Chiang Mai---no pictures yet :(

We're experiencing technical difficulties...my camera and windows 7 aren't very good friends. A card reader will soon remedy the situation, but for now I'll just have to be more vivid in my descriptions.

I arrived in Bangkok after about 25 hours of travel to one of the most beautiful airports I've ever seen. BKK Suvarnabhumi is ENORMOUS, with sweeping curves and orchid gardens aplenty. I met up with Nick, my partner in crime, who had procured a driver and took us back to our hotel in the Pratunam section of town. Though Pratunam is known for its shopping (apparently?) what we found most exciting about our first day in Bangkok was the food. I had the joy of being jet lagged, so I took a little walk around the streets in the early morning to get my bearings and explore. Misha and Tina, this post is for you. You would absolutely have a heart attack at all the delicious looking food the street vendors are painstakingly preparing in the morning hours. The smells, the tastes of Bangkok make it a worthwhile stop no matter how long the stay. Unfortunately, ours was only for one day, but we'll be back on the 25th!

In the evening we traveled on to Chiang Mai, which both Nick and I decided is like the Boise of Thailand. The people are frightfully nice, you feel extremely safe, it's pretty clean as far as larger Asian cities go, and it has all kinds of neat little coffee shops, bookstores, etc because it is home to Chiang Mai University, Thailand's biggest college. We started out the next morning with a little more walking around the city, then decided right away that it would be good to head to some of the more remote temples in the hillsides around the city in order to get a vantage point and explore some Thai culture. We made our way to Doi Suthep, about 45 minutes up a windy mountain road to the northwest of Chiang Mai.

Along the way, there were a number of interesting stops such as shrines dedicated to the royal family, scenic lookouts, and waterfalls. We ended up pulling off at some of these sites, but we spent the longest hiking around the waterfalls and exploring the pools and slides nature had carved into the hilly landscape. Pictures will come soon! It was absolutely beautiful, and we almost lost track of time, arriving at Doi Suthep a little before sunset. I think it was actually for the best, however, as the temple was almost completely empty save for the monks, who had started their evening prayer services, and some cute dogs picking up the scraps which tourists and worshipers alike had left behind. Thai religious buildings and art use a staggering amount of gold leaf, so all of our shots glimmer despite the impending darkness. As night began to fall, we coasted back down the mountain and went out for mexican food, which wasn't actually too bad. We have hit Chiang Mai in the peak of avocado season, apparently.

The next day we spent exploring the temples within Chiang Mai proper and setting up today's excursion, which will be a day spent with elephants in the jungles north of Chiang Mai. It should prove to be quite the adventure, as we get to "own" our own elephant for the day, feeding and bathing it while trying to understand more about these gentle giants. We're about to set off for said adventure, so I'll post (hopefully with pictures of pachyderms aplenty) later today!