The Minority Report Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you'll die.

To Thais, Chiang Mai is a national treasure. For visitors, it's a cool place to kick back and relax. Bookshops outmuscle synthetic shopping centres and the region's unique culutral heritage is worn as proudly as its vibrant hand-woven textiles. The old city of Chiang Mai is surrounded by moats and remnants of a medieval-style wall built 700 years ago to defend against Burmese invaders. A furious stream of traffic flows around the old city making it extremely hard to cross the street, but once you are inside nothing but a quiet world of charming guesthouses, leafy gardens and friendly smiles surround you. We stayed at a pretty decent hotel; it was large enough to be a studio apartment. Not the cleanest place I've stayed in, but they took really good care of the pool outside. That was a major plus for us. During the day we'd soak up the warm sun by the pool, by dusk we were out on the town hitting the bookstores (where I got my first GOOD book!), the always so delicious food stands and shopping at the Night Bazaar. We lucked out on the first night where they had the Sunday market. It was amazing. And so massive! Lots of street vendors selling hill-tribe and handmade crafts from the northern Thai region. Mel was kind enough to treat me to an original Thai cooking class for me birfday. He took us on a tour to the market to talk about the ingredients we were going to use for the day. Then we drove out of the city to his house where he teaches the cooking courses. We ate at least five or six courses and they all were very good. I was stuffed by the end, though. And it was cool that we got a complimentary cookbook afterwards. I'd say that was a pretty neat birthday present. It was funny to watch Mel use the knife and the wok. She did a good job. Now when she goes home she's got no excuses because she knows how to make more than just plain white rice. Later on, we signed up for a trekking tour. We trekked through the wilderness surrouned by hill-tribe villages, twisting along mountain roads, jumping river streams, climbing rocks, discovering plant life and medicinal herbs I've never seen before, 700 year old termite hills, massive piles of elephant dung, beautiful waterfalls, buddhist temples, rice fields, and breathtaking views of the peaks and valleys of northern thailand. For those three hours of hiking I felt like a kid again, until I realized I was the ONLY one sweating prefusably from my head. I must REALLY be out of shape. No, I think I just have overactive sweat glands! When we finally reached the village that we'd be spending the night in, the 7 of us hit the hay literally! We all stayed in this oversized, wooden A-frame bungalow. As soon as we walked outside the Karen tribe were like white on rice, swarming us to buy their necklaces and scarves. They even had their children well trained in selling it to us and of course Mel was the first to break down and buy something. I bought something, as well, and of course they had no change so they got a little more than I bargained for. When I told our guide what was going on she told them to scat and come back tomorrow. Then she proceeds to tell me that they make more than she makes because they get a fresh batch of tourists to scam everyday. Furthermore, they didn't even make the bracelets we bought. How rude! And that was all we saw of the village people. Thank god they didn't come back to sing that annoying Y.M.C.A song I dread so much. haha, okay bad joke. But later that night, we had a nice fire and some old folks from the village showed up and it was just the most authentic cultural experience we've had on this trip. They were so little and cute. I just wanted to knit them a neat, little hat. I was trying to get them to tell us some good stories, but our guide was too tired to translate. I did, however, get the old man to sing us a little diddy. Then he tried to go around the fire and get everyone to sing. Of course it stopped at Mel and I...then I realized later on that I could've sang some Elvis, Rocky Top, Tennessee Waltz, but I was too shy. Mel wanted to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballpark"...Thank God she opted otherwise. It was a cold, but beautiful night and I saw stars I've never seen before. A once in a lifetime opportunity well appreciated. The next morning we woke up at the buttcrack of dawn to a cold breakfast but good, nonetheless. We hiked up a steep hill to another gorgeous waterfall, rode some elephants that made us feel bad the entire ride, rafted in a bamboo raft that was maybe 40 feet long. Of course I get the luxury of being in the back, which meant I had to bob and weave from every rock and tree along the way. The guide sure did get a kick out of it. And that concluded our lovely little tour. It was good while it lasted, but we couldn't wait to get home and take a hot shower! I have major issues with being dirty. I mean, when it's expected it's okay, but I just can't stand it otherwise. Thanks, mom. While we were in Chiang Mai we had the opportunity to celebrate His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej's 80th birthday. On the throne for more than 60 years, he is the longest-reigning king in Thai history, as well as the longest-reigning current monarch worldwide. They celebrated with a candlelighting ceremony and music. Then lots and lots of drinking. Chiang Mai is probably the best city we've visited in my book. We stayed here for 8 days. And for the first time in my life, we actually found some delicious, authentic Mexican food outside the states. I was shocked and amazed as to how good it was. It's really cheap to buy a house here. So if anyone is interested there was a three bedroom house available for less than 60,000 US dollars. I'm thinking of opening up my own bed and breakfast. Who's in? On the 9th of December, we boarded a plane to Jinghong, China. Thankfully we left out of the airport or we would've had to pay a fine for overstaying our visa. When they say 30 days, they really mean 29. But now we know...back to China...again.