Church, a Waterfall and a Massage

      Sunday the volunteers went zip lining.  I decided to pass this time around and headed to church instead.  Our hostel was close to the church so I walked there.  It was so nice to go in such a big building! 

They had the hymn books written out so you could sing in "Thai".  I thought that was neat, but I know I was NOT saying things right.

       After church I headed back to the hostel and caught up in my journal and ate some snacks.  The volunteers got back around 3:00.  At 4:00 the hostel owner came by and said that she and a friend were going to a waterfall and temple.  If we wanted to go then we could ride in the back of the truck.  We jumped at the chance and headed on an afternoon adventure.  

      We parked and waked about 10 minutes up to the waterfall.  It was beautiful, green, and lush.  A few of the girls climbed higher up, but I was content to sit a little lower and enjoy the sound and the scenery.  

      Turns out that the temple was wayyyyyyyyy up at the top of the mountain and the truck wouldn’t be able to take all of us up there.  We could rent a van to take us up there, but we decided that seeing the waterfall was enough for us.  We finished the day and the vacation with some delicious food and massages. 

      The next morning we headed back to the school.  Such a great vacation!

Tiger Kingdom

There is a place called Tiger kingdom in Chang Mai.

They have a great deal of tigers and you can hang out with them.  You pay and go in the cages with them and pet them and take pictures.  I decided to see the smallest tigers and the biggest tigers.  

Baby tigers: 

                                                                              Biggest tigers:

They have workers there to help and they sedate a lot of them.  It honestly made me feel really sad for the tigers.  Yet at the same time is was a really cool experience being so close to the tigers and getting to touch them and lay on them.  We saw some wrestling, playing in the water, and pouncing on each other in one of the enclosures and they seemed really happy so that made me feel a little better.  I chose to go in and see and touch the smallest and biggest tigers.  Those creatures are beautiful!  It was unreal, thrilling, and a little scary being so close to them.  One of the little baby tigers was wrestling with one of the workers.  The tiger was jumping and nibbling on the worker.  The worker got up and left.  The tiger was still being feisty and playful.  When the worker left the baby tiger jumped and nipped the next closest person which just so happened to be Stevie.  It didn’t break her skin, but certainly caught her off guard.  We all had a good laugh about that.  Not many people get to say that they’re been bit by a tiger.

Chiang Mai

On the days we had off due to Buddhist Lent the girls and I went up to Chang Mai.  I love it up there!!!  We left Friday after school and took a [miserable] night bus.  We were there Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and came home Tuesday.  

At the bus station waiting to leave.  

Our bus got in around 6am and since we needed to kill some time before checking into our hostel

 we ate at McDonalds.  I love that Ronald is so culturally aware!

The hostel where we stayed was quite an authentic experience.  It was a wood house build on stilts.  The owner and her daughter lived down stairs.  There were 4 rooms upstairs that she rents out.  We were in 2 of those rooms with 1 other girl.  We slept in mats on the floor, under mosquito nets.  

The shared bathrooms were outside.  The owner was really nice.  She even took us up to a waterfall one afternoon (more on that later).  

A foreigner I met recommended a restaurant called Salsa Kitchen.  We went one of the nights.  It. was. amazing!  I miss mexican food more than almost anything else!  The amazing thing is that it's not just 'Thai good', it's American good.  I would eat there at home.  (When I went back to Chiang Mai with Tanner we ate there twice).  The chicken quesadillas and chicken enchiladas are especially tasty. 

Speaking of food, we also got mexican food at Loco Elvis.  It was pretty good, but nothing compared to Salsa Kitchen.

We stumbled upon an evening market our first night there.  I saw lots of squid and fish (which I did NOT eat) and mango with sticky rice (which I gobbled down and loved).

You may be noticing a pattern which I have recognized.  I love food.  I've discovered that that's a big thing for me--especially mexican food.  I may have shed a few tears yesterday thinking about bean and cheese burritos from Mangoes and El Charro.  I day dream about the next time I can go to Chiang Mai and what I'll eat while I'm there!

I also got to play with tigers and ride elephants on my trip.  Details soon!

Bhuddist Lent

      Monk Day! July 11^th marked the beginning of Bhuddist Lent.  That meant that 1) We got 2 days off of school! 2) the monks would stay in the temples and not leave, and 3) We had a celebration at school and the students and parents donated food so they would have food while they were in the temple.   Usually they go out every morning and collect food offerings from people’s houses.  I was expecting a small-ish contribution from the school kids and their families.  They brought so much food!!  Nine monks came, sang and prayed, and collected the food.  

         

      

     

      On a side note, monks aren’t supposed to touch women or be touched by women.  It will most likely result in them having to quit being a monk.  I am so scared I am going to get too close and touch one and have to live with the guilt of getting him kicked out.  On those particular day I felt like one of them might bump into a woman, but to my knowledge that did not happen.  I really like getting to be part of celebrations and cultural events.  I feel like that’s a big difference between traveling to a country and living in a country.

Here I am!

Wow!  The last month and a half feels like it has flown by!  Why haven't I been posting?

1) MY HUSBAND IS HERE!  And when I get off work I have a friend right there.  It's been great!  He was able to finish thing up and in Arizona and we now own a new {to us} home.  So not only do I have my best friend here, but when the two of us eventually find our way back to Arizona we have a home (and half an acre) to go home to!

He flew in on his birthday and we got Krispy Creme to celebrate.

2) I have been traveling like crazy!  That's kept me occupied and away from the blog.  The good news for you?  This week will be full of vacation and adventure posts!