I'm SO glad we did!  I was able to capture some awesome photos... not to mention that the water and cliffs were breath-taking.  On the ferry ride to the island, we were asked to take countless photos with the Thai ladies... they living in a village 1 hour outside of Chiang Mai and have probably never seen Americans.  They kept telling us how beautiful we are.  They are all very careful about protecting their skin from the sun, because they want it to be white like ours.  We went over to the island on a small ferry then transferred to a somewhat smaller boat for snorkeling.  We didn't actually snorkel, but we did some swimming.  At another stop (Monkey Beach... yes, there are really monkeys!), Hona, Kelly, and I took a kayak to the beach from the boat.  Kayaking in the ocean is one of my favorite things ever!  The water was amazing.  We didn't get close to the monkeys... just saw them eating bananas from a distance.  While we were there, a little girl (maybe 5 years old) from our group was bitten 2 times by one of the monkeys.  After talking to them, we found out they are actually missionaries to Singapore from the U.S.  Kelly was able to help translate to coordinate insurance and hospital info. for the family.  It was definitely a God moment.  Sweet family!  We had a late lunch on the beach before we headed back.  The meal was served family style, so we sat with a couple from Sweden and a guy from France (spoke no English at all.)  Dad pretty much spilled his soup bowl all over the guy from France... he just laughed.  (we rode the taxi from our hotel to the pier with two young girls from England.)  There are so many people who visit Thailand from Europe.  Then, on the ferry ride back, we sat with and talked to two men from Norway.  I love talking to people from all around the world! (two of Kelly's guy friends with her organization are getting ready to move to Spain this year... definitely going to have to make that trip happen!)  So, the ferry ride back was eventful.  We were sitting on the top deck and went through a storm... lightning and all.  The crazy part was that there was a big funnel cloud (typhoon) in the sky behind us that touched down in the water.  (no wonder Phi Phi Island was devastated by the tsunami!)  When it started dow-pouring, I went downstairs to get out of it (thought it would be smart with my camera and all)... Hona and Kelly stuck it out.  We got back to our hotel around 5:30pm... still raining... absolutely exhausted... got some lattes and room service.  It's about 8:45pm as I write this.  Kelly, Hona, and my parents crashed a long while ago. :)

more phuket.

     
We have had such a nice time here.  Hona, Kelly, and I went on a little walk around the town when we got here... got some ice cream at a 7/11 and found ourselves headed in the wrong direction and walking right through a Thai neighborhood.  The living conditions  here remind me a lot of what I have seen in Mexico.  The people are what makes it different.  We aren't tired of the Thai food yet. :)  I have been having a new favorite... watermelon shakes.  (just watermelon and ice... yum!)  The other night, we had dinner on the beach at sunset... nothing like it in the world.  We are staying at a beautiful hotel.  We look forward to breakfast every morning, because it is sooo good!  The pool is beautiful, and I love it when the tropical flowers fall off the trees and float in the pool.  The driving here is crazy!  And, it's still kind of odd to have dogs hanging around the restaurants.  We are having a great time! :)

phuket.

We are at the beach in Phuket.  I will write more on here later... I have limited internet time at the moment.  It is beautiful and warm and sunny.  The hotel is lovely!  LOVE the food!  I especially love this photo of a little boy that I took yesterday.  He was waving at me as we walked by his house along the side of the road.  Melt my heart. :)  More posts and info. to come! :)  Don't worry... I'm taking lots of photos!!! :)  (of course.)

bangkok day.

Mom and Dad only got 2 hours of sleep last night... Dad's clock was still set for 4:30am.  I don't know how they made it through the day. :)  We started the day out with breakfast at our hotel... mine consisted of: fried egg, potatoes, rice, cucumbers, watermelon, and toast...with very strong coffee!  We walked to the river, thinking we were going to ride a boat to the Grand Palace (home of the reigning king of Thailand)... but, we decided that we didn't want to get all wet with sewage water in a rickety speed boat with blue tarps all over it. :)  So, we took a taxi to the Grand Palace and Temple.  It was a wild experience.  We were told that the Palace didn't open until 1pm, so we went on "tuk tuk" (sp?) taxis to see a giant Buddha monument.  It was an Extremely hot and muggy day!  We were relieved to find a Au Bon Pain restaurant across from the Palace for lunch... then, we went over to take a tour of the Palace... we had to rent/wear skirts and shirts so that we would be fully covered... wait until you see the photos! :)  (silly of us, awesome of the architecture)  It was all very interesting... but very sad at the same time... to see the people praying/bowing down to Buddha... It all seems so ridiculous to me... but, they are so deceived and committed to their religion.  So, it was all kind of dark... good to be aware of, though.  After that experience, we were all dripping sweat, overheating, and exhausted.  We went back to Au Bon Pain for cold coffee drinks.  Yum!  Then, Kelly took us to a really big, fancy mall where we looked around for a while... ate dinner there... I had pineapple fried rice.  So Good!  After that, it was a LOOONNNGG 1 1/2 hour taxi ride back to our hotel because of all the "Friday night" traffic.  Getting ready to get some sleep now.  We are flying to Phuket in the morning!! :)