Day 3 (ankles are still swollen)

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January 7th

More meat for breakfast, but this time it was fried chicken. (It was finger-licking' good.) After breakfast, we went to Doi Suthep, which is a temple on top of a mountain overlooking the city of Chiangmai. We stopped at an overlook on the way up the mountain, but there were clouds covering everything. As soon as we got to the top, the clouds cleared and we hurried out of the bus. There were people and dogs everywhere. I even saw some cats lounging on cars. We headed up to the temple only to find that ahead of us were 300 steps. Onwards and upwards. Twenty minutes later, we got to the top. Before heading inside the temple, we had to remove our shoes out of respect. Inside the temple were monks, incense, and Buddha statues. The number three is thought to bring good luck in Thai culture, so we walked around the temple three times. In Thailand, it is believed that Buddha will bring healing and good fortune. After the temple, we went to lunch at a place that reminded me of a food court in the mall, except it was 793857 times better. This was authentic Asian food (because I'm in Asia, duh). I went for something that I can't remember the name of but it was amazing and then I tried Thai tea. I found out that they use sweetened condensed milk in a lot of things to sweeten them (which works well) and that was in the tea, which is probably why I loved it so much. After lunch, we headed over to the Royal Gardens. We rode a tram around and made stops throughout the gardens. There was an orchid garden, which was my favorite. There were also gardens for many different countries including India, China, South Korea, and something called "West land" that included a farm and some cows. The last stop we made was at a temple that overlooked some of the gardens and a fountain. It was probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. After the Gardens, we came back to campus, quickly ate dinner, and headed out to the Winter Festival. This was like a carnival back in the states and it had rides and games and tons of food. Emily and I convinced our buddies to go into a haunted house which was the highlight of the festival for me. I think I lost circulation in my arm from it being squeezed too hard. We were in the back and they were in the front (dragging us along because they were sprinting) and we ended up getting chased by the people running the haunted house. It was actually hilarious and I don't normally like those things. Definitely a bonding moment for us. It was a really long day, but one I won't forget! We head to the hospital tomorrow and I am looking forward to that.

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