Farewell Australia- Hello Thailand!

Hello Friends! Greetings from Thailand! I hope everyone is well and enjoying their summers! It has been another busy couple weeks- this is what we have been up to:

Final Days in Aus

After coming back from the farm, it was time to start packing up Meighan and Sarah while attempting to do as many touristy things and for them to say farewell to as many of their Aussie friends as possible. This meant, it was a hectic week! We had lots of fun though, I believe I told you about the Sydney Tower, and we also went for a beautiful Harbor Lunch Cruise, past the opera house and Harbor Bridge. It was really lovely. That evening, we went to see an Opera at the Opera House. We were off to see La Boheme. We were all very excited, got all dressed up and headed back to the CBD (code word : downtown). Well, because we were all trying to strictly adhere to a budget, we decided we would only pay for the least expensive seats, seeing as we are not Opera buffs and just wanted the experience. WELL! The one thing that the ticket purchasing website failed to mention, was that by sitting at the back, your ability to see the screen that translates the lyrics for you would be totally blocked. Therefore, we sat there, watching an Italian Opera, unable to figure out what on earth was going on. We had a general idea from the program, but the details were definitely lost on us! That was the last major attraction we saw before leaving Sydney, as the next couple days were spent packing up and saying goodbye.

Hello Thailand!

We arrived in Bangkok Sunday night, and awoke to rain all day Monday. That hampered our ability to see as much as we had planned, but we still did alright. I found Bangkok to be big and disgusting, but the other girls didn't mind it as much as I did. To me, it was so big and I felt like we had to negotiate everything because we basically had tourist stamped across our forehead.

From Bangkok we headed North to Chiang Mai, where we had many activities planned. We weren't sure what to expect, as we had heard that a tropical storm had moved through Vietnam and Laos, meaning that there had been a ton of rain in Chiang Mai. It was true, and it did rain and rain for our first few days. Not a big deal as the first few things we had planned were indoors. We started off going to visit the Tiger Kingdom where you pay to enter an enclosed cage with tigers in them. Sounds crazy but it was really fun. We got to play with baby tigers, which were sooooo cute and sooooo much fun, and then we got to pet and take pictures with a small adult tiger and then a BIG tiger. It was pretty neat. There is much debate among travelers in the area if the tigers are drugged or not, but it is advertised that they are just well trained. It didn't feel like the animals were mistreated when were there, and the staff working there genuinely seemed to enjoy their jobs and working with the tigers.

The next day we were off to a Thai cooking course. I was extremely nervous due to a) my lack of culinary skills and b) my lack of Thai food experience. I wasn't sure what to expect but we had a fabulous time. I made Chicken Fried Rice, a Sweet and Sour stir fry, Coconut Milk soup and a Curry. I really enjoyed all but the curry. It's not really my thing. The class was so much fun, and our instructor, Mam, was absolutely fantastic. I sort of felt like Rachel Ray, as everything was pre-measured and prepared so you just had to put it in the wok! Please don't expect me to be cooking any fabulous Thai meals when I get home, as I think I will definitely need some practice!

The day after we were headed to the Flight of the Gibbon, a 5 km zip line adventure. We were all excited and a little bit nervous. The course consists of 29 platforms up in trees in the rainforest, all connected by a zip line or similar apparatus. It was pretty fun, the best part was the 800 meter zip line over a valley. It was the BEST feeling ever, flying over so much green and so fast. I wished that the adventure had been more of the longer zip lines and less short ones. That night, back at the hostel, it was one of the girl's birthdays so we took her out for dinner. There were 5 girls, and because our hostel was in a residential area, we had to figure out how to get into town. The answer? Tuk-Tuk. We pulled on over and were going to go in groups , but the driver said he could take all of us. It was crazy! I didn't think we were going to make it! When we got to the restaurant, the tuk- tuk driver told us not to do that again! It was his idea!!!

Our last day in Chiangmai we went on an elephant adventure. Or so we thought. We booked this tour through our hostel, and it was quite the day. We started out at a Long-neck village tribe. These are the women who wear the gold rings around their neck for life. It was an interesting experience as I wasn't sure how legitimate it was or a bit of a tourist trap, but I didn't like seeing the women with the rings on. It looked so uncomfortable. From there we were off to ride an elephant for an hour, which was also lots of fun. After that, a hike through the muddy forest to play in a waterfall and then off for a bamboo raft. Or so we thought. As we pulled into the rafting place, our guide informed us that we would be white water rafting instead, as the water level was so high. It was an interesting surprise, turned out to be really fun, despite the interesting safety requirements compared to Canada! The rapids weren't as big either, and it was another adventure.

We have also decided to take advantage of the numerous Thai massages that are available. For $7.50 you can get an hour long massage. Our first day in Bangkok we decided to do this and it was a painfully relaxing experience. They use their elbows and knees and twist you into interesting positions! This was nothing compared to our experience in Chiangmai! We decided to upgrade to the hour and a half Oil massage, as we had been walking all afternoon and cooking all morning. WELL! Forgive me if this description gets a little personal, but here is what happened. You walk into the room (Meig and I in one, Sarah by herself in another) and are presented with disposable underwear and a hairnet. So you put these on, lay on the table and the massage starts. The next thing you know, the underwear are moved to that half of your rear end is exposed and is being massaged. The other part of your leg that is getting massaged is your inner thing, and things are getting extremely close to becoming uncomfortable. I lay there, trying to enjoy the experience, but it was all I could do not to laugh. The next thing I know, its time for my back. Or so I thought until the underwear were pulled below my derriere and I was treated to a full tush massage! I didn't know where things were going to go from there, but at one point the lady had her toes on my calves, her knees in my bottom and her elbows in my shoulders. Good thing these Thai women are (annoyingly) tiny! After the inner thigh rub and tush massage, you can only IMAGINE what went through my head when she told me to turn over!!! AHHHH! Turns out I was in for more inner thigh work and a belly massage. Which, for the record, is not so easy on the self esteem!! As soon as the ladies, who worked so hard, and really, did a good job, Meig and I just started laughing. It was quite the experience.

We are currently on beautiful Koh Samui. I was looking forward to being a beautiful, bronzed goddess, but really I should have known better. When we were on the elephant in Chiang Mai, the sun popped out for 10 whole minutes and fried my shoulders!! So have a lovely white strip down the middle of my back. To follow that beautiful look up, after rigorously applying sunscreen yesterday, I managed to avoid more burn. Except for a patchy spot right on my belly. Beautiful!! So between my patchy tan and the tiny Thai women and European beauties, I think I'll be keeping a low profile on the beach! Tomorrow we are off to Koh Tao for three days to enjoy some world class snorkeling and other ocean adventures. I can hardly wait!

The next few weeks will continue to be spent on the beach! Keep your fingers crossed for my tan!! We'll be home in just a few weeks- please enjoy the rest of your summer!!

See you soon!
Lindsay