Singha and a banana pancake, please.

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It's early morning in Chiang Mai and I'm writing this while watching the sun rise over the Ping River from an outside computer at our amazing little guesthouse we found tucked down a small little street away from the bustling streets of the city.

It was an early one out of Singapore yesterday (we woke up at 3 AM) to catch our 2 hour and 45 minute flight to Chiang Mai. We took a budget airline called Tiger Air (which is like the equivalent of Southwest Airlines in the US or EasyJet in Europe) which was great. I especially liked the pilot because he kept making announcements throughout the flight things such as "If you look to your left, you will see a beautiful sunrise" and other commentary on the amazing weather we were coming into and the scenery, not anything about time or cabin pressure. He was so positive, he must be Thai.

As soon as we arrived in Chiang Mai, a nice Thai man named Naled came and grabbed our bags from our hands and started dragging us along to his cab. We have heard that you have to be careful in Thailand and make sure you give exact hotel directions to your driver or you will probably end up at a friend of his guest house, so he can make a commission. Well, this was not the case AT ALL with Naled! We didn't even have the slightest clue of where we were going to stay and Naled brought us to the area we thought would be best for us (really close to the night bazaar and in the middle of everything) and we must have stopped at 7 different hotels before we ended up our little gem of a guesthouse: Galare Guesthouse. After showing us some really cheap hotels (I mean REALLY cheap - like 5-10 dollars cheap) Nadel asked how much we were willing to spend and we said, "Oh, I don't know... we could spend up to 2000 baht (which is the equivalent of $50)," he almost drove the car off the road, he was so shocked. He couldn't comprehend why we would be looking to stay at such cheap guest houses when we could stay in the luxurious  "expensive" hotels. We explained we wanted to stay away from the high rises and really  experience  what the simple side of Chian Mai has to offer (and save a ton of money). 

So, after looking at a few more of his suggestions, we found the Galare Guesthouse, where we are now staying for the next 3 nights. It is perfection. It sits way back down a tiny dirt alley strewn with sleepy dogs sunning themselves, along a lazy river where you can sit and watch local fisherman in their rickety boats netting for the city's market.  At 1000 baht (about $30) a night, we feel we are definitely underpaying. The Thai people working  at the Galare are so friendly and so very helpful and it is filled with young travelers like us enjoying a meal along the river in the cafe to older couples sitting quietly in the garden reading. The rooms are open, so there is a great breeze, although Kevin still insists on having the A/C on at night. It's alright, though, it is so cozy and quaint.

We headed to the nearest restaurant we could and ordered pad thai (of course) and Singha (the beer of Thailand) and when we realized how cheap it was ($4.00 US) we added in an order of banana pancakes too. These were TO DIE FOR! I don't know what they put in those pancakes, but they are really one of the best things we have ever tasted. We are now on a constant mission to find them, which really isn't hard seeing that they serve them at pretty much every restaurant in Chiang Mai.

After breakfast, we wandered around the city and stopped into a massage parlor right around the corner from our guesthouse. 150 baht ($3) for a 60 minute Thai massage... hmmm... let me think about it... yeah, sure. So we had our first Thai massage and foot reflexology - $6 for both of us. Thai massage is wonderful! They put pretty much all of their body weight onto you and there is a lot of stretching and cracking. It might sound scary, but it is the best type of massage both Kevin and I have ever had. You feel like a new person afterward.

We took a tuk-tuk (a little 2-seater motor vehicle driven  by crazy Thai drivers) to two temples, Wat Prasingh and the oldest temple in Chiang Mai, Wat Chiangmun. I think Kevin almost fell out of the tuk-tuk twice. You are constantly dodging oncoming cars and veering away from pesty motorbikes.

The temples were very  vibrant with color and serene. Wat Prasingh had young monks all around the temple, as it was the monk equivalent of graduation for them. They wore bright orange and were scattered throughout the temple and on the grass surrounding it. On this day (their graduation day) they stay at the temple from sunup to sundown. There was a very friendly Thai teacher there who told us all this information, as well as everything else we could ever possibly need to know about Chiang Mai. They will talk your ear off, but they really are the most kind people. Thai people are very non-confrontational and easy-going,  maintaining a mindset to just enjoy life and not "sweat the small stuff" (haha - it's your kind of place, Dad). Kevin and I were so relaxed sitting in the silence bare-footed and cross-legged in the tranquility of the temple. The temple has doors open on every side, so it was nice to just sit there out of the hot sun, feeling the cross-breeze,  studying the massive shrine.

Before heading off for the next temple, we walked the perimeter of Wat Prasingh. I fell in love with a little white dog that was sleeping  on a tiny ledge of the temple, his paws dangling over the side. There are so many cute dogs everywhere we go, I have to restrain myself from running up to them and hugging them. It's not so sad seeing them because, although they look itchy and hot, they look well-fed and happy playing with all of their friends. 

 We survived another tuk-tuk to the oldest temple in Chiang Mai, Wat Chiangmun. At this point, we were pretty much exfixiated from all the exhaust fumes, but we ventured on, for a little while longer. One of the temples here was under renovation, so we weren't planning on staying long until a Thai man named "Mr. Sand" approached us and  proceeded to tell us his entire life story. He was very interesting (from the parts that we understood) and was happy to show us around the temple he was renovating (he is in construction in Chiang Mai). We exchanged information and he was delighted to have a picture taken with us, where we displayed the Thai symbol for "friendship."

We went to a travel agency and booked an overnight at the famous Elephant Nature Park in the mountains north of Chiang Mai from the 15-16 of February. We are so excited about this because this is the one place where you can go in Southeast Asia where elephants are protected and not mis-treated and turned into rides. We will be spending the 15th feeding, bathing and trekking alongside elephants, then spending the night in a jungle hut in the mountains right where the elepants live (they can walk right up to your door and they say you hear them at night while in bed) and then spending another full day taking care of and playing with the elephants. We think it will be an amazing way to spend our last few days in northern Thailand before we head off to Laos.

Our night ended fairly early last night. We had a very nice Thai dinner at a restaurant down the street from us and then were between going to a Thai boxing match, the night bazaar or another $3 massage. Seeing that we woke up at 3 AM to catch a flight here it doesn't take a rocket scientist to guess which one we chose. Another hour-long Thai massage later, we were good to go... to bed.      

Note to self: I'm guessing  Thailand/Southeast Asia may not have the same emissions standards that we have in the good ol' US. Hospital masks are not overrated when traveling in the city.