sawatdee ka!

Sorry it took me so long to write. Everything has been happening so fast! The flight wasn't so bad. Sky and I met a travel buddy named Josh that had the same flights as us so we had a buddy. The biday was the most interesting part of the Japan airport and the Taiwan airport smelled like an old bowling alley. We landed in Bangkok at 2:30 am and jumped into a taxi. The first thing we noticed was that it was decked out with speakers, two cd players and all kinds of lights. The driver was driving like a mad man playing american rap music. It made me think of Brian. :) He totally ripped us off but I guess it has to happen to every traveler in order to learn. We got dropped off in an area called Siam Square at about 5:00am. It was dark and smelled sooooo rank! There was trash everywhere and rats and we thought maybe the driver had just dropped us off in some random place. We found a place to stay though that was clean and not too far out of our budget. We then walked around Bangkok for a while when it got light outside. It is a crazy city. It smells like sewer everywhere and the drivers are crazy. There aren't that many cross walks so you just have to go for it. The pollution is pretty bad too. We were not that thrilled. You couldn't really tell you were in Thailand sometimes with McDonalds and starbucks and 7/11 and Pizza Hut all around. We decided we needed to get out! So we went to the train station and got a train to Chang Mai. When we were at the station there were tourist helpers around and they took us up to an office so that we could book a room in Chang Mai. We ended up signing up for a three day trek and two nights stay in a hotel for a pretty good price. At first I was uncomfortable about the whole thing, thinking that we got sucked into a tourist trap but it ended up being amazing! The train ride was 12 hours and it is very interesting trying to balance over a hole in the floor on a moving bus when you need to pee, but our seats were nice and the scenery was great. The best part was when I first got on and the door shut on me and I couldn't figure out that all you needed to do was push a button to open it. It was a short moment of panic. :) We got to chang mai and got hounded by touts trying to give us a ride when we already had one arranged. At one point I had 5 of them surrounding me talking in Thai, trying to read the sticker that I was given to wear. But, we made it just fine and the hotel was really nice. We went to the night market and it was huge and busy and everything is sooo cheap. We also met a group of people, one from New Zealand, one from France and the other was a local Thai. They helped show us around town.

The Trek
We were in a group with 7 other people, a couple from England, a couple from California and three people from Korea. We first went Elephant riding which I personally did not like. I didn't like the way the elephants were being treated, there was no education given on them, not even an introduction, and you had to buy bananas to feed them every 15 minutes. They were taught to beg for food as you ride them. Really lame! I hope I get a better elephant experience in India. The trek was very pretty and we got to swim in waterfalls and everyone in our group was great. Our guide was better than I could have ever imagined. The first night we stayed with a Koren hill tribe. They are people that live in the mountains around Chang Mai that came from Burma. They speak a different language and live a very simple life. It felt very strange being there. At first I felt very uncomfortable because I thought we might be exploiting these people. But, it ended up being a wonderful experience. These treks bring them money for a school that they are have just built. They kids all came out to the camp fire and sang for us and then we sang for them and they showed us their way of life. They even sent up something that is kind of like a mini hot air balloon that said Happy New Year on it. The next day we hiked to another waterfall and ate lunch at another village. We then stayed at a camp by a river and had our own little new years, drinking rice wine(locally made) and eating sticky rice made in bamboo by the fire. It was very wonderful. Then today we hiked out and rafted down a river on rafts made out of just bamboo and rope. It was a little bit of a balancing act. The best part of it all is that Skyler and I are going to go back to the village after we volunteer in Phuket and stay with them for a week or two. Skyler is going to teach english at their school and I am going to help and then...... I don't know hang out with the ladies and do what they do. I'm so excited! It is going to be a crazy experience. They are going to let us stay there for free and feed us.

They people here are great when they are not trying to rip you off. There are dogs everywhere on the streets just hanging out or sleeping on the sidewalks. Chang Mai is a really fun town and doesn't smell so bad. Over all, I'm having a blast. But for now, Sky and I are meeting our new trekking buddies for dinner, so until next time, I love you all and Happy New Year!