Thailand

On Tuesday we left for Chiang Mai which is northern Thailand . We headed to a very famous Buddhist temple - Doi Suthep which was on top of a mountain. After walking up a long flight of stairs, you reach a very picturesque, ancient temple. After, we got to get a glimse of the Chiang Mai people and there many crafts. We visited all the places where they handmake bamboo umbrellas, leather goods, precious gems, honey products, and silk products. We were also very lucky that our hotel was right by the Night Bazaar that had lots of shopping and food!!! The next day we visited an elephant camp. We got a nice long elephant ride...and saw elephants do the craziest things - play instruments..soccer..and even paint pictures. The next day we took a bus ride to the town of Chiang Rai where we got to visit the hill tribes. It was so interesting to see the villages and their different cultures. Each tribe has there own way of distinguishing themselves from the other. The most interesting were the Long Neck women. These women wear heavy brass rings around their necks from an early age which cause their necks to stretch. They share the village with the Palong who wear large brass discs in their ears. We found it most interesting that both tribes are both Christian and would have loved to experience worship with them. But we just got some great pictures. From there we headed to the Golden Triangle which is the point where Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos meet. Then we had some banging pernil (dont know how to say it in Thai) and headed back to Chiang Mai to get ready to fly back the next day. I (ob) just have to say that I absolutely love being on my own. It has been interesting to find new parts of myself that i didnt know. Not having the safety net of family and friends has made me look to the big guy upstairs more, rely on myself and also Shar. Honestly, at times its a little nerve racking but up until now Jah has had my back every step of the way, even tho things dont always work out the way we would have liked....shar losing her sunglasses, being left behind by the bus, riding the cable car 3 times (2 of which were for no reason), getting eaten alive by mosquitos in our sleep, having a 3 hour check-in, headaches from the obscene amounts of cigarette smoke....but were not complaining just looking back and laughing. p.s. Tio Abe you should really go to Thailand you would love the Elephant Camp...i was thinking about you a lot p.p.s. Titi Neri dont let him go...they have every kind of elephant thing you can imagine and it is all very cheap!!! p.p.p.s. Alaina, Jack talk thai, Jack talk thai real good

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