Off to Chiang Mai!

We did not give Anne much time to relax before heading to our next destination! We had an early flight booked up to northern Thailand to Chiang Mai. We decided to save 15 hours of our precious time together and take a flight versus a bus!  We were greeted with a smile at our hotel and were excited about the adventures ahead of us!  Over a delicious Thai lunch we tried to plan our next couple days in CM.  We had grabbed a handful of the hundreds of brochures they had for all the many activities you could participate in.  That afternoon we drove motorbikes up a mountain to the beautiful Doi Suthep temple. 

The next day we took off on our first booked adventure: The flight of the gibbon canopy trip! This entailed us putting on a bunch of gear and attaching these clip things on us to these big, long cables and zip line from tree to tree in the canopy of a glorious mountain forest! Most of us were brave…some of us (we won’t mention any names!), were a little bit scared and nervous about trusting this cable high above the ground!  Screams and all it was a glorious, exhilarating time! We had about 30 zip lines total. The longest one was 800meters long.  After that I was not scared or screaming anymore and it was quite the time! The view was amazing around you and you felt like you were flying! This also entailed doing a couple of abseils…in which you have to trust this 90 pound Thai man with all your weight! All too soon though it was over!

 After a great lunch we got a chance to trek to a waterfall. 

It is a very common site in SE Asia to see small babies being  held while on a motorbike!

  On the hour ride back to the city, we decided that enough was enough and we needed to omit the word “awesome” from our vocabulary! We felt that we were more intelligent beings and could find better words to describe things that were “awesome!” We decided that we would keep track and the first person to say it five times had to do something for the others. I was well in the lead (with Anne and Lance both at 5, me at 0!).  Then, I started talking more….and quickly fell into last place!

The next day we decided to relax and sit by the pool, read and do this great book of brain puzzles (thanks to Keith and Sharon for lending it to Anne!).  We found our way to the best street food and kept going back! The following day we were on another outing….this time, we weren’t flying in the sky, but instead trekking up a mountain. We were given the option to do an easier trek or a harder one. Being we are all very “tough” we decided we could handle the tough one! What we didn’t know, was that this trek was over 2 hours long and uphill the WHOLE TIME!  Unfortunately, my lack of exercise or any physical activity for a few months did not help me! I brought up the rear the whole time.  Fortunately, we were with some really in shape people…...so they made me look worse! They would stop for breaks…..but by the time I got to the “break” spot, they were ready to take off again. Lance, like the good husband he is, was constantly trying to be encouraging! I think I can truthfully say I have never done anything so physically hard in my whole life! I truly thought that I was not going to make it to the top because my legs were going to give out!  But, the stubbornness in me won out, thankfully! I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel.  We made it to the top of the mountain and the views were glorious! After snapping a quick picture showing the work we did with the sweat we were all sporting, I collapsed on the ground!

I was still doing okay here (this was early on!)

 

A very lovely squatter toilet where we stopped for lunch!

   The pain was not going to end anytime soon though, because we were only half done with our package we purchased! After a quick lunch, we had to get on mountain bikes and bike 26km downhill on roads that we never paved or resembled anything close to smooth and flat. I almost gave up and wanted to ride in the truck with the guys that were following us!  That was the longest 26km of my life! That was not “biking” that was going downhill and holding your breaks constantly, trying to dodge the hundreds of pot holes in front of you.  I was absolutely miserable!

 But yet again, my stubbornness won out and I finally made it to the bottom where we sat in beautiful little grass huts on the lake and were fed a delicious meal!  I was happy to be alive and so glad that day was over!   I was very worried that I wouldn’t be able to walk the next day, so I thought I would try to ease the pain by getting a massage that night.  I was very pleased with the results the next morning!

We all agreed that taking it easy that day was the best idea we have ever had! It was New Year’s Eve and we wanted to be able to make it to midnight!  We relaxed by the pool again, took a nap and decided we were ready to get some food! I was very excited for this night because the whole year I spent in Thailand 2 years ago, I never got to experience the sky being filled with lanterns for a festivity.   We bought a few of our own and lit them off into the sky. When it was close to midnight, Anne decided we needed to ring in the New Year like everyone else, and send off lanterns! There were literally thousands and thousands of lanterns that lit up the sky.  It was one of the most amazing things I have experienced! Unfortunately my non fancy/expensive camera could not catch this magic! 

Kanchanaburi, Thailand

As we initially arrive in Kanchanaburi, we quickly discovered that the hotel that we booked was miles away from the action and didn’t offer anything that we needed. The next day we spent finding new accommodation.  We rented motorbikes for the 4 days we were there so that we could explore anything we wanted! The first afternoon we decided to rent a kayak and grab some sun. 

 The next day we got up early and drove 65km to see Erawan waterfall, a 7 tiered waterfall. The drive turned out to be a little chilly and Lance did not appreciate the small road we had to drive on that was full of crazy drivers driving big tour busses, big trucks, vans, etc. He drove behind me and said there was over 20 times where he thought I was going to get hit!  We made it safely and enjoyed the trekking up to all the different levels of the waterfall.

Christmas Day: It’s hard being far away from home during the holidays…but it makes it a little easier when you are in a place with no snow and immense heat, which doesn’t remind you at all of home!  We decided to take our motorbikes out in the country and just drive until we found something neat! It was a beautiful day and a great drive! We found ourselves at a grounds with a few temples and a cave. Hesitantly, we decided to give this cave a try! We were the only ones there and we almost didn’t make it through because it was a bit eerie and there were times when you couldn’t see around the corner and you just never know what kind of things could be lurking around in caves in SE Asia! We made it back alive and decided to reward ourselves with massages! We had a lovely supper, in which some other fellow Americans joined in for some conversation!

Our trip back to Bangkok, where we were to meet Anne Waltner for the rest of our trip, was anything short of glamorous! The bus was 1 hour late and then took almost 2 hours longer than promised. We even randomly were told to get out of the bus and get into a different bus behind us!  Unwilling we listened and somehow still managed to make it to our destination! We relaxed a bit while we waited to head to the airport to meet Anne. Finally, after much anticipation and waiting, she arrived! It was almost 1am and of course when we got back to our hotel we were not ready for bed but buzzing with conversation! 

The long fall...and finally winter break!

Last break from school was October 19^th for fall break. Since that time our school has had many new things happen. Unfortunately there are still only 3 students. But, since then the 2^nd grade classroom has been decorated, the Library filled with books and creative wall decorations, the music and dance room received a large mirror, decorations and many instruments, and many other facelifts have helped make it look more like a functioning school. There also have been many brochures, emails, pamphlets and other marketing pieces created and distributed since then. Our school was a sponsor and had a booth at the Hanoi International Women’s Club Charity Bazaar in the end of November. This is a really neat event in which HIWC organizes all kinds of booths for vendors, schools and even a large area filled with booths from many countries represented in Hanoi. There were a large number of countries represented and many drinks and delicious foods to eat. Over 7,000 people attended and a large amount of money was raised for charity. We used this event as an opportunity to distribute flyers about our upcoming “Open Day” the next week. This event kept our school busy decorating and preparing for most of November. It yielded no immediate students, but will help us with next year’s enrollment. Anyway….after a busy November filled with curriculum work, decorating a school, creating marketing pieces, information packets, designing a website and teaching Monday evenings across the city and Wednesday after school….…….we were burned out and needing a break. It was quite obvious that we needed a break as we gained a more negative attitude toward Hanoi in November and December. It could be the constant overcast sky and occasional drizzle all winter long, or it could be the pollution (especially noticed on our Monday night drives across the city to teach a night ESL class), or it could be the constant honking and aggressive behavior on the streets, sidewalks, stores………….or more than likely it was all of the above. In the end, it was time for a break from Hanoi so that we could enjoy our time here and value the positive things it has to offer. 

Wednesday, December 19 was our last day of school before break and we didn’t waste any time messing around to get out of the pollution of Hanoi! We were on the first flight out of there that night! I had been telling Lance about the feeling that engulfs you right as you get off the plane in Bangkok….it’s like the humidity surrounds and swallows you! The first thing Lance said when we got off the plane was, “I now know exactly what you were trying to explain!”  We spent that night in Bangkok and then got up the next morning to take a bus to Singburi, the small town I used to live in, in central Thailand, where I taught for a year in a mini-English program. I already had 5 meals planned, because I wanted Lance to taste all the foods I ate day in and day out, and we were only going to be there for a little over a day! The first thing we did when we got there was to cross 3 of the foods off our list! After refueling with some great Thai food, we headed to Anuban School, where I taught.  It was great to see all my old students and Pat and James, who ran the program. I almost remembered all of their crazy names, such as Milk, Bonus, Copter, Big, etc! For supper that night I had Lance enjoy another treat I used to enjoy….Pizza Company Shrimp Cocktail pizza! Yes, sounds terrible, but it’s great! The sauce is 1000 Island and it has shrimp, tomatoes and pineapple!

We spent the next day driving motorbikes around to check out some big buddhas in the area and to see the great countryside. 

We found out that almost all vehicles take gas under their hood! It was very strange! Also, it took about 20 times as long to fill up...I don't know if they don't have the same pressure or what!

Late afternoon we made our way to Lopburi to see my old friend Meghan. We had a great evening full of reminiscing and sharing new tales! The next morning we took off for Kanchanaburi.