Cristyannie

Monday, March 1, 2010

Thailand: Day 4 "The Best Day EVER"

From Bangkok we flew to Chiang Mai
We got there completely exhausted and ready for sleep,
in this beautiful room at The Royal Princess

photo found here

Kritsana's sister met us in Chaing Mai. They hadn't seen

each other for 5 years. It was such a sweet reunion.

They spent hours just catching up.

When we saw the streets lined with stalls of anything you could
think of, (Seriously, as far as the eye could see)
We knew it would be quite a while before we hit our pillows.

And it was pure bliss.
Except for the part where the women in the weird hats would
follow us around with the wooden frogs that croaked, that part was awful.

After hours spent bargaining and finding so many treasures,
We returned and got some much needed sleep.
We had a very big day ahead of us.

{Day 4}

This is were the day my biggest dream came true.

As long as I can remember I have wanted to ride an elephant
and watch it play soccer in Thailand.

Well, It came true!

Did you know that elephants were artists?

I love this picture. It really wasn't too often that you would see things in English...

Unfortunately Shay and I do not have a picture like this one...I thought I had film in my camera (yes I really just said film, I thought it would be a cool experience but it was such a hassle)...but I didn't. So just pretend. (Aren't they so cute?)

Riding an elephant was not quite what I imagined. I could seriously not control my giggling. My favorite part was going through the river. It was such an incredible experience.

Don't these kids just melt your heart?

There were about 9 waterfalls at this place. It was really incredible. There were people having naps and picnics everywhere. It was so ideal for a little break from the day.

Our dear tour guide Duck (his wife, Judy, was in Kritsana's ward growing up) told us about a

place we could go bungee jumping...fortunately (or unfortunately depending on

how you look at it)...we had just heard of a bungee jumping death and decided we would try

something a littler safer like a zip-line.

I should probably admit that I was terrified. There was a second when I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it. The guide was not very sympathetic of my fear. After a couple of times I was great and it was one of the coolest things I have ever done.

The "Adam and Eve" zip-line.

These were our guides. They would always refer to themselves as "Monkeys."

We drove straight from the zip-line to a place that had traditional dinner and dancing.

(Think the PCC of Thailand). We didn't have time to freshen up. We smelled like elephants.

The food was divine. Although the dancing was amazing we had such a hard time staying awake! What a day!

Duck, Kritsana and her sister P. Ann

This really was the best day Ever!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Dear Blog-

Dear blog,

I would really love to be able to finish my Thailand posts.
For whatever reason, you keep changing the format of things.
I keep going back trying and retrying to fix it and it doesn't work.
Please just start cooperating, I have 9 more days to post.

Thanks!
Cristy Ann

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Thailand: Day 5

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is the holiest shrine in northern Thailand. It was founded in 1386 under miraculous circumstances. Unable to decide on the site to place a magical relic, the King placed it in a portable shrine on the back of a white elephant and waited to see where the animal would take it. Eventually, the elephant walked up to the top of Doi Suthep mountain, trumpeted three times, turned around tree times, knelt down and died. The temple was immediately built on the miraculously chosen site.

You walk up 140 something stairs (correct me if I'm wrong Shay) that are protected by Naga (snakes)

The view from the top (the picture doesn't even do it justice)

This was by far the best fried rice I've ever had. For the six of us, this meal was around $8. Yes, I wish I was in Thailand everyday.

We went to a Hillside Village. It was incredible. I had never seen anything like it before. It seriously broke my heart to see people actually live like this. You never realize how blessed you are until you see the way many people live.

Don't you just want to squeeze the kid in the green? He is the cutest thing I have ever seen.

When we pulled up to the village this little girl Wi asked if she could be our tour guide.

Wi lives with her Grandmother. She misses her family. Her parents asked her to stay with her Grandmother and take care of her. Wi's family lives far away on a strawberry farm. She doesn't get to see them very often if ever. When she was telling Kritsana and JaNae about her situation she carefully chose her words. As if to show no disrespect to her family. I cannot imagine being so young and being in such a difficult situation.