Chiang Mai: Part One

The past month has been full of two things: hard work and vacation. I knew that theoretically having a full time job and getting a masters would be difficult and time-consuming, and this last month proved the theory. Fortunately, I there were also two vacations to lighten the load. No one wants to read (and I certainly don’t want to relive) the details of everyday work, so I’ll skip right to the good stuff. First up (because it’s freshest in my memory): Chiang Mai.

After an incommodious 13 hour overnight bus ride from Khon Kaen sporadically spotted with sleep, Joe and I met my parents in Chaing Mai for our week-long getaway. Although we couldn’t see the mountains from the city due to a haze created by a combination of pollution, forest fires, and the dry season, it was good enough just to see my family.

The first few days were
spent seeing the sites: watching elephants bathe, exploring caves, visiting an orchid farm, taking boat rides, shopping, and visiting wats. There are literally hundreds of wats (Buddhist temples) throughout the city, so we just chose 5 to focus on. Here are a few pictures, although I don’t have the names of the wats since Joe and I just followed my parents lead and just got out and explored wherever the car stopped.

Of course it would not be a vacation without a lot of food, and there was plenty to be had on this trip. Dinners were alternately spent sharing what we know about Thai food with my parents and indulging in western food that we can’t get in Khon Kaen.

After three days with my parents, they left Chiang Mai for Bangkok, but our vacation was far from over. Details on the rest of our trip soon.