Left my heart at Patara Elephant Farm

It's Friday, August 12, 2011. The day I've been waiting for. :)
I could hardly sleep the night before, I was SO excited. I woke up at 6 AM to get ready and was ready fairly quickly. The hotel was SO sweet to me and had a breakfast waiting for me when I got downstairs. The breakfast doesn't normally open till later, but they made me a meal early cuz they knew I'd be leaving for Patara! So sweet! I got picked up around 7:30 by a van with Patara Elephant Farm written on the side (Mom took a picture! I should get it from her.)
Anyways, we picked up the others and all met up at the farm. :) It was a super muddy walk down to the meeting spot, so we all washed our feet and got cleaned up first. There were 8 French people, 4 Italians, and me. haha! It was way cool being the only American. Not gonna lie. :) We met briefly as a group and got our Mahout shirts! I got a cool turquoise one. Then, we headed down and met a 7 day old baby elephant! He was SO cute!

He was all playful and making his rounds. He ran over to me and I got to play with him a little bit! Then, he ran off and the mamma stood up and came straight over to me. I seriously think she was staring me down. It felt really cool though! She was literally like 3 inches from my face. I wasn't sure what to do, cuz I had never exactly been in the presence of free roaming elephants before! :P I was a little nervous, but not really. I've been SO excited for this day for SO long, all I felt was sheer delight! Anyway, she walked right up to me and stood by me for a good couple minutes.

 Beautiful 7 day old baby boy

 Running and playing :)

The baby decided it was time for bed (newborns are only awake for about 15 minutes at a time. Then they sleep for about 45 minutes, and they're up again for another 15! Ish... haha)

 So! we moved on and met the 5 month old baby boy, and a 5 1/2 month old baby boy! The farm was pretty worried, cuz with 3 babies this year - all boys - that's not the greatest luck. =/ But, adorable babies! This one actually stepped on my foot!! How cool is that?! I got stepped on by a baby elephant! :P I have never been more proud to break a toe nail.

Baby 5 months and me :)

Then, we moved on and had a little chat with the farm owner. :) It was fun being the only native English speaker because I could tell they were totally aiming everything at me, cuz I was pretty much the only one who would get their jokes. :P He talked about how Patara is 10 years running and they've had 14 babies, and 6 Elephants are pregnant now. :) Elephants have a 19-25 month gestation period. OY. He told us a bit about what we were going to do for the day and said "If no one else wants to swim, just throw the American in to test the waters! They're always willing!" haha! I definitely was willing indeed. There was no way I was missing out on anything today!

The chat was really cool because he talked to us about the incredible nature of elephants and how family central they are. He said a lot of Elephant farms try to tell you that they're the only farm that actually loves the elephants, but "we love elephants like all the other farms do. We're not out to try to convince you that we're the best and other farms are bad, because this isn't about us! It's about the elephants. We're not out to promote ourselves." To me, that makes them the best. But anyways, he said "We all need to spend a day taking care of these beautiful creatures. I feel it is our calling as human beings to at least spend one day taking care of them. I don't know why you're here today, but maybe God is telling you that it is your turn today. Lucky you." Isn't that cool?! I almost cried. hhh... Lucky me. :)

Next, it was finally time to meet our elephants!! They matched us up according to temperament they had seen in us as we interacted earlier. My elephant is Plao. :) She is a 15 year old retired circus elephant. Patara got her after she had been abused in the circus. Man, she is beautiful. Khao is my elephant trainer/Mahout. He was so much fun! We learned that the easiest way to make friends with your elephant is by feeding them. ("Kind of like boys!" they said) Before we could approach, I yelled out "Plao, CHA!" and held up some food. She trumpeted - accepting my request to approach her. I got to feed her! I had my whole hand in her mouth at some points. I wasn't scared at all. The first time my whole hand was in her mouth was a little frightening, but I learned that they are really very gentle creatures, even when hungry. :) I had a serious amount of slobber, but it was wonderful.

 Feeding time! My whole hand. Multiple times. It was cool too because we would say "Bonn!" And they'd lift up their trunks into that picture perfect shape! :)

She loves me too!! That was SUCH a cool feeling, having her trunk completely wrapped around me!!

After we had fed them, we met for a bit to learn some basic elephant care. We learned that there are 4 main things you look for in determining whether or not your elephant is healthy. 1) Check to make sure their ears are flapping, and tails are wagging. I looked over at Plao and her WHOLE body was wagging! She was just swaying back and forth so happy!! I can just imagine a cute little song running through her head as she sways! :) I love the elephant sway. Cutest thing ever. 2) Elephants need to sleep lying down. If they're standing it means they're too weak to stand up and sit down. They are very sick if they can't do this. SO, to check for this, we had to look for dirt spots! We checked their bodies to make sure there was dirt in specific spots to prove they had been sleeping. 3) Elephants only sweat in one spot, around their toe nails. If they're not sweating there, their circulation is not good. Healthy elephants have sweaty feet.

 4) Then, we got to check their poop!! bahaha Healthy poop is at least 6 balls full. There need to be at least 6 balls of poop. The poop must be full of juicy, tiny fibers. If there are big fibers it means their teeth aren't good. Elephants really only die when their teeth fail them. =/ Also, there can't be a smell. If it's smelly, it means it sat in their stomach for too long.

"Oh my! Now, that is just lovely!"

Yay!! So, we checked all these things on our elephants to make sure they were healthy. At this point, Mom and Dad and Drew came to visit! They got to see us interacting a little bit with the elephants, it was so cool. I was so glad Patara let them come say hi! I was in the middle of the coolest experience ever, and I was happy that I got to show it off to Mom and Dad and Drew. :) I unchained my elephant and yelled "La nomb!" and tapped her hind legs. She got down to the ground and layed down as I brushed the dirt off of her with a bundle of plants. Mom, Dad, and Drew got to watch all this! :)

Little pebbles hurt them if we don't brush them off before we ride the elephants. (Que: Princess and the Pea) Patara took a picture of Mom, Dad, Drew and I, and then they were back on the road to their own adventure...

Next, we took our elephants to the river to bathe off the rest of the dirt! It's easier to brush off, so we get most of it off before the river. I wasn't exactly sure where to go, and Khao kept just saying "You follow me, and I will take good care of you!" It was so cute! haha He's the best. Anyway, we basically played in the river for a while and I totally got sprayed! It was AMAZING. Sprayed by an elephant in a river? Yes please.

We bathed them and got all the dirt off. Then, we brought them back to the main area so they could dry off a little before we got on. We were given riding pants and got a second to chill while our Mahouts got the rope on our elephants. 

Khao tying my riding rope on Plao. :)

We learned two different ways to get on our elephants. The first was to get up by tapping on the elephants shoulder. They would lift their leg just a little so you could step on it and hoist yourself up. 

The second was by tapping their forehead. The elephant would lower their head and hoist you up in their trunk. HAHA!! SO cool! Can you guess which one I chose? YEP! The trunk. What else? I probably didn't look as cool, but I was lifted in HER TRUNK! That just makes me cool. 

Anyways. Then we were off!! We set off on this little trail to get used to riding. We used the commands "Byee!" to move them forward, "Hao!" to stop them, "Toi" to move backwards, "Janna!" to stop them from doing what they're doing, and "Deedee" to tell them good job. :) That was my favorite. I'd pat right on the nose and coo "Deedee" over and over. :)

"Deedee!"

 I love Plao. She was so silly! She pretty much refused to go on the trail all the other elephants were going on. She was always trying to get ahead. I didn't mind! 

The 5 1/2 month old got to come along with mama! 

The Thai way. :) So peaceful and serene.

We ended up in front for most of the time which was cool. I imagined I was just all alone and my very own elephant just riding through the jungle with no time commitments or worries in the world. :) hhh... Someday. 

I just felt so rejuvenated there. So happy!

And all the while, even while walking, Plao kept just swaying back and forth! So cute. She'd swing to one side and grab the grass and foliage with her trunk, rip it out and try to eat it before swaying to the other side to do the same thing! :)

 At one point she took us off the main trail and we were about to walk in between two trees. RIGHT in front of us was this HUGE spider. She was just swaying back and forth not wanting to walk through the spider web, but not wanting to have to go on the main trail. She was obviously perplexed! haha After some encouragement from Khao, she chose the main path, which I was extremely grateful for! Haha I just thought it was so cute! She was scared of spiders!! At another point, we were walking through a river thing and Khao tried to jump onto her trunk so he wouldn't have to walk through it. She held him for a second, then right when we were in the deep of the river, she dropped him!! HAHA!! 

I was laughing so hard! She obviously knew what she was doing. She just plopped him down right in the river! I said "Deedee" and patted her forehead and Khao laughed really hard. It was cute. :) 

Then, we were back at the main camp and we started on a different trail. We got off and walked our elephants across the road, haha! Elephant crossing! Can I please have a sign? In my room?! Or I could put it in the hall, but I don't think my roommates would enjoy the insinuation much. ANYWAYS. 

WAY cool, right?! haha! So we got to the trail head and set off on the muddy trail down to the waterfall! Khao got up and rode the elephant with me, so he wouldn't have to walk in the mud. It's insane how pro they are at getting on and off the elephants! Khao pretty much half climbs a nearby tree, half ninja leaps onto Plao's back. It rocks! haha Someday that will be me. Just sayin... 

We got to the bottom of the trail and you could totally tell the elephants knew where they were going! They got so excited seeing the water! It was adorable. We had to pretty much fly off so that we could let the elephants go play! They played while we ate lunch, and boy what a lunch it was! Seriously, a feast.

It was fun unwrapping the banana leaves and finding surprises in every package. haha! It was AMAZING food. Very different, but so incredibly wonderful. Lots of rice! I was a definite fan. I felt a little awkward at lunch cuz I had bonded so much with Plao and Khao that being with the other people was kinda hard, especially cuz we didn't speak the same language! haha but the Italian couple was way nice and we talked a bit, so that was good. They're a way cute couple. :) Finally it was time to play in the waterfall!!

 Yeah, I'm riding an elephant there! They love to be completely under water! It was hard to get them to come up to take pictures. haha!

 So fun! 

I really am not a fan of my back in this picture, but it is a really cool shot. :)

When we were all done swimming in the water, we went up and changed and got back on our elephants for the treck home! We took a different way home and it was really steep, but elephants are amazing and it gave them no trouble. :) It was such an amazing ride. I just couldn't believe I was really doing it. 

 Me finally getting brave enough to take pictures from atop my elephant

 Khao and I again. :P

Whelp, the trail took us all the way back to camp. We dried off a bit and hung out while they were making the CDs. I bought an adorable carved baby elephant. :) I love it. But all too soon it was time to say goodbye. I gave a pretty good tip, took another picture, and then it was go time. :( 

hhh... I seriously can't even find words to express how much this day meant to me. It was the most incredible experience of my life. Words and pictures could never do it justice, but I'm glad to finally have the memories recorded. Memories which will grace my life forever. :) They told us as we were leaving that in two years time we'd wake up one morning and feel the unshakable urge to be back in Thailand with our elephants. I think they lied, cuz I've seriously felt this urge every day since I left. I want to go back! I haven't stopped dreaming, or daydreaming about this experience and I hope I never do. Thank you Patara Elephant Farm for this amazing experience. And thank you Mom and Dad for allowing me this opportunity. It is one I forever will cherish.

THAILAND!!!! No, seriously... I went to THAILAND!

Thailand. Trip of a lifetime. Not even kidding. My words can't even express this trip. So, I'm just gonna get right to it. 


TRIP TO THAILAND!!!!


August 6-7, 2011
So, Day 1 we left around 9 in the morning to the airport. We flew out around 1:30 headed toward Japan!! SO crazy! haha I watched Rio and Water For Elephants on the plane and slept a bit. :) Rio was WAY cute! My favorite quotes? "You're not an ostrich!!" "Well, not technically." hahah!! And, "Awhh... Love. It's such a powerful and... stupid thing." bahahah SO TRUE. Anyways. Water For Elephants was cute too. :) Kinda depressing and still not a huge fan of Robert Pattinson's acting. He's just boring to me. Anyways. FINALLY - we were in Japan!!! Crazy!! haha This is what I wrote in the airport. After I made paper cranes. :) 


"Dude!! I'm in JAPAN!!! What the heck?! I never thought I'd be here. I am so in awe. Our flight from here to Thailand got cancelled so we had to figure some things out, but luckily, we're only leaving an hour later than we were originally scheduled to. It's been SO cool! Japan is amazing. We shopped around the airport a bit and I bought a cool face scrubber and the cutest little sachet. it said it contains a charm for happy love. :) How cute is that? BAHHH!!! JAPAN!!! So, now we're sitting at our gate and I'm folding paper cranes. Haha! :) Or should I say: |) (uhh.. that's supposed to be an Asian smiley face) Oh goodness... I'm so funny! haha don't judge. It's 6:20 PM sunday here, so 2:20 AM in Sequim. Wooo!! Japan! 


I am in JAPAN!! lol SO CRAZY!!" 

This was a cool Origami store in Japan. This was a Cinderella scene. The whole store was full of crazy origami. Including the worlds smallest paper crane. :) cool.

Well, we left Japan late because the plane was waiting for people who were just landing and needed to make the connection. Why?! It would never wait for us! Anyways. I fell asleep before we took off and I didn't wake up until they were bringing me food! It took me a bit to orient myself and realize we had already taken off. haha I tried to get some reading in but I pretty much just slept the whole way. I shouldn't have though, it wasn't exactly Thailand's time to be sleeping. Oh well! We arrived in Bangkok and took a taxi to the "Convenient Resort" where we slept through the night. :) It was a nice little place... not anything special, but fine for the night. :) It's SO COOL to finally be in Thailand! And driving to our hotel was crazy cuz they drove on the wrong side of the road!! haha I've never experienced that before! It was funny too because getting in the taxi was all weird and Dad went to the driver's seat almost because we're used to it being the passengers seat! haha it was so confusing!! This is what I wrote in the hotel in Bangkok at 1:15 AM Monday, 11:15 AM Sunday in Sequim.


"Welcome to Thailand world!!! I can't believe I am finally here! We drove on the wrong side of the road today... that was crazy cool. :) The beds are hard and the shower sprays the whole bathroom. Life. Is. Good. Peace Out!!"


Monday, August 8, 2011
This morning, Mom woke us up at 7 thinking it was 9. It was actually kind of hilarious because I think the phone didn't reset or something... it was all weird. But it wasn't until we talked to the boys that we realized the real time. It was funny! haha I just went back to sleep. I was so tired. But we went for breakfast at 8:30 and they had DRAGON FRUIT!! Gah, it was so good!! And so cool to see. There was a little black and white kitty running around. :) so cute! Well, then we had a bit of time to kill and we weren't in the best area in Bangkok to be running around, so we went back inside the hotel and I read for a bit. Then we went back to the airport to catch our flight to Chiang Mai!! It was a one hour flight and they served a meal! haha I freaking love Thailand!! Anyways. Then our hotel people picked us up and held up one of those cool signs you always see on the movies! :) And the car was fantastic. All old style. And way cool to be driving on the other side of the road. :) hhh... Anyways.
We settled in to the Pak Chiang Mai which is seriously the most beautiful hotel I have ever been in. It was so gorgeous. There was an elephant waterfall and gardens and trees all as you walk in. Most of the place didn't really have a roof. It was all just natural. And when it rained, it rained at the hotel. Well, I mean... obviously. But I mean if you're sitting in the hotel area, you'll get rained on!! haha It's hard to explain. But it's so magnificent. 

 mommy sitting in the couch swing at Pak Chiang Mai

 Sitting on the bridge over the Coy... river...

I love that elephant waterfall

 This was just an adorable laying elephant statue that I fell in love with.

 The balcony from my room overlooked the gardens. Isn't it gorgeous? That was me writing in my journal. 

 I love Pak Chiang Mai.

Well, we went for a little walk around the shops by our hotel and I bought a beautiful Thai blouse! So gorgeous!! And we quickly discovered the meaning of "Monsoon Season" in Thailand!! It was POURING!!! I hadn't ever experienced rain like it. I was ecstatic!! haha We ran around for a bit and then came back to Pak for dinner. :) I had Pad Thai and wildberry ice cream!! AND iced hot chocolate!!! It was interesting... but the pad thai was SUPER good! After dinner, the boys took a nap and mom and I spent some time on the swings in the gardens. :) I'm in love with those swings. 

Later, we took a taxi to the night market! It was a crazy cool open back taxi where we pretty much just jumped on and off. :) We spent the evening running around the night market in the rain, and I got an amazing 'I <3 Chiang Mai' T-Shirt with elephants on it!! I also got a gorgeous necklace, a wrap dress, and souvenir pouches for friends. THEN - Mom, Dad, and I went and got half hour back and neck massages!!! bahhh!! AMAZING. They had little cookies and tea after the massage. It was just the most relaxing thing I had ever really experienced. I was on the verge of falling asleep the whole time. I didn't want to fall asleep, cuz I didn't want to miss it! But Ooooh man. It was so amazing. And the tea and cookies after were just so charming and wonderful. :) I kept thinking I had been left because it felt like hours. I kept popping up wondering if mom and dad were still there. haha after the massage, we went and helped Drew pick out some cool Thai shirts. :) He got two awesome ones - blue and orange!! Then, we took the red open back taxis back home. :) hhh... what an amazing first day in Chiang Mai. 

"Today was AMAZING!! We didn't have plans set in stone, but it was so chill and ... wow. Thailand is amazing. Quickly becoming my favorite country - my favorite trip ever. The culture here is just so rich and so different. not to mention the great food! haha and ending in an $8 massage is just the best thing ever. i can't wait to see what tomorrow brings! :) <3 Thailand!!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Today we woke up at 8 and went to breakfast at 8:30. I had poached eggs and watermelon juice! Watermelon juice is definitely a new favorite. So refreshing. The next hour was spent walking to 7/11, buying fairy pillows, walking home, and uhh yeah... being annoyed. hahaha 

We ended up hiring one of those red taxis for the day and it took us all to a huge golden watt! We weren't allowed to wear shoes inside which was definitely cool. And I was very pleased with myself because I didn't get car sick on the way up the hill!! I mostly just tried not to think about it and it worked! Here are some pictures.

The crazy red taxi. This is out the back.

Drew and Dad on the dragon walkway.

Dad and I by the golden watt

Beautiful.

Mommy by the dragon walkway. :)

After we hiked the dragon walkway, Andrew left down the mountain to go to the meditation sanctuary place... thing. He was super excited about it, so we were all happy for him! He basically got to spend the night with the monks and meditate and learn from them. It was pretty cool. But Mom, Dad, and I went on to the Palace. :) It wasn't quite as impressive as the Wat, but there was this huge, incredible... incredibly huge rose garden!!

 I was completely in awe! It was interesting too because they made me wear a sarong around my legs. Apparently they don't like people wearing shorts. It's a respect thing. I wish America was that respectful. :) There was also this Wat from the 1400's there. It was like 7 tiers and INCREDIBLE!! And there were a TON of monks around. It was cool. But monks can't touch girls - so we were constantly playing hopscotch on the sidewalks trying to get through the monks without touching them! haha it was interesting. :)


Well, then we found our taxi man and went back down the mountain!! It is INSANE how fast they drive. I was terrified... and thrilled... and blurry... all at the same time! :P But Mom and I got 1 hour massages from the hotel. It was... painful. It was like a stretch massage and they made us bend in ways I really really really couldn't bend. I mean really, if you hear some snaps... you'd think it's time to stop, right? No... go a few more feet. hah! OW. It was good though. I just could never go through that again. haha OW. But THEN - we went to the Old Chiang Mai Culture Center!! We got to eat on the floor!!!! The food was way good. I LOVED the super crunchy noodles... whatever they were. SO good. And then they had dancers and a night show. Thai dance is interesting... kinda creepy sometimes. But it would be fun to learn the happier stuff. :) There was a knife dancer too which was cool. 

 Eating on the flooooor!!

 Dancers! This was a more happy dance. :)

The night show was REALLY cool. Mom and Dad were having trouble staying awake. :P I nodded a few times, then pretended to be asleep when they came around asking for donations. :P Oh man... that just sounded really bad. It didn't feel that wrong when I did it... it sounds really bad. It was this huge snuffeluffagus creature coming around sticking his nose in your face till you fed him money!! It was scary! And I didn't want to go through it without mom and dad!! haha 

SEEE?! Snuffeluffagus!!! 

Anyways... Awesome day! Here's what I wrote from Thailand. :)

"Today was pretty incredible. I am exhausted!! haha so cool to see Asian architecture. Sitting on the floor to eat was crazy cool too! haha whelp, I'm falling asleep as I scribble. [I really was... it was kinda funny... I was like "I'm falkeing asleeeppalkdf as I scribb...] Until tomorrow... goodnight! :) "

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Wow. Today was AMAZING. We started the day off with dragon fruit!!! We woke pretty early and ate breakfast. I was feeling something light, so I had french toast and dragon fruit. :) mmmm!! Then, we hired the same taxi man from yesterday and went to the Tiger Kingdom! We played with the 3 month old tigers! OH my goodness. SO cute. I'll let the pictures talk now.

 When I was laying like this, one of the tigers totally swatted my face cuz my hair was tickling him! haha!! SCARY. But so cute!

 AHHH!!! Such a cool experience!

 Awwh! She's a pro. Probably cuz she's done it with 6  kids already... :P And cuz she's just a pro. In general.

 Lovin' me some tiger.

 They were just so sweet. You had to be in love. :)

cckckjl ... hairball...

Then we went to this monkey school and watched a monkey show! They did little tricks for us and untied things and stuff. It was cool. A monkey sat on my lap!! It wasn't really all that impressive, and we felt bad for the monkeys being all cooped up all day. But, it was still really cool. :)

MONKEY!!

haha So, then we went back to our hotel and washed up, went for a walk, and got some lunch at a place called "The Smiling Pig" haha! I got tastey wontons! And OH my goodness!! They played Michael Buble!!! In the cafe!! IN THAILAND! How cool is that Mr. International Superstar?! I mean... we already knew that. But it's different experiencing it. Anyways. So we kinda just killed time while we waited for drew to get back. :) I sent some emails and wrote this happy little ditty in my journal. 

"I still can hardly believe I'm in Thailand. Here I am, sitting on my balcony in the most beautiful Thai garden. I hear and see the beautiful elephant fountain. I'm sitting above a gorgeous Coi Pond, massage tables and peaceful music playing. Someone is smoking -- er... what?! That screws up this whole magical picture I'm trying to create!! lol Thanks dude. But besides that, I'm in LOVE with Thailand. It's so warm, people are friendly, and there are tigers to cuddle and ELEPHANTS! I can't wait for the elephants. But I seriously never thought I'd be able to say "I held a monkey." or "I cuddled a baby tiger." But especially not on the same day!! Such an amazing experience. Especially the tigers. SO cute and sweet and epic! hehe best trip ever!"

Writing on the balcony :)

Once drew got back, we set out to find 3 Wats! We were just walking, so it was cool to see some more of the city! We found two of them, and they looked pretty similar, but they were way neat! There were monks in one of them, chanting in front of the Buddha. It was -really- cool. I felt all cultural! haha We also got to talked to a Thai student who was totally just wanting to practice his English. :) It was cute though, and he had good things to say. He was actually really friendly and helpful. :) One of the Wats had HUGE ruins that used to be taller than doves could fly!

 Drewie by the sweet Wat ruins

Higher than doves could fly... 

 The other had a really cool 'quote garden' with different quotes painted on boards and nailed onto the trees. They had some good things to say. :) I wish I had a picture of the whole garden... maybe someone does. I'll check. :) For now, here's what I do have.

 Not my favorite quote of the garden, but interesting. :)

OH! And here are the monks!!

Well, we decided not to find the other Wat. It was just too far. But, we got dinner instead! We ate in the coolest looking restaurant! We all felt like we were eating in an antique shop!! It was nice to get inside and away from the mosquitoes. I was being eaten ALIVE! Worse than Hawaii. I couldn't even do a mosquito count this trip. Seriously, I had SO many new ones every day, and they lasted forever so I couldn't tell which ones were new and which were old. It was... intense. I suppose it would have been nicer if it was in tents. BAH. Bad joke. I really shouldn't blog at night. Anyways. Food. Back to the food!! I was really not in the mood for super spicy food, so I ordered a Pomello Salad! That's familiar enough, right?! WRONG. It was the hottest freaking food I've ever eaten in my LIFE. I was literally on fire. Who puts jalapenos in pomello salad?! Apparently the Thai do. And, it was cool... I mean, it actually would have been really tasty if I could handle hot foods. I was just breathing fire is all. SO - I didn't eat it. And Andrew helped me hide the fact that I didn't eat a lot. Mr. Bean style. It was legit. 

Well, after dinner, Andrew went home and Mom, Dad and I went and got massages. There were long lines everywhere, so they gave us 100TB off each massage. AND, the guy in the shop let me have some Tigerbalm for my mosquito bites! It was so sweet. When we were signing up, I was itching like madness and he totally just brought it out! It smelled way good. I want some. haha Well, we went window shopping a bit while we waiting and I bought Kate some sweet Genie pants! We finally got in and they gave us some tea while we waited. The guy who brought me the tigerbalm came out and said "Maybe mosquitoes get her because she breaths out so much cuz she's young and hyper! Or maybe because she is so attractive!" haha! it was so cute! Definitely not hard on the eyes either. :P Anyways... here's what I wrote about the rest of the day.

"I've decided massage just may not be my thing. In fact - spas aren't really my thing. I just love day dreaming too much. And when I try to clear my mind and stop thinking in the spa, during massage, I just get frustrated. haha! Besides that, I don't like being touched. At least, not by someone I'm not comfortable with. I liked the first one massage. The head an neck? That was nice. But really, I mean, good night hug after a date? Totally chill. But if it's someone I'm not friends and he hugs me ad nauseum? Or at all for that matter? Not chill. Okay... depends. But hugging a boyfriend all the time? That'd probably be chill. I wouldn't know. haha but, I bet I'd enjoy a relaxing massage more if I was wanting the person who was touching me TO be touching me. Ya know? Like a husband. I guess we'll see... as for now, my mind just goes (in the words of Andrew) "Massage me?! Why, you only just met me!" bahaha! Anyways. Let me tell you about my shower. It's crazy cool. The ceiling above it leads to the outdoors. It's like a screen for a ceiling! When it rains, it's SO loud in there! and I showered at the same time, which was sweet!! But, I bet it rains hard enough in Thailand sometimes that you wouldn't have to turn on the water! haha SO cool! Also, there are giant plants in there. So genius. One is planted in a snail shell! Cute! :) The end."

Thursday August 11, 2011

Today I woke up way too early. I woke up around 6 just wide awake. Gotta love jet lag. :) I just layed awake for a while so, that was peaceful. I went to breakfast and had a bagel! Then, we set out to find the 3rd Wat. It was a pretty cool little thing. :) We had a nice little walk in the pouring rain! My flip flops were... well... flipping and flopping everywhere! It was actually way fun. I love the rain in Thailand. It's real rain. Not mist. RAIN. Like - BAM. And then you're wet. Also, we were here in Monsoon season, so that probably helped a bit. But anyways, with no shortage of puddles - we set out and had an adventure! The taxis were all trying to pick us up and they'd honk at us like "You're crazy! Who walks in the rain?!" Meh... we're Americans. We're supposed to be crazy. 

We all had our cool umbrellas out and things. :) I forgot mine at home, so the hotel let me borrow one. :) 

Anyways, then we went back to the hotel and were met by some people to take us to cooking school!! It was SO amazing. We met some Germans on the bus, which was way fun! Dad talked to them... I was too scared. I'm such a pansy. :( I feel so bad. hhh... anyways. Cooking school was SO much fun. The guys were so good at teaching us and making us laugh all at the same time. And in English! haha The food was wonderful, if I do say so myself! :P But it was INSANE. They randomly were squirting this stuff in our pans and then doing something... then FLAMES!!! The food was FLAMING. Epic. I was horrified. 

 Dad's flaming food!! He's so chill. In my picture, I look like I'm gonna cry. haha!

 Mommy and I showing off our sweet cooking skills. :)

Aren't our aprons adorable!?! I want to make one.

Eating our delicious. 

I made something... I forgot. Then yellow curry, and sticky rice with coconut milk! Mmmm... so good. We had to use a mortar and stone to make the curry paste. It was crazy. :) So cool though. I was very proud of my work. I want to make more!! It was fun too cuz we all ate in the big room together. It was fun to listen to the different languages - and way fun to listen to the hot Irish guys talking about things in their super thick Irish accents! bahaha oh dear. Way fun though. At the end we got to carve (er... attempt to carve) a carrot into a flower!! I felt so artsy! Even though I killed my carrot. Actually, I ate it. But... it was cool before I ate it.

My carrot. Plus knife.

We got home and Mom and Dad were beat. They took a nap and Andrew and I walked over to 7/11 and got 6 packages of gum for 60TB! That's like... $2. wooot! It was amazing. I love how even in this HUGE city of Chiang Mai, in a foreign country, I feel safe enough to walk around without Mom and Dad. Not that I ever would, but I'd even feel safe going by myself. I wouldn't. But I could. If I wanted. And Andrew did all the time. I just love Chiang Mai. It's such an amazing city. I love it SO much. Here's my passage for the day. :)

"Today was chill, but SO good. Cooking school was SO COOL!! I wanna go remake everything! hehe Tomorrow, I get to ride my elephant!!! I feel like a 6 year old on Christmas Eve!! I can't sleep at all and all I can think about is how I should do my hair tomorrow or what I should wear! lol SO freaking stoked."

Friday August 12, 2011

Today was the best day of my life. Not even joking, THE best day of my life. I have nothing I can even compare it to. I'm STILL in awe and it's November. I'm seriously in love with Thailand and I still dream about my elephants. Day time and night time. I literally can't think of anything more amazing than riding on an elephant through the jungle of Thailand. At any given time in my life I'd rather be riding elephants. Anyways, this day is getting it's own blog post next - so bear with me. I'm skipping it. For now.

Saturday August 13, 2011

Saturday we said goodbye to the beautiful city of Chiang Mai, and to our beautiful hotel - the Pak Chiang Mai. We flew to Bangkok and checked in to yet another - gorgeous - hotel. It was one of those where you walk in and go "Uhh... Is this the right address?" haha! I was seriously in awe. It was a Marriot, so definitely good. We had a FRUIT BASKET. In our room. Andrew and I. Mom and Dad had a huge one, but Andrew and I even got one! haha! CRAZY! And the pool was EPIC. Anyway, more of that later. 
Bangkok is a really cool city where it's public transportation is basically a boat. There is a huge river which divides the city and people just boat up and down! It was so cool! So! We took the boat! It was amazing to watch how many people lived and survived off of the river. Not even just fisherman, but day to day life depends on the river. It's really cool.

Sportin' my beautiful new 'I <3 Chiang Mai' shirt on the banks of the river of Bangkok

 Anyway, we were supposed to be headed to the King's Palace, but we ran into a guy who seemed like he knew what he was doing... He said the Palace didn't open till 3. So, we made new plans. We went to lunch! We ate at this really cool little place where they bring you everything raw and you put it in this vat and ... fry? ... boil?  it up yourself. I couldn't decide what we were doing with the food. But it was good. haha Anyways, then we decided we'd head to some different Wats which were close to the Palace, then head to the Palace at 3. So, we went to some REALLY cool Wats. I was definitely impressed. 

 One cool Wat. Andrew and I really are friends, I promise. It was just like... 95 degrees. HOT. It hurt to go near people.

Andrew and I climbed to the top of this one! It was crazy! haha so many steps, and they were literally straight up and down. It was way cool though, and had a SWEET view.

 I LOVED this Wat. All the architecture was little tiny tiles on the side. It was incredible. 

This is basically what lined the whole Wat. Every Wat. It was actually really cool. I like the Thai Buddha.

Anyway... We headed over to the Palace after we had seen these Wats, and it was just barely after 3. When we got there, the guard said they were closed and had been open all morning from 8 to 2:30. They are never open past 2:30. We were kind of bummed, but mostly a little weirded out that this guy had totally thrown us off. Long story short, it seemed that every turn we took we were cornered by someone asking us where we were going, and trying to lead us in the complete opposite direction. They kept wanting us to take some other boat, go to some different place. It was actually kind of creepy with how pushy they were and how many people were leading us astray. I was getting really freaked out there. It was a 180 degree turn from the safety I felt in Chiang Mai. Long story short, Dad had to keep telling people that we knew where we were going and didn't want their help. I'm so glad that Dad knew where he was going! I would have been so lost that the people's "advice" might have actually sounded decent to me. I have a smart Daddy. Anyways... We were all a little freaked out so we decided we'd just go back to the hotel and take advantage of the sweet pool! We went for a walk around the gardens and... around the hotel area in general... just WOW. It was incredible. And, of course - I made a friend!

I have cool friends.

The pool area was beautiful! I was thoroughly impressed. We didn't end up going swimming. But later we got pizza from a little restaurant in the hotel. It was a super fancy restaurant for pizza! haha But, I got to try out my new Thai shirt. :) I love it! We thought we'd just eat in the... fancy schmancy lounge... Business lounge? I'm not sure. Some cool people lounge that Dad and family got invited to cuz he's so awesome with Marriot. Anyways, we quickly realized it wasn't exactly dinner... more appetizers. So we went for pizza. It was way good. :) Then, we turned in for the night as we had a super early flight the next morning. hhh... I was so sad. I didn't want the night to end. This was me getting some last minute shots of Bangkok out our balcony window.

 Isn't she beautiful? That across the way is still part of our hotel, and below is the amazing swimming pool! 

I, because I'm strange er sometin, really liked the backwards angle that the window provided. Here is me trying to capture it. :P

End of Trip

Well, I suppose to every amazing trip in life, there is an end. :( I was especially sad to see this one end. I could have stayed forever. I love those elephants, the people, the weather. It's just beautiful. I could, however, live without all the mosquitoes! haha The flight home was pretty uneventful, which was good. :) I mostly just got caught up in journaling, etc. We were all pretty exhausted when we finally got to Tokyo. Mom and I tried to find chocolate, but we couldn't find any. We mostly just sat and tried not to pass out. haha! The long flight from Tokyo to Seattle was good as well. I watched Beastly and I REALLY need to rent this and watch the beginning! It has Mary Kate Olsen. But that's not why... It just looked really cute. :) And I also tried watching Little Red Riding Hood, but it was WAY too scary for me. So, I watched Cars like... 20 times. haha! It was way good. We got home around 12:00 Sunday morning Sequim time. hhh... I seriously can't even express how grateful I am to have gotten the opportunity to go on this trip. My parents are amazing. I learned so much about culture and circumstances across the world. I love the people and the culture of Thailand so much. It's seriously incredible. I eagerly await the day I get to return to that wonderful place.