Sorry I'm so behind on posting! It's hard to find any free time to write because there's so much to see and do. Chiang Mai was incredible and I can see why we met so many Americans who just came to visit and decided to stay forever. It's been my favorite place thus far and I'm so glad we decided to take the 12 hour journey to get there. Speaking of that journey, it was the bus ride from hell! 9 hours that turned into 12 with seats that didn't recline in the back row on the top story of a double decker bus while the air con vent poured water on us all night and the bus driver had some sort of issue driving in a straight line. It was ridiculous but epic at the same time. There's something about terrible situations while traveling that become completely comical and memorable because you're on an adventure. I took a picture of the bathroom on the stop we made on the bus because it was so horrible I had to share it. Turns out this was pretty much every bathroom we've seen since...
Chiang Mai is basically a much smaller, much better version of Bangkok. Its like the SF to California's LA. There were Wats, or temples, everywhere. It reminded me of the churches in Venice. There's one on every corner. They're so beautiful it's hard to get used to seeing them right off of a busy street with motorbikes flying by. Once you're inside you suddenly can't hear any outside noise. They're the most peaceful places I've ever been.
I'm exhausted so I'll update on the rest of Chiang Mai when I get some free time. We went on a 3 day trek through the jungle staying in local villages and showering in waterfalls. It was amazing! Now I'm in Koh Samui, an island in the south on the east side and tomorrow we leave for Krabi, which is almost directly across on the west side. Here's a little peek at Chiang Mai until then.
Peace!
