Thailand rocks! At least north of Bangkok, which is all that we have experienced in Thailand thus far. I'm not sure exactly why we picked the route that we did around SE Asia as we were super pumped on getting to the beach, but for some reason the north was calling our names. So we headed north, stright to Chiang Mai the northen capital, and immediately hopped on a 3 day trek which we had booked in Bangkok. We felt a little rushed after getting off of a 12 hour bus ride and by getting hustled around on what seemed to have been random tuk tuks and such, but in the end, the companies had it all figured out and everything was ran completely smoothly. Our 3 day trek was great; we got to encounter elephants within our first week of being in SE Asia, slide down some waterfalls, hike up to and spend the night in a beautiful local mountain village, and meet some awesome fellow travelers. After the trek, we spent a couple nights in Chiang Mai and loved the smaller but still happening city life of a foreign country. The night market was great, and of course we splurged on a few sweet but most needed traveling souveniers. The food in Chiang Mai, and in Thailand in general is amazing.. some of the best in the world I suppose (and the vegetarian options were endless)! After Chiang Mai, we headed north to Pai. Robin's post on Pai pretty much sums up our epic time there. The small mountain town kindly reminded us of our hometown of Crested Butte, Colorado, which we kept telling/ bragging about to everyone! Live music, great food, friendly people, and adventurous days. The heat was a lot for me to adjust to but what was I supposed to expect?! We're in one hot spot after all! Leaving Pai was bittersweet, but one of the best things about traveling are the adventures that await ahead. We booked our bus to Vientiane, Laos and were on our way out via a quick bus exchange back in Chiang Mai.
<3 Betsy
