Chiang Mai

We got off the train in Chiang Mai and took and took a minute to get our bearings and decide what part of the city we wanted to stay in. Just East of the city center there were suppose to be a lot of good inexpensive hostels so we flagged down a truck taxi thing, negotiated the price and headed out.

The annual flower festival was going on so the streets were pack with traffic. So much so that we ended up getting out and walking the last few blocks. We checked several hostels, found one with availability, dropped our bags off and went to grab some lunch.

We walked into a restaurant and sat down. Then we noticed that our train companion, Cindy, was also at the same little restaurant. (So random) She joined us and we had a nice lunch together.

After lunch Julie and I strolled through the flower festival market and I picked up some much needed flip flops, I tossed my last pair on Lao Liang because they were on the verge of falling apart.

Chiang Mai has a nice relaxed atmosphere. We enjoyed evening walks in the city center and just taking it easy.

One night while there we went and watched the local Muay Thai boxing fights. It was fun and exciting to watch. As a sort of intermission between fights they got a bunch of Thai fighters up there, blind folded them and then they all started fighting each other, royal rumble style. It was hilarious!

You can pack a lot of different activities into one day around Chiang Mai. Although it is possible to work out arrangements on your own to do most activities, we decided to simplify our lives by just buying a package deal from a local tour company. We went for the less expensive package that groups you together with other tourists which turned out great because we ended up being the only ones in the group. Ah yeah!!! Private tour for the group tour price!

We got picked up the next morning and started the day at an Elephant park. We got to feed the elephants, hold their trunks, watch them do all sorts of amazing fun things like take a bath in the river, play soccer, paint, play harmonicas, move huge tree size logs around and tons of other stuff. Next we drove further into the hills, were treated to a basic fried rice lunch and then got to ride an elephant around the forest.

After that we stopped by a little village reservation where we saw Longneck tribal people, you know, the ones you've seen on the discovery channel, with the big rings around there neck.

Another short drive and it was time to jump in a boat for some river rafting. The river wasn't very fast and mostly made up of class 2/3 rapids but we still had a good time. Our boat guide was really funny and several times when we got near another boat a full scale water war would erupt.

After rafting we Had a few minutes to dry off and change and I spent the time learning how to play Sepak Takraw, a sport indigenous to Thailand. It's a variant of volleyball played with the feet and a light rattan ball. It is amazing to see players perform aerials, spiking the ball over the net with their feet.

Then it was back in the car for the drive back to Chiang Mai. On the way back we stopped off at an Orchid & Butterfly farm. They had some incredibly beautiful flowers.

It was a really fun day.

From Chiang Mai we decided we'd head to Laos to get a Vietnam visa from the embassy and then work our way through Laos to Cambodia, then to Vietnam.

Before leaving Chiang Mai I decided to have one last Thai experience. Thailand is known for inexpensive dentistry, cosmetic surgery and various other procedures. I thought it would be interesting to do something simple just for the fun of it like Botox. I found out that they do Mesotherapy and decided to try it out.

The basic idea behind Mesotherapy is that they inject a substance into areas of your body with excess fat and the stuff is suppose to break down fat cells and allow your body to more quickly metabolize them. Full effect takes two weeks and your suppose to lose a few pounds of fat from the treated areas.

I've heard of it before and though I don't expect it to work, I thought it would be an interesting experiment to try. The office was clean and professional looking. I laid down on my back on the doctors table, pulled up my shirt and he did about 20 injections spread across my lower stomach area. That was it. Took all of 5 minutes.

UPDATE: It's been 2 weeks and I've got an awesome 6 pack, hahaha...actually, not seeing any change so I guess it's back to eating right and exercise. Pft.