Chiang Mai, Thailand

We made it to Thailand! It was an extrememly long trip to get here, with the first leg of the trip at 14 hours, and the second at 5, but we did make it in relatively one (extremely jetlagged) piece. We spent the first day asleep (apart from our two hour "reverse nap" where we went out to get food), and the following day we forced ourselves outside to explore Chiang Mai. Although it's incredibly hot here (anywhere from 95-105 degrees), the city is beautiful, and we found a lot to see and do in just one day. I think our "Wat count" (buddhist temples/monasteries) is already in the double digits, and we had some great Thai food. We also went to the "Night Bazaar," where anything that can be sold is sold. (Even more good stuff than in Ayacucho!!)

Looking up at a Wat

Preston going Buddha

All the trees in this monastary had a wise Buddhist saying attached to them.

The Night Bazaar

On Friday we were picked up at 9:00 am to start our trek through the jungle south of Chiang Mai. Although we did notice the second we landed in Chiang Mai that there was a thick layer of smog covering the whole city, it wasn't until we were out in the jungle that we realized it was not smog, but a dense layer of smoke from the burning of rice paddies, a practice used all over Northern Thailand to prepare fields for this year's crop. So, although in other times of the year the jungle would be a lush, green, orchid-filled paradise, our experience was something more akin to a smoldering Eastern Washington. Haha. Still, the trek was really fun if not beautiful; we did get to visit the Hmong and Karen Hill Tribes, swim in TWO waterfalls, sleep in bamboo huts, eat great food, ride elephants, and float on a bamboo raft down a river lined with Songkran-celebrating Thais. The last part, the bamboo rafting, was by far the most fun we've had since we've been here. Songkran, the Thai New Year, is, as Preston put it, "the single coolest party in the entire world." Ha. It really is; you've never seen so many genuinely happy people in one place at one time. We were floating down a river with dozens of other Thai people who were doing what can only be described as "booze cruising", simultaneously splashing anyone and everyone who passed by, and wishing us a "Happy Thailand!!".

(Side note: Songkran is called the "water festival" in english, as it started with a Buddhist tradition of sprinkling scented water on people as a way of cleansing their spirit for the new year... it's turned into a FULL-FLEDGED, COUNTRY-WIDE water fight, with Chiang Mai as the epicenter.)

The waterfall!!

(A godsend on an extremely hot day.)

Sunset

Welcome to our humble abode!

The honey that we had on our toast for breakfast comes from hives in this tree; they climb that shanty-looking bamboo ladder (attached to the left side of the tree) to get to the branches 100+ feet in the air. Scaaary!

We did a little elephant ride on our trek! Although this was fun, we felt pretty bad for the elephants... They got lots of banana from us!

The beginning of our rafting trip... Still dry, but not for long.

All up and down the river Thais celebrating Songkran hung out in/around these little huts. The restaurants on the hill above would use a pulley system to give them food and beer!

This is Songkran in a nutshell.

Our next day in Chiang Mai was another "dunking" into Songkran. Our current guesthouse (M.D. House) is a block away from the canal that surrounds the whole old city, and it is entirely lined with Songkran partiers. We left our guesthouse at about 12:00 pm, and by 12:02 pm we were drenched. We decided that this is one case where "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" is unavoidably true, so we bought a couple of buckets, and started tossing water. We only lasted for a couple hours in the madness, but the party literally went on all day; we went out for dinner at 6 pm, and it was still going strong. WELCOME TO SONGKRAN 2010!!!!

12:00 pm... DRY.

12:02 pm... SOAKING WET.

Everyone in Chiang Mai it seems comes out of the woodwork for this festival.

Another pretty sunset.

Yesterday we decided that two full days of Songkran madness was really enough, so we went up to the famed Wat Doi Suthep. There were more than a few stairs to climb to get to the entrance, but it was well worth it.

The entrance to Doi Suthep

This statue tells the story of why this Wat exists; in order to find an auspicious site, they let an elephant wander through the hills until it stopped (and died) at the site where the temple now stands.

Because it's 100 degrees out/Songkran, I was wearing running shorts and a tanktop on arrival at the Wat, so I had to don a skirt and shawl in order to be let in.

Colorful New Year's decorations

Doi Suthep is WAY up in the hills north of Chiang Mai, so not only did we get our first glimpse of blue sky in days, we were able to acurately document the "smoke situation" hanging over the city. Uuuuugly.

Tonight (the 16th), we will be heading to Laos. Although it's supposed to be smoky and dry up there as well, we figure we'll just stick to the Mekong River, and all will be fine. Afterall, we've heard there's a pretty awesome "tubing scene" in Vang Vieng...