Chiang-ity Chiang Mai

I haven't posted in forever, and it's not because I don't have anything to write about.

Quite the opposite. 

It just requires time and effort and I like putting my time and effort into living in Thailand and having a blast.

Nonetheless, here is an overview of our trip to Chiang Mai last week. 

Friday Night:

We left to catch the 10:20 train to Chiang Mai. 

One girl had a fever and my kidneys hurt. It seemed like a bad start.

The train was delayed until 11, and then eventually showed up after midnight.

What can ya do?

We had sitting seats but I drugged up on drowsy dramamine, got my neck pillow, and threw a train blanket over my body and slept through the night. 

Saturday Morning:

We had set up a tour guide to pick us up at 8:15 and take us to the elephants.

Our plan was to get to the hostel, change, and go on the tour. 

Instead, we showed up the the hostel at 9 ish and they were waiting for us.

I had time to put in my contacts and that was it. 

So when you see the pictures and think, "Why did she think it was okay to wear stretchy pants, no make-up, and an athletic top in place of a bra?"..Just know that things didn't go according to plan and I was just rolling with it. 

#sorryilookedlikehell

It took about an hour to get to the elephant camp, out in the jungle, and our tour guide told us about the history of Chiang Mai and other stuff like that. 

We arrived at the camp, and watched the elephant show. 

They painted, they played soccer, they danced, they lifted things, they were elephants, and we loved them. 

After the show, we took pictures with the elephants.

I took only a few because: 1. They tried lifting me up and it stressed me out. 2. I didn't want gross elephant noses on my face. 3. I wasn't looking super awesome. 

So here it is. 

Then we went on a ride through the jungle

Saturday Afternoon:

We ate lunch at a local spot and then headed over to the Tiger Kingdom. 

We got to pet and lay down and cuddle with them.

Saturday Evening: 

We decided to walk the streets of the "Old City" in search of the Saturday or Night Markets.

Luckily for us, we found some treasures along the way. 

We found this little place to eat, and we ate...a lot. And while watching Get Smart. 

Then we found an actual thrift store, but it gets better. It was a 70's thrift store named, "The 70's Store."

Groovy right? I bought a muumuu slash Pocahontas style dress that I plan to belt. 

I would've bought so many things but alas, I am freakin Godzilla when it comes to fitting in Asian clothing. 

My lovely girls waited patiently while Erin and I ran around the place like kids in a candy shop. 

#hipsterheaven

After geeking out over the clothes, we found a massage place that offered $6 massages for an hour.

I've seen some good deals, but this by far was the best. The place was so nice and clean and my massages was heavenly. Plus, we got to wear cool PJs while getting worked on. 

They also gave us some herbal tea and I ended up drinking like 3 glasses. What can ya do. 

We hopped in a tuk-tuk and checked out the night markets.

One does not simply go shopping with me, one gets a lesson in bartering and taking names. 

I am a B word when it comes to getting things I want and for the price that is right. I was working it out for everyone and finishing up my souvenir shopping. 

But bartering comes at a price...one older lady slapped my butt, but I got what I wanted. 

Plus, I got more pants for four bucks each and three pairs of Ray Bans for three dollars. 

I'm good, real good. 

After that we headed home and went to bed. 

Sunday Morning:

We forgot to bring church clothes to attend the branch, and all I had was short shorts.

(my newly purchased dress was polyester and it's 1000 degrees outside. not gonna happen)

We slept in, ate breakfast, and checked out. 

We went to the Sunday market and bought some more knick knacks. 

I made friends with the locals and helped some University students with a project and posed for pictures with them. My goal of becoming an Asian Icon is not far off. I will get there. 

We ate some mango sticky rice and stocked up on snacks. 

While eating my magnum bar outside 7/11 I made friends with a tuk-tuk driver. He offered to let me drive but I figured we were better off with him driving us home. As all 6 girls piled into the vehicle, he threw back some drinks and off we went. 

There are a lot of one way streets and he kept missing the turn so we circled the area a couple of times. He talked to me the whole time and even handed me his license to prove he was legit. 

After going around the city one too many times, we were running out of time, and I couldn't humor him any longer. I knew where we were and I had him stop so we could walk the rest of the way. 

When he asked for 20 baht each, I told him we would give him 10. He didn't like that, but I held up his license and reminded him that he needed it, AND he didn't take us where we wanted to go. 

It's funny how blackmail works. 

We ended going to the bus station, only to find that they were all sold out of tickets.

We then cruised over to the train station and got sleeper tickets just in time to board. 

Erin and I shared a cabin and we had bunks across from each other. 

We felt like we were on Harry Potter eating our dinner on a train, heading back to Hogwarts. 

We chatted to pass the time on our (almost) 10 hour train ride. We didn't want to sleep so we could actually get some rest during the night. 

My favorite conversation:

Erin: (looking at a piece of meat) "What is this? It looks like a turd!"

Me: (sheepishly) "Oh, I ate that."

Erin: * judgmental look*

Me: "It was pretty good."

I'm still not sure what it was, but that's what I get for eating everything, and fast. 

Sunday Night:

We can't read or understand Thai so figuring out when to get off a train is always fun, especially at night. 

Luckily, I found the one awake man on our train and tried to ask him where we were and told him where we need to get off.

He told me, "Phichit? Same same."

Excellent, he knew not to get off at the same spot without the 6 American girls. Totes saved the day. 

Finally we got home around 2 am, and I didn't crash until after 4:30.

Getting up at 7 for class was really fun...pause...not. 

Good times and such a fun trip. Totally worth every penny. 

P.S. it takes over 5 mins, on average, to load a single picture. And the internet went on on me three times while trying to write. 

ADHD + shoddy internet = 1 post a month

Get over it.