This blog post has been so daunting and I have been so busy that I just keep putting it off! Alas, it is time to tell about the second half of my break!
I had a couple days in Bangkok to myself that were really nice before my Mom and Aunt Sarah got to Thailand. I met them at the airport on Sunday around noon and we headed right to the Grand Palace! Gotta kick that jet lag! They were super hot and tired and kinda hating me for dragging them around but it really was for their own good...lol
After running through the Palace we headed over to the train station and got on a night train to Phuket! It was SO fun! We had 2nd class sleeper seats that were pretty comfy and we were able to watch the southern countryside go by.
sleeper train!
Phuket
Our resort in Phuket, the Dewa Karon Beach Resort was so fancy! We had two rooms, a kitchen, living room and really nice pool. We took a dip, went for some food and settled in for the next couple days.
The next day we went to Kata Beach! We swam in beautiful, warm water, bought pretty beach dresses, and relaxed on the beach. Then we took a tour of Phuket city. They took us to the big Buddha on the hill, we went to a cashew nut factory, a honey factory, old Phuket town, and saw the famous vegetarian festival going on. It was fun but we were definitely tired in the end.
Giant Buddha!
Bee farm!
Koh Phi Phi!
The next day we got up early and went on a boat tour to Koh Phi Phi and other beautiful islands in the Andaman! It was so pretty. We went from island to island and beach to beach and it only got prettier. The water was crystal clear and the sand was so fine. We even got to see the "beach beach." This is the beach where "The Beach" was filmed (with Leonardo DiCaprio). It was so fun!
Chiang Mai
Next, it was up to Chiang Mai! We took a flight so we could spend more time there. We checked it, had lunch, then back to exploring! We found a tuk-tuk driver to take us to the handicraft village in Bo Sang, about 30 minutes outside of the city. We went to the umbrella making factory, which turned out to be really cool! We saw the villagers making the umbrellas out of bamboo and then you could get it painted. Of course, I got elephants on mine and Mom and Sarah went crazy and bought tons! Then the tuk-tuk man wanted to take us to the jewelry store in the village, we reluctantly agreed and, of course, Mom and Sarah each bought rings! They are beautiful blue topaz, but the shopping wasn't done yet! We went to the silk making factory, something Thailand is famous for. We got to see all of the stages of the caterpillars and how they take the cocoons and turn it into silk and then how they make the designs on the looms. We bought some silk scarves that I will probably never be able to wear in Thailand but whatevs. Finally we headed to the Night Bazaar, where I was able to show off my bartering skills and help them buy a lot of goodies. It was pretty fun to show off my Thai skills and all that I have learned so far!
my new umbrella!
The next day Kate got here! She will be teaching at my school now and wanted to meet up earlier so we could have some fun adventures before beginning work. We picked her up from the airport and then went straight to Tiger Kingdom! We opted for a package and saw the large, small and baby tigers! The large here HUGE! They were about 3 years old, but really nice. The small were like little teens and 4-5 months old. We got to feed them bottles of milk and they were way more rambunctious. The babies were 2 months old and freaking adorable! They were so sleepy but wanted to chew on our shoes. I really wanted to steal one...
Then we hung out at the pool and rested a bit before heading out to the Night Bazaar again.
Giant tiger
baby tiger!
Flight of the Gibbons! I have heard that this is the best thing to do in Thailand and they were not wrong! We were all picked up from our hotel and taken into the jungle where we got to do a very long and detailed zip line course! I have zip lined twice before and you usually do about 5 lines and then you're done. I lost track of how many we did! It was so fun! Our guides, Home and Boat were so fun and didn't speak that much English but were able to joke around. We saw a family of gibbons, hiked to a waterfall and all had a really great time.
Kate zip lining!
Lampang
Next we had a car drive us to Lampang for our 3 day trek with elephants! I was super excited about this, while the other three needed convincing....We learned more about what the three days would entail when we got there. The first day was meeting our mahout, (elephant trainer) learning commands, making elephant dung paper, and watching the show. My elephants Wang Jaow, which is the name of the village she came from was so nice! My mahout, Nai, was pretty shy, he didn't speak any English and therefore would leave me alone with Wang Jaow while everyone else's mahouts were teaching them or leading them around. At one point I was just alone in the jungle, hanging with my elephant! It was pretty funny. Nai came back at one point and brought me a guava and then left again...whatevs! We had to learn the different techniques of getting on and off of them, how to make them turn left and right, go forward and hand us stuff. It was pretty cool but by the end of the day Mom, Sarah and Kate were wondering how they could get out of going into the jungle...lol it was also pretty hard and tiring. The next day we woke up early and rode our elephants into the jungle. It was such a breathtaking ride. I talk about those moments where I am so glad to live in Thailand and this was one of them. We were riding through this bamboo jungle, bareback on elephants, with some of my favorite people and it was just amazing. I would do it again in a heartbeat. We arrived at a little clearing where there were three bamboo huts. We parked our elephants in the jungle (555) and then the mahouts took us on a little hike to a waterfall. Along the way they found nuts for us, picked flowers for us and even cut some bamboo walking sticks for Mom and Sarah. It was adorbs. When we got back to camp they took all of the bamboo they cut down and started making us bamboo cups. Nai spent a lot of time carving and perfecting mine so we think he is really sensitive and shy...555. They also made sticky rice out of bamboo by putting rice into it along with some water and letting it sit by the fire for some time. It was so cool. The moment I will never forget is when Mat, our interpreter/guide walked over and said the mahouts have homemade moonshine and want to share it with you! I have never taken shots with my mom, so this was definitely a new experience! Mom and Sarah had three and Kate and I had five and I was def feelin it! It was also really cool because when the mahouts found out I could speak a little Thai I became a little bit of an interpreter. I never thought anything like that would happen in my life! I felt pretty proud of myself. These four mahouts and four Americans just drinking moonshine and getting to know each other. Love it. I slept pretty well on out bamboo floor but of course got up with the sun, washed in the river, and toasted some bread over a fire, ya know, normal stuff. Then we got on our elephants and headed back to the conservation centre!
Mahout suits!
Our house for the day!
My bamboo cups with my elephant's name etched in it ;-)
We graduated Mahout school!
Phrae
The four of us had so much crap that we ended up having to take a songtau to Phrae. It took a couple hours and some people weren't as happy and comfy as others but we made it! At Wat Metang, we are getting 5 new teachers so Nooters took Kate, Mel and I over to meet them and to see Kate's new apartment! We have another Kate, Leah, Mimi, Brandon, and Amanda from all over America. It is definitely going to be a different semester with all of these newbies!
The next day was the first day of school! But nothing goes normally around here. I had to go to Nan to renew my 90 days and check in with Immigration. The school was nice enough to give us a van and Nooters and another teacher, Bomb, took Mom and Sarah to Nan for the day! We went to the famous temple of the whispering couple, the Nan museum, had yummy lunch and I'm not kicked out of the country!
The rest of the week Mom and sometimes Sarah came to my classes! That was really fun. It was really nice for them to see what I am doing and to see where I spend most of my days here. I was nervous that my students wouldn't remember me but it was nice that they still ran up and gave me high fives and hugs. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I came back! Some of teachers took Mom, Sarah, Mel, Kate and I all out to dinner by the river and it was full of laughs and awkward questions of course.
It was so weird to have so many reminders of home in Thailand but it showed me how much I have already adapted to living here and how hard it is sometimes. Thailand was not Mom and Sarah's most favorite country but it was nice to have them here and see a glimpse of what my life has been like! My 6 month anniversary of living here is coming up and I can't believe this experience is half way over! I look forward to the next 6 months and for more wonderful experiences!
