Chiang Mai

Disclaimer: The following blog is just a journal entry. Nooothing serious nor thoughtful. :)

Nikki and I planned a spontaneous trip to Chiang Mai this past weekend. It was so nice to be a tourist for a day with no responsibility.  Here are some highlights!

The best part of the entire weekend? Sleeping in a bed!! After a month on the floor, the following was heaven.

After walking around exploring the city, we met up with some friends of a friend at the Night Bazaar, the best shopping available to a human. We were all slow walking, touching everything, and wanting to buy EVERYthing! 

BUT we took a break half way through to go grab dinner, and then this happened:

A delicious REAL Italian dinner with red wine. (I've been eating thai food every day for lunch and dinner! ;) By the time we finished here and the fish ate our feet, sigh, the market was closed. No regrets, of course, but I'd do anything to go back for a few more nights at that market!!

The next day we went to the Elephant Park. The drive up through the mountains was beautiful. Green everywhere. We rode our sweet elephant up the mountain a bit. It was really rad for awhile, but then I couldn't stop thinking about our elephant going up and down day after day. I have such a sensitive heart for animals! ;) Ok, but really, I did feel a bit bad. Even though the experience was so unique. 

After, we watched the neatest show! Elephants are SO talented! 

One elephant kicked a soccer ball, and the goalie elephant missed it, and it went into the goal! We went wild!! :) Then, he kicked it again, and this time the goalie blocked the ball with his trunk. We went wild again! Then...

I watched this baby elephant paint a beautiful landscape. How??! I still can't believe what I saw. I went up to the front to sit with the little kids because I was mesmerized!  The trainer would hand him the paintbrush with a new color, and he would paint a small section at a time. Amazing. 

His painting sold for 6,000 BHT ($200)

When we went to visit the elephants, the trainer waved me over. The second I tentatively patted the elephant's trunk, he grabbed me around my waist!! Ugh, so cute! :) Except for the snot boogies I saw on my shirt later. 

It was a short vacation, but it was sweet, as was our plane! 

It was GREAT to come back home, reunite with our people, and then see these guys today. :)