Things here on the other side of the world have been crazy fun to say the least. I have been doing the most crazy things and have literally no time to post anything. I don't even know where to start.
Friday, a week ago, Kristin and I came down to Chiang Mai really earlier, like around 10. We hung out and went and saw Despicable Me 2, which was quite funny. But Saturday was the crazy day! We got to PTee's (a place we meet) around 7 where we met the 8 students who are interning in Cambodia. We worked it out that they could come to Thailand and then go to Laos with us. So all 22 of us got in to some red trucks and rode out to the boonies. We were dropped off at this really nice temple where a monk taught us about meditation. Meditation is really hard if you have never tried it. You pretty much have to focus on what is going on inside yourself. "You must become aware of yourself and the confusion and problems will slowly disappear." I am not entirely convinced but that could just possibly be because I lack the patience needed to even sit for just a few minutes. But it was really interesting. The temple was on these huge grounds with trees and fields and caves and streams. It was beautiful and we had to be real quiet to keep from disturbing the other meditators. After that we walked to a waterfall. It was absolutely beautiful and refreshing, and something we all needed. There were tall rocks around the pool of water at the bottom of the waterfall that was perfect for swimming. So we all stripped down into our swimming suits and jumped in. There was also a great place to cliff jump from. Everyone was doing it but Lisel, one of the interns, had some problems. She got to the very top rock and was about to jump when she hesitated, which caused her to slip off the ledge. She tumbled down the side of the cliff. It was so scary and she almost hit her head on the rock but she missed it by about and inch I swear and landed in the water. It was only about 15 feet so it wasn't too high but it was still very scary and we are very happy she is safe. After hanging out and the waterfall and eating some crappy fried rice (something I didn't know was possible.. how could fried rice be crappy?) we set off to do some more adventuring.
We drove to an elephant and rafting place. We got to ride the rafts first. Okay this was something that I have never done before. And when I say rafting I hope you are not thinking white water rapids with a big boat full of air and paddles and life-jackets. No no no, this is Thailand and in Thailand you have to do it the Thai way. The Thai way is about 6 really really really long and thick bamboo shoots (probably about 20-30 feet long) strapped together and more bamboo shoots as the poles as paddles. The river was not very fast and the rapids were about a .25 on the rapid scale. It was just awesome because we were usually standing on these rafts and we kept running into rocks and the side and each other. It was really fun and so unique. There were times when we would run into something and our raft would be pushed sideways blocking the entire river, creating a traffic jam with the rafts and friend behind us. It was awesome, people were constantly falling off, submerging their rafts and taking over other peoples rafts. I loved it. After that we got to do one of the trademarks in Thailand: ride the elephants. Honestly that was awesome but the best part was after we got off because we got to help bathe them in the river. That was the coolest part by far. Here I am in the river with a 2 ton animal. I think there was three of them in the river all laying down in the shallow water. We were climbing over them trying to get all there bodies wet and scrubbed down. Sometimes they would start to stand up and we would tumble off their backs into the water below, that happened to me a few times and it was awesome. So Saturday was a very exciting and full day.
Sunday the fun continued as we left Chiang Mai and travelled north about 6 or 7 hours to a city (I can't remember the name) on the border of Thailand and Laos. On the way we stopped at this beautiful white temple in Chiang Rai which was incredible and dumb all at the same time. In this temple there were pictures of weird things. Like superheroes, the twin tours, Michael Jackson, Hello Kitty and so much more. I was so confused as to why they would have those pictures but the outside of the temple was really beautiful. Here are some pictures.
After the temple we continued on the buses until we got to the border city. We spent the night there exploring the small city, eating a delicious buffet of Thai food and going swimming in the tiny, but cool pool. I want to explain what the rooms were like but I cannot figure out how. The best way I can think is that they were like bungalows. It was really cool. In the morning we got up and went to the border, got our departure cards turned in and headed into Laos by boat. They were these long speed boats made out of wood. We jetted over to the other side and got all our entrance stuff taken care of. Then we got on a tuk tuk to get to our long boat. We were on the long boat for 2 days and it was beautiful and relaxing. Once we got to Luang Phra Bong we stayed in a beautiful hotel, with air-conditioning and a nice western shower! It was amazing. While we were there we saw these two waterfalls that were beyond gorgeous. Looking at them you wonder if they are actually real. We got to swim in both of them and explore the area around them. It was great.
So things have been good here. I have been so busy which is why I haven't posted in a month almost! Crazy. I don't have time to put any pictures up but hopefully I will later.
Tomorrow I go to Cambodia by the way! Sweet :)
