Monkey Business

Snakes and Monkeys

So today we finished our obligatory tourism stops here in Chiang Mai. Went to the monkey and snake shows. Felt pretty bad for the monkeys, actually. I guess they were well cared for, but it just didn't seem right. Having them ride bikes, lift weights, shoot hoops, etc. was highly entertaining, don't get me wrong, but a monkey on a leash is just weird. On the plus side, how many of you have ever been groomed by a monkey before? Check out the guy that took his shirt off to pose with the snake. He was a real tough guy until one of the handlers brought a cobra up by our seats and let it slither around. This guy was huddled up next to me so close, I couldn't move. And he just stayed there, clinging to me for about 30 seconds. Very amusing. It took me awhile, but I got Jenn to go up there and pose as well. She was very brave. I tried to get her to pose with her shirt off as well, but she would have none of it. Tomorrow, we are heading to the border of Laos. We will be staying in a town of 9000 called Chiang Kong for 2 nights and then crossing into Laos for a boat ride down the Mekong. Will be nice to be in a small town again.

Thai Boxing

Last night we went to our first sporting event and it was quite a spectacle. Thai boxing is not quite the same as American boxing as pretty much anything goes. These guys beat each other senseless using feet, arms, knees, and elbows to any part of the body. Not to mention that some of the fights were between kids. I'm talking 8 to 12 years old for some of the fights. We saw 3 people get knocked out cold, one of which staggered out of the venue a few minutes later with his entourage propping him up. This guy had been down for quite awhile. Very brutal, but oh so entertaining to witness. We also saw one kid, maybe 18 or 20, get kneed in the nuts pretty severely. We didn't know how bad it was because he kept fighting for about 20-30 seconds. Then, he simply wobbled over to the side of the ring and puked over the ropes. Awesome! It was a crazy atmosphere with everyone throwing bets around and drinking like madmen. A nice Scotsman that owns the pub next to the arena joined us for the fights and taught us all the ins and outs. Plus he had Monday Night Football on this morning so we got up early to watch the game and have breakfast. Steelers.....Ouch. Sorry, Lyns. The lighting was not conducive to pictures, but we tried our best. You can also see our guesthouse so you can see we are not living in complete squalor over here.

2 Things I will not be preparing...

Cooking Class

Today I went to a Thai Cooking Class and had a ton of fun learning to cook some authentic Thai dishes. We started at a local market, where we learned all about the local produce, meats, and spices. After that we put all of these ingredients to work. In one day, I learned how to make Thai fish cakes, steamed fish custard, chicken and cashew stir-fry, chicken with green curry, tom yam soup with shrimp, spring rolls, phad thai, and for dessert, coconut custard steamed in pumpkin. They even taught us to carve onions, shallots and tomato peel to make garnishes. It was quite a bit to learn, but I think I will be able to replicate most of the recipes when I get home... except the garnishes - they are pretty, but that was far too much work for something you don't get to eat. Thai food anyone?

Another day

Went to the zoo, walked up a lot of stairs to see a wat, ate some bugs at the Sunday street market. Pretty nasty little grubs or larvae or something of the sort. Had to try them just for the spectacle of it, but I doubt we'll go back for the grasshoppers. Tomorrow Jenn goes to cooking school to learn how to make her man some eats and I am getting a long massage for about $5. If anyone reading cares about baseball, you can go ahead and put Jim Thome on the board. Check out the smog over Chiang Mai. Gross.

More Trekking Photos

A few more from our day in the hills...

A Trip to the Hills

Today we spent the day outside of Chiang Mai visiting hilltribes, riding elephants, hiking, and bamboo rafting down the river. It was an exhausting day, but very fun. It was weird to go visit the hilltribes for sure. It was almost like a human zoo and it was a little uncomfortable to intrude on their space. They were happy to sell their crafts to outsiders though, so buying something made us feel a little better. Still, I'm not sure I would do it again. We didn't let it stop us from photographing this fascinating wildlife, however..... The elephants were fun, but they spent most of the time scratching themselves on trees and eating. The rafting was by far the best part of the day, but we don't have any pictures as we got soaked continuously and had to leave the camera behind.

Onward

Today we traveled most of the day to Chiang Mai. It was an uneventful trip, but we are pretty wiped out after 6 hours on the bus and a couple of beers. Chiang Mai is a pretty large city compared to Sukhothai, but still much smaller than Bangkok. We will probably stay for a few days and then head further north. Hope everyone is having a nice Thanksgiving. I would love to watch some football and celebrate genocide.... Seriously, I would commit genocide for some stuffing right now. Here are some pics from our last night in Sukhothai. We had a great dinner, as you can see.

A trip to the Hospital... Hopefully the Last

This morning, Erik woke up with his eyes swollen shut. We asked our hosts at the guesthouse if there was an English speaking doctor in town. "Uh... English speaking, no. But they are still very smart. I will drive you." He drove us to the hospital and helped us get checked in, then escorted us up to the waiting room. In a town of 39,000, it was amazing how many people were in the hospital waiting for care - it must have been thousands. The entire first floor was dedicated "Mass Casualty Areas" A through D. That's a lot of casualty areas for one small town - we're not quite sure what happens up in these parts... Unfortunately, I was not thinking to whip out the camera at this time.

Anyway, we waited for about half an hour, and Erik's condition seemed to be improving, so we took off to town and found a pharmacy and began to self-medicate. Hopefully it clears up soon.

In the meantime, here are some random photos from the past few days. In one picture, you will see the roadside stall where Erik tried to purchase a single banana. In another, you will see what we rode away with.

Sukhothai

So we arrived in Sukhothai yesterday evening and we are loving it. It's beautiful and we are so happy to be out of Bangkok. During dinner we were treated to a couple of locals riding elephants through town. Right there on the busiest street with cars whizzing by them. It was crazy. We were also visited by various frogs and geckos throughout our meal. We spent today biking through the ruins of Old Sukhothai a few miles outside of town. It was the capital of Siam a looooong time ago. The ruins date back to the 13th century. Check out our sweet rides. We are staying in a nice little bungalow in the middle of a garden. Enjoy the pics.

Sukhothai

We have arrived safely and are planning a relaxing dinner, beer, then sleep. It has been a long day.

Chugging along

We are on our way to Hualamphu train station to catch the rails north to Sukhothai. We are ready to get out of the crowds and pollution of Bangkok, and excited for the next new place. We will be posting soon with updates and pictures.

Seeing the sights

Went to the Grand Palace yesterday to take the tour and see the Emerald Buddha. It was interesting, but very crowded with tourists. Jenn was having an interesting hair day. We also saw the biggest Reclining Buddha in the world at Wat Pho. He took up the entire temple from wall to wall and seemed very relaxed. We spent the afternoon wandering around the area visiting various temples and markets. Bangkok does not have all that many sights so we were able to do it in just about half a day. Later, we tried some dragon fruit. Kind of bland. In the evening we tied one on with our new friends from Sweden and Belgium. A very good time. Leaving on Monday for Sukhothai and motorbike to some ruins. Stay tuned.