Chiang Mai (1/7-5/7)

What an insanely busy but fun filled month! I'm starting to float back down to earth after so many amazing and breathtaking events happening in my life. I am blessed and live a blessed life. I have been incredibly lucky to be adopted by two of the most extraordinary people to ever walk this Earth. Needless to say when I got off the bus in Chiang Mai and took a Tuk Tuk to my parents villa and saw my parents waiting for me...waterworks happened (surprise surprise!) After we all embraced and tried to lower the shock factor that we were together in Thailand, I took them to The Swan. A delicious Burmese restaurant by Thapae Gate. After a million photos and trying to teach my parents the basic Thai greetings, we devoured our delicious meal and then headed back to the villa, but stopped at an adorable cafe on the river that just so happened to have a million cats. Oh Thailand! Dad and I had a couple smoothies and we just enjoyed the cool evening before we all headed to sleep. The next day was met with a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit and anything you wanted haha. Perks of staying with parents, villas provide food! No hostel life at all here! The villa they got is adorable and it's so quiet, which is much needed because Chiang Mai can be a bit loud for my taste. So after breakfast we set off for Wat Phra Singh (my temple - year of the dragon) because it's my favorite temple and I wanted to pay a devotion to it this year. Did it last year, might have to make this a tradition! We listened to the monks chant and paid respects to the Buddha. Then we se out to get massages from the women's prison...now it's not exactly what you think, but it kinda is? This correctional facility is designed to train women prisoners the art of massage so they have a skill to make money once they are released. Now these women weren't in here for murder (I hope at least...) but for small crimes with a short sentence. If I'm wrong, please don't tell me, let me live in my little bubble about this ;) so we walk and find the center and book foot massages for the three of us. We had some time to kill so we explored a museum and tried to learn Chiang Mai's history in 40 minutes. We wandered back to the center and had some cold drinks and this is where my dad's life has changed for forever. What happened? Kiwi soda happened. Soda water and a very concentrated "kiwi juice" aka bright green sugar - served over ice. My dad's new favorite drink in Thailand. So finally our numbers get called and we get our feet cleaned and then assisted us to our massage chairs. Well this isn't my first rodeo so I knew the drill, I was ready in seconds. My dad on the other hand...well I am sure he will come around to massages...in another life. Well I zone out and before I know it I'm asleep and I'm waking up to the end of my massage. My dad said he didn't know how I could sleep through that especially since the women kept making comments (in Thai) about his feet. Farang. Anyhow so mom and I are relaxed and my dad just wants food so we explore a bit and I introduce them to khao soi gai. Quite delicious and not too spicy for them - and watching them eat with chopsticks - priceless. I'm getting so Asian now, who needs cutlery (silverware). It's around 3:30pm so After this my parents want a rest because the heat was getting a bit much so I found a place to get a Swedish oil massage (I have an addiction) and my parents utilized the pool at the villa and the ac. Later in the evening we ventured out to a place to get some curry which just so happened to be by our place. Love how everything just works out. We have a nice little walk through a temple and found the delicious Indian restaurant. Now I know it sounds like I'm not feeding them Thai food, but they ate Thai food the day before and that's all my town has to offer and they would be in Mae chan for five days with no other options. So Indian food it was. Shrimp and chicken masala were ordered and nan (bread doesn't exist in my town) and my dad got some beef dish...which turned out to be really spicy even though they said it wasn't. I thought it was spicy and I can handle spice. Well because my dad is stubborn he ate most of it and finished his beer quite quickly. My mom and I took photos of the stages because that's what family is for. And then sent them to elliott (my brother) so he could enjoy the ridiculousness of dad's stubbornness. So after the color started to return to my dad's face, we leave and head home. I decide that I want to head out for a little bit so I take a taxi towards a pub I normally go to but then stumbled upon this pretty fun bar/restaurant on the river so decided to try a new place out instead. What a fun place! Not many tourists so just a bunch of ex-pats and Thai people that live in Chiang Mai. I found a small table in the ac lounge and had a couple drinks and just enjoyed the ambience of being out of my small town. I love Mae Chan, but I also love socializing so weekends are my time to not be in teacher mode. I head home around midnight because we have an early morning planned for an all day Thai cooking class. Walked home and got ready for bed and crawled into bed...and woke up to feeling like I was a child again. "Cailin! Do you want breakfast? Are you going to shower? We are leaving in 20 minutes!" Wait what? After coming to and realizing my parents are in Thailand and it's not a dream I mumble "yes I'm hopping in the shower and will be down in a few minutes." So worlds quickest showered ensued and threw on some clothes and raced to breakfast. Thankfully our ride was on Thai time so I had plenty of time and was able to finish my green tea. We get picked up in a private van and get greeted by a beautiful Thai woman that tells us (in perfect English) that we will be cooking with her at her house today and she's sorry for the delay. We exchange names and pile into the ac van and head off to pick up two other people before heading to the market. The two young women are from England and are teachers too so we instantly get along. Exchange funny travel stories and of course gush about our students. So we head to a small market outside the city and she introduces us all to thailands produce and some history. She let's us roam and take photos and then we climb back into the van and head to her house. What a beautiful property! And an amazing kitchen setup. Her business must be doing well because this place was super nice. She gives us the recipe book and tells us what we will be making and I instantly get nervous because my track record in the kitchen is well...exactly. I make salads in California - enough said. She would demonstrate at her counter and then we would scatter to our little kitchens to begin. They had everything precut and portioned out for us so I think that's why my dishes came out okay. And I learned how to make a rose out of a tomato. You're welcome. Anyhow, it was aaratjon of cooking and eating and learning about Thai cuisine. Definitely would recommend her class, quite informative and the food amazing! Tom yom, green chicken curry, chicken stir fried, spring rolls, and sticky rice won mangos. Aroi mak! Delicious! So after that we head home and I check my messages and came across a 2.5 yoga workshop that late afternoon. Despite wanting to nap I figured yoga Should happen so I changed into yoga clothes and took a Tuk Tuk to the yoga studio and had the best 2.5 hours of my week. Was exactly what I needed. Meditation and devotion exercises. I didn't know anyone there yet I created a bond with them that I will cherish for a very long time. I won't bore you with all the details (as if this blog isn't long enough) but it Was amazing and when I left and met up with my mom she said she hadn't seen me look so zen bed out before. Was amazing and can't wait to go back! So back at the villa I help my mom book tickets for the islands and decide to he's out because it was my last night in cm. thought maybe the place the night before but ended up at a blues bar to listen to some live music at the night bazaar. So good! Had a pretty good night and got a good nights sleep. My parents let me sleep in a little and my mom and I went to get pedicures before our bus departure to my town at 11:30am. Since everything is on Thai time we didn't get to finish, but it was still a good time. Once we got on the bus and were on our way I quickly fell asleep and woke up as we were arriving in Chiang Rai...

<no photos in this entry - see previous entry for some Chiang Mai photos)