Living it up in Chiang Mai!

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So, I am in an internet cafe right now, getting ready to head out for Laos. I am excited about Laos but a bit bummed about leaving Thailand because it has been so amazing to me. And I am used to it, such as the currency, the expressions, etc. But that is okay, I am sure that I will really like Laos as well.
So, I will give you a quick little explanation of how I am getting to Laos so that you have an idea. So, tonight, I am taking a bus to the border between Thailand and Laos - will arrive at about 3 or 4 in the morning. Then, I will check into some place to stay, and the next morning cross to Laos. I will then take the slow boat down the Mekong River, which is supposed to be gorgeous. Anybody can look it up on youtube, just literally type in "slow boat, Mekong River." I am pretty excited, because I have heard some amazing things about the slow boat, that it is really fun to take. And you meet some great people, apparently.
So, to give you a quick update on my travels thus far - I arrived in Chiang Mai on Monday morning, after taking the amazing night train. I really liked it! My seat was literally a bed, and it was so comfy! I loved it! I slept like a baby! Especially since the day before, I spent the day walking around Ayuthaya, which is a town filled with ruins of temples. I walked so much that I got blisters between my toes! Ouch! But it was cool to see. So, I arrived in Chiang Mai and was walking around and of course got completely lost. Which is sad because the town is kind of in a square, so it really shouldn't be hard to get lost in, right? But I did, because I inherited my mother's sense of direction - sorry, mom! So, I got back to my hostel, sighing a breath of relief, only like 20 minutes before this monk chat was supposed to start. I had been told about monk chat by a girl at my hostel in Bangkok, she said it was really interesting - it is a project through the university where you can sit and chat with monks - makes sense that it is called Monk Chat, doesn't it? 😊 Anyways, so I went and spoke to an interesting young monk from Laos. I learned a lot of interesting things, such as the fact that you are supposed to pronounce Laos with an "s" rather than omitting it, which I had been led to believe by a certain very close relative...ahem....and I also learned that monks use facebook! How funny is that? Everyone is on facebook these days! Except my dad, of course! Aw, dear old dad! Anyway, it was a very enjoyable chat. He told me that he plans on obtaining his MBA - yes, that is right, he can get his MBA as a monk - and that he will likely disrobe then and go back to Laos and open his own business. Pretty cool, eh? Well, he has been in the monk culture since he was 13, so I think he deserves a break!
Yesterday, I had an absolutely amazing day! Why, you ask? Because I got to hang out with the elephants! I won't go into too much detail because I am already getting tired of writing, but lets just say that it was AMAZING. I got to feed them and help bathe them, and they are absolutely magnificent creatures. Today, I took a cooking course and learned lots of amazing Thai courses that I am really excited about sharing! That is, if I can get the guts up to be able to deal with the fire blast created when cooking sweet and sour chicken!
I will try to update when I am next in Laos. But basically I am still having an amazing time and can't believe that I am already 2 1/2 weeks into it!

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Comments

[Kate]

Love love love!
Thanks for sharing your adventures! It sounds like you are having the time of your life!