SE Asia- Chiang Mai , Thailand

Kelly had studied abroad in Chaing Mai in college and wanted to go back to visit. I must say that out of the 10 years I have known her I have never seen her so excited. Actually come to think of it, I think it was one of the most genuine excitements I have ever seen, and it wasn't the screaming "OMG" excitement. It was refreshing to see, and made me excited to see why she loved the place so much. (Hopefully, she doesn't get mad at me for writing this.)

These pictures may not seem so impressive at first glance...but they were painted by elephants. I kid not. In true entreprenuer spirit, they were also for sale, if only I lived on more than a $500 monthly income.

After the elephant show, I pretty much fell in love with elephants. They are artists, soccer players, and have real manners (they put top hats on their trainers). When the show was over I wanted a pic, so I ran up to the elephants to grab my picture perfect moment. I didn't know that for a pose the elephants try to wrap their trunks around you, so for a brief moment I was wrestling with their trunks, and getting a little scared. But it doesn't make me love them any less!

Next up was a visit to 5 minority villages. Initially I was most excited for this visit. When we got there it was pretty much a Disney style village. All 5 of the minority villages lived on an area maybe 1/4 the size of the UC Irvine campus. It was strange, like they were standing around waiting for people to take their picture. I only took a picture with one person, and felt too strange continuing. Actually it was more of like a circus freak show. All of these tourists walking around this fabricated lookalike village taking pictures and "ooohing" and "awwwing" at "daily life."

More elephant action on a ride through the jungle. The trainer actually let us drive the elephant. At first I was too scared but I saw Kelly do it and decided it was ok. Actually I think it was more scary sitting in the carriage area. One time when we were going down a hill I started falling out of the carriage. I think I left foot prints on Kelly's shirt.

Water rafting. This picture was taken during the only rapid area during the whole rafting trip. It was fun though, the water was super cold.

Tiger Kingdom. This trip really turned into an animal visit. We heard rave reviews about this place from fellow hostelers, so we decided to go. I thought it was going to be like San Diego Wildlife Park, where the tigers would be roaming around and we pet them and such. Instead they were in a caged area where we were allowed to pet them. No touching the head or front paws though. At the entrance there was a sign that read "This is not a zoo. This is the Tiger Kingdom and Restaurant." I mean really? The sign was trying to make a case that they were treated better than at a zoo, but I think they were tranquilized because they seemed really lethargic. After the visit I was kinda irritated that this place was still in business. One of the signs at the place said there is only 120 wild tigers left in Thailand, yet there were 20 tigers here. I think I would have felt a lot better about the situation if I knew that these tigers were being raised to return to the wild, instead of being raised to be Kodak moments.

And here is my Kodak moment.

Kelly with one of her former monk friends, Jack. He was so nice, him and Gabe (her other ex-monk friend) took us around Chiang Mai. They are standing in front of one of the coolest temples I have seen. It was made of tin, or aluminum, I can't tell. It was one of the more unique temples I have seen, it made a statement but it didn't have to be gilded in gold.

The old temple Kelly use to intern at. We went to monk chat and talked with the monks. They were really cool. I have never really talked to a monk (at least when they were still a monk). It was cool to see that these guys are still 20 something year olds. At one point I started fooling around and telling them all these factoids I know, like what lines on your palm means, or if your second toe is longer than your big toe it means you are bossy. It was fun, a bit hard to read palms without touching them, and I had to explain what bossy meant.

Sorry Mom, I rode a motorcycle, but Jack was always driving. The important thing is that I am still alive. It was actually really cool exploring the city on bike, I felt more like a local. Ok, I did try to drive it, but it was too much to handle, so I only drove for 1 min. After Chiang Mai we mostly too tuk tuks everywhere we went.

All in all, Thailand was great. It was my favorite in terms of adventures. Thailand really knows how to capitalize on their natural beauty and unique lifestyle. I must admit, I did feel a bit guilty about doing almost all of the touristy stuff, but I am glad I did it.