Thailand: Day 7

Pete offered to show us around Pitsanoloke.

He was the perfect guide.

How about an ice cream sandwich?

We loved reading any sign that was translated into English. Although we usually knew what they meant, the signs never made a whole lot of sense.

P-loke, there will always be a special place for you in my heart.

Thailand: Day 6

From the hill tribe village we drove to Phitsanulok. Kritsana's hometown.

~Approximately a 5 hour drive~

It was an awful drive. It felt much longer then 5 hours.

You know when you long to sleep but can't quite reach that state of bliss,

It was 5 hours of that.

{I think Shay slept great with the help of Dramamine, the drowsy kind}

Our dear friends Duck & Judy drove us in their van.

We had a love/hate relationship with this van.

You may not know this...

In Thailand all of the automobiles have what Shay and I lovingly refer to as,

"A back up noise"

We heard all kinds of different back up noises.

Space shuttle, catchy little tunes, etc.

It was very late when we arrived to P-lok.

As I was brushing my teeth I saw a cockroach in the bathroom.

I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I quickly ran out of there.

My dear and very brave cousin Shay killed it.

I don't know how but she did.

With no fear of the cockroach jumping on me, I slept like a baby.

Day 6

We arrived at the church. It's amazing how even in a foreign country,

The church is the same. It's comforting.

There were more members then I had imagined.

Maybe 50 or so.

The Elders took turns translating for us.

They sat behind us, leaned forward and translated.

It was very kind.

In Relief Society we met a new friend

~Shrimp~

She wore a jumper that was a little too short and

Thick, thick, thick wool socks.

She was very excited to use her English.

She talked to us the entire lesson,

Except for the 5 minutes where she fell asleep.

We did take a picture of the three of us,

Unfortunately whoever took the picture didn't actually take the picture

It makes me nauseous thinking about it.

I saw the picture in my mind and it was exceptional.

She followed us everywhere.

Now was the moment for which the entire trip was planned:

Pete's Baptism

Pete, Kritsana's nephew, attended church with her the previous time she visited.

She encouraged him to continue going. He did.

Pete immediately had a strong testimony of the Word of Wisdom.

He also found truth in the other gospel principles.

He is a remarkable 17 year old.

Pete had to be baptized 3 times.

His knees kept emerging from the water.

When he finally came up from the water it was amazing to see him.

I don't think I will ever forget the smile on his face.

It was an incredible moment to be a part of.

Take 1

Take 2: A very impressive group of Young Men.

Kritsana's brother opened a noodle shop about a year ago. This place is incredible. Just look at this view...

The best tour guides and their van. Our very swollen feet. I think I slept with my feet elevated every night... Kritsana's aunt had about 100 lotus plants We asked her if she sold them. She said "no, I enjoy looking at them." Something we never ever expected to find.... Skin Whitening products. Yes, you read that correctly.

Thailand: Day 5

There really is a new post, just click here.

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...

L





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!