Sorry I'm getting to this so late! A lot happened in April, so I hope I remember everything in order (if not, sorry). Ahh yes, in April we went on our northern trip to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. It's hard to believe how long ago that was, and how quickly the time went by. I remember when we had four months until that trip, and now it's been almost two months since it happened.
On Saturday our train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai was on time (if you've ever traveled in Thailand, you'll know how rare that is). It was so nice to be able to talk to everyone and catch up. Most of us hadn't seen each other since the northeastern trip back in December. I took my laptop with me, and that night I watched Scooby Doo with Zann (South Africa) and Crystle (USA).
Sunday after our train arrived and we dropped off our bags at Pornping Hotel, we took a bus to a mountain and climbed over 300 steps to see a temple. If I remember correctly, we spent about 30 minutes at the temple, and omg it was so hot! Well, it could have been worse - at least there was shade.
When everyone was finished at the temple, we went to lunch before going to the umbrella factory. That was so cool! We were running late, so they didn't have a whole bunch of time, but they showed us how to make the paper that they use for the umbrellas, and then we were able to paint our own umbrellas. While we were there, there were people painting designs on different things. Some people had designs painted on iPads, cell phones, and the like. One of the ladies painted flowers on my iPod.
On Sunday night we went to dinner and a show. The food was pretty good, and the show was awesome. I can't remember the story they were telling, but the dancing was fantastic. Of course, I had to use the restroom, and right when we left they did the last act and everyone got to go on stage and dance. Don't I just have wonderful timing? haha
Monday morning we took the bus again, but this time to the White Temple. Wow that place is so amazing. Kinda creepy, but amazing nonetheless. Since I visited the temple in December, the artist has added alot to the mural inside the temple. I had more time to enjoy the art work this time around, and was able to find more characters hidden in the work. I really wish that we were allowed to take photos of the inside of the temple, but at least some of the designs are committed to memory - Neo from the Matrix, Kung Fu Panda, Avatar, Terminator. There really is quite an interesting mix.
After about an hour at the White Temple (we had lunch too) we drove to the Golden Triangle. For those of you who don't know, the Golden Triangle is where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar all border each other. We took a short boat trip up the river before doubling back and stopping in Laos to do some shopping. They had lots of bags, purses, and wallets because they're all of the rejects that can't be sold in places like the USA and Europe. Basically, all of the products are slightly flawed and don't make the cut to be sold elsewhere.
That night the outbounds had a sort of orientation after dinner. Because of this, the inbounds had some free time. During said free time we cut Hector's hair (ok, Bela cut Hector's hair) while Crystle and I dyed Zann's hair blue. We didn't dye ALL of his hair, he just had a lovely "Z", a star, and "HI" written on the back of his head. He wasn't particularly thrilled about that, but we did warn him, and he got a haircut a couple of weeks later so it didn't even really matter.
A bit later we had a campfire, and some of the outbounds joined us for a while, but eventually they went to go play cards together and do other outbound-y, bond-y things. Hunter (USA), Hector (Mexico), and Zann (South Africa) played guitar and Crystle, Eri, and I joined in singing when we knew the lyrics. Memories like these are some of my favorites.
Ok, I can't keep writing so much about each day... I'm sorry about that. Tuesday morning we went shopping in Myanmar, after shopping we went to a "resort" in the middle of nowhere. That night we lit lanterns like they do at Loy Krathong (I was really happy because I didn't actually get to do that on Loy Krathong). When we finally went to sleep my roommate wasn't back yet, and my creepy neighbors were there, so I ended up rooming with Sally that night.
Wednesday was absolutely amazing. We went to the elephant show, took photos with the elephants, fed them sugarcane and bananas, took an ox-cart ride, shopped a little, took elephants back to the reserve/sanctuary, had lunch, then BATHED THE ELEPHANTS IN THE RIVER. It kind of turned into more of a water fight, and it was wonderful. Apparently watching a group of high schoolers having a water fight with elephants is really entertaining to tourists, haha. After playing with the elephants we took bamboo rafts down the river. It was quite relaxing, and we all had a great time there too. That night and the night after we stayed at a small resort where a small long-neck tribe(?) was.
On Thursday we woke up kind of early and drove to a small mountain town (pop. just over 2,000). We spent the morning cleaning the church and the school. When we were done working we played Songkran with some of the kids before breaking for lunch. There's so much more to the story, you'll have to ask me for details when I get home. We went back to the resort and had some time before hiking up the hill and building a dam for the locals. The guys actually let me drive the bamboo stakes, and I know at least the Thais were impressed. After dinner we had our language test. As it turns out, I still hate taking tests (go figure). Post-test torture we played a big game of BS.
Friday... we went hiking on a mountain.
On Saturday we went back to Chiang Mai, changed clothes at the hotel, and went to celebrate Songkran. Imagine giant water fight, and that's pretty much it, but with music and parades too. The only thing you really have to watch out for is flying ice (it happens, it hurts). After a really good buffet dinner, we went to the night market. Eri (Japan) and I got henna tattoos. We had time to shop a bit later as well (nearer to the hotel) and Crystle and I met up with some of the other YE who were in Chiang Mai for Songkran: Saeko (Japan), to guys from France, Nate (USA), Daniel (USA), and a few others including Willis (USA). We (Crystle and I) didn't have very much time, so our conversations were cut short as we had to run back to the hotel. Of course, we weren't even the last people back.
Sunday, our last full day together. Instead of playing Songkran, Vaula and I got Thai massages and then went to Pizza Hut for lunch. They had parmesan cheese!! After lunch we went to Starbucks. My first Starbucks since being in Thailand. We met everyone about an hour later and headed to the train station. Saying goodbye when we arrived in Bangkok the next day was so difficult. We didn't know if that was going to be the last time we would see each other or not, and that made it even more stressful.
A few days after the trip, I changed hosts! My new host family is absolutely amazing. The first day my host sister Ray and I went to the new Robinson in Kanchanaburi and shopped a little bit before seeing พี่มาก..พระโขนง. It's the first Thai movie that I've seen and genuinely enjoyed. It had English subtitles so it was easier for me to follow.
That's about it for April! I feel like I need to upload photos, but I really don't have time. If you're friends with me on Facebook, they're all there, and if you have any questions, just send me a message.
