I'll let you in on a secret.

I have a task for my readers. I'm curious who is and has been reading my blog. I'd love it if you'd each email me at 

crjudy@gmail.com

and just write something short like, "I'm a reader of the blog" and then sign your name. 

I've been curious about who my readers are for a long time. 

I think I know who a handful of you are but send me that email anyways. 

*Mr. Douglas you are off the hook since you email me often regarding the blog. There's a reason you were my favorite high school teacher! :)

And now I'll let you all in on a little secret... 

Oregon got the better of me and this happened today:

Oregonians know this carpet well. 

The Pdx airport.

I flew for right around 34 hours from Bangkok to Dubai to Seattle to Oregon. An incredibly longer journey then it should be with 6 hour + layovers at each location. But $54 for the ticket home, I dealt with it. Air miles are a truly wonderful thing to have when ticket prices are a little high. 

Stairs INSIDE my airplane!? That's fancy!

I wasn't due home until sometime around August 1st but I realized I was running out of deodorant and toothpaste...

Haha! No!

I didn't want to miss oregon's summer, I missed my family and friends and a few other reasons.

I didn't complete the end of my trip: Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam but I will go back to finish it without a doubt. It will probably be a shorter trip then this was as I don't need 4 months for that area. I'll also listen this time to those wise souls who told me when the best time is to travel SE Asia. Ill return in the nov. - feb. time frame. 

I only told a few people I was coming home. My sister was the only one in my family who knew and she didn't find out tell 2 weeks before my arrival. I wanted to  surprise her kids that I was home. Jack and lilah had been asking for me almost everyday. So Nikki randomly brought them to the airport tonight and they played on the playground near my gate. They had no idea why they were there. Then I walked up on them. They were so caught off guard they didn't know how to react. Lilah wanted a big hug and yelled my name as she came down the slide. Jack ran to me for a hug as well and the backed off, standing back he just looked at me with a big smile and I watched as his cheeks turned red. He asked when I was leaving again. I told him I'd hang around for a bit. 

2 close friends made an appearance at salt & straw tonight as they knew it was going to be my first stop when returning home. It was great to see them and share big hugs! 

My dad was suprised to see me, he looked at me for a minute before realizing what was going on and jumped a little. 

I'll be randomly stopping in at my tutu's (grandma's) house tomorrow morning. 

I love good suprises! 

Jack and I.

Lilah wouldn't let me put her down. 

Good bye... For now. 

The travels will continue and this blog will be added to. 

The NOT so highlights

"The Castle", the hostel in Nelson where the owner played games with us and gave us a real bad vibe. 

Trying to figure out how to deal with different travel partners personalities. I often felt like I wasn't coming across to them they I meant to. I'd joke and then feel like they took offense to what I said. I tend to have a very sarcastic personality. Not knowing either of them for very long before traveling together leaves a lot of unknowns. I did well with both of them and we are all still friends, just decided to split ways. I prefer being alone now that I've experienced both ways. It's nice not waiting on others and being able to do what you want to do, when you want to. 

Home sickness. 

That's a hard one. I suppose I could say, stay focused on your trip and know that you'll see them all again soon. For me I have my family, friends and the beautiful Oregon summer tugging on my sleeves. And then here in Asia it's the hottest season and I know I could go home and return to finish during my winter. 

A lot of time walking around with a pack on in warmer temperatures and not knowing where I was staying for the night was stressful when with a travel mate. I wouldn't necessarily do that different though. If I had committed to something I wouldn't be available for anything that may have unexpectedly come up. I would have however, packed a little lighter. 

Realizing that on a long adventure such as this I need to have some things of purpose. General traveling is good but I need to have things that book up some of my time and immerse me in the culture at the sane time. Such as teaching English or volunteering time for something else. 

Seeing horrible things in different countries such as animal cruelty, no respect for the disabled to any degree, pollution and littering. Burned up cars on the side of the road in Bangkok as a result of protests. 

Being a passenger in the car of a drunk driver. Not having any control of the situation and just hoping no one would be hurt. 

Finally a chance to go to Dubai, much like my quick trip to Singapore. Unfortunately it was an 8 hour layover and don't get me wrong, I could have made something of that BUT it was from 1am to 9am! 

Dubai is cool but it's not vegas, staying open 24hrs a day. 

Dang it! Oh well, I explored the airport and slept a few hours in a corner on the floor. 

Highlights of the trip

Meeting Scott, Tisha, Sophie and Isabella in Auckland New Zealand. They were so welcoming and months later still keeping in contact with me making sure I'm doing good. They are my Auckland family.  

 

Meeting Nicole and Mike in Wellington, New Zealand. Tours and burlesque shows with these two! Fun outings for sure! I'll be seeing you in Portland when you come to visit again. 

Meeting Kate and her beautiful children. She picked two strangers up from the ferry and welcomed us to the South Island! She took us to her vineyard where she had a the perfect vineyard picnic prepared for us. We got a tour and a later a ride into town to find our almost all German hostel for the night. But it didn't stop there! She showed back up in the morning to take us to breakfast and drop us off at a prime hitchhiking spot for our future destination of Nelson. 

The Able Tasman hike was gorgeous!  Alicia and I almost spontaneously stayed the night at building full of bunk beds on the beach during this hike. 

My first couch surfing experience in Nelson, New Zealand and the many more to follow. It really wasn't bad at all. In fact it's fun and feels like a more mature way to travel then hostels! 

Driving for the first time on the left side of the road. Not a planned experience but our couch surfing host and Alicia were both a bit to intoxicated to drive. I sobered our host right up when I came to a round about and looked the wrong way before pulling out into traffic. We were fine, I secretly knew what I was doing. ;)

Hitchhiking for the first time. Alicia and I hitched all of New Zealand and were lucky to have had a great experience with it, making friends and seeing places we hadn't planned on. Christchurch and Wanaka are 2 places we never intended to go to but did! 

Meeting Shaun and Shelly.  

Shaun picked us up just outside of Nelson and took Alicia and I all the way to Christchurch. Along the way (several hours) we shared great stories, snacked on trail mix, stopped at a wooded area to learn about bugs and tree bark, stopped along a grown over river bank and trekked thru it to get some good photos, and stopped at a beautiful maintained park for a roadside potluck dinner. Hard boiled eggs, salad with chickpeas, carrots, tomatoes and coffee (for people who drink that sorta thing). Arriving into Christchurch to late to check in to a hostel he let us stay the night and then a 2nd night with he and his wife. He too dropped us off at our next prime hitchhiking location but first tried to offer us his long underwear because I had a bad cough and there was a storm supposedly rolling in soon.  

Ferg burger and bakery in Queenstown, South Island New Zealand. It supplied me with the best burgers I've ever tasted for lunch and dinner and introduced me to almond croissants for breakfast. All at really good prices! 

  

The beauty of Queenstowns! It's breathtaking especially when the mountain tops are dusted in snow. It made me think of Switzerland even though I've never been there. 

The fine hospitality of a dermatologist, James and his wife and daughter in Melbourne. They put us up for 2 nights in a hotel, treated us to nice dinners and showed us around on foot and in car. I just wanted to say hello and meet a good friend of my cousins and I received so much more. They did more then I ever expected. 

Meeting Chapman and his girlfriend Bianca, from Texas at Sam's (couch surfing host) house was a highlight. They are 2 really stellar individuals and I hope I meet up with them again. They told me about the art show at the museum and we shared some good tales of travel and life. 

The Melbourne art museum had an incredibly well curated show happening and sadly I didn't think to go to it until my last day in the city. Thankfully I gave it a full day! I think it was called "Melbourne now" and it was all Melbourne artists showing. The show was so big that it filled the entire 4 story art museum plus they took over 2 other massive museums near by. I only had time for one of the buildings. AND! This entire exhibit was FREE! 

Chapman and Bianca found us at the end of our museum tour and said good bye to us before we had to leave for the airport.  

Sam & Scott hosted us in Sydney. Scott was Alicia's friend of a friend and he agreed to host us. He and his roommate Sam picked us up from the airport and let us into their home for 2 nights. They invited me back if I needed a place at any time. Alicia had a friend coming to visit for 12 days and the guys thought it'd be nice to invite me back if I felt like I needed to give Alicia and her friend some time. 

They made us feel right at home!

An incredibly delicious blended chai at a mall in Sydney. Sam, Alicia, Mitchell and I stopped in at a mall to get a coffee for Sam. He offered to buy me a drink and I asked for a blended chia. They had no idea what I was talking about. They had chia on the menu though. So with my former Starbucks knowledge I gave them a little description of what I was asking for. What they came up with was THE most tasty blended chai I've EVER had! I encouraged the  baristas to try it and they couldn't even believe what they had made! They told me they'd put it on the menu, I hope they do. 

A full workout day in Sydney is worth making the list. I love my workouts and traveling for an extended period of time makes me feel anxious for weights and cardio! Sam is a powerhouse lifting machine (my opinion, not his) and hits the gym daily, he also privately trains. However he was afraid, YES! Afraid to give Crossfit a try with me. One day he offered to drive to the beach house I was staying at (25 to 35min) away, pick me up and take me back to his gym to lift with him. I took the offer. I got some cardio in as well and then we went back to the beach and joined Alicia and Mitchell for dinner before meeting up with Katie and her friends for drinks. That's when Sam introduced me to a Strawberry cider. Yum! I limited myself to one and then another weeks later after the GBR dive. It's like soda when you drink it down. That's dangerous stuff, right there! 

The Sydney beaches were beautiful and very picturesque. Bondi was a little to touristy for my taste by Brunty was gorgeous and where Katie lived. We stayed with her for 3 nights or so in her cute apartment one street back from the ocean. The ocean walking path was nice and made for a great morning running path. 

Katie was a wonderful person who had just returned home from working in a yaht for several years. She was full of information and stories. She opened he home to us and introduced an Australian big breakky to me. I hope to see her again. 

Meeting Shasta. A friend of a friend is what she started out as but turned out we had a lot in common! We are even from the same town back home, our homes a mile or so apart! I met her in Byrom Bay and love her free spirit! We traveled together later on, meeting up in Bali and separating in Thailand. We shared some great times is sickness, struggles, & unforgettable happiness. 

The great... RV re location road trip with Sam and Alicia. Sam flew to Brisbane and helped Alicia and I complete the last several hours of driving an RV to Cairns. After the chaos of returning it we stayed in the most run down best western hotel I've ever seen (Sam thought it'd be better then a hostel, I disagree).   

Diving the GBR with Alicia and Sam on a tour boat for the day. Mostly it was snorkeling and then we did an intro scuba dive. The intro dive is when I decided I should get my scuba cert in Thailand. It was incredible. 

Meeting Alain & Michael. I met them at different times during my stay in Bali but they kind of go together. Alain I met on my first official day in Bali (silent day) and we were drawn to each other instantly as we were the only white people in the hotel. He's one of those up for anything guys who even likes to toss in a little shock factor when he can. He introduced Michael to me weeks later in UBud when we re connected. Michael is a fellow hard core CF'er as is Alain. I was Michael's first ever passenger on a scooter and he was scared! But he grew a lot in the 4 to 5 days of driving me around. The 3 of us paired with Shasta became the fantastic four on our last night in Bali. 

The (German) Bali VW thing tour that our German friends talked us into doing with them. Where I got to ride in a VW thing for the first time and see some off the beaten path sights. Markets & temples that were far enough out tourists usually didn't go to them. We had an authentic Balinease lunch and I could have eaten 2 more helpings! And we ended the day with a visit to the monkey temple. My first encounter with wild monkeys. It started with one hissing at me which taught me real quick to respect their area. And ended with great photos and one of them climbing on my shoulders and sticking is hand down my shirt! 

The Yoga barn yoga classes, organic cafe and Colon hydration session are memorable in my new age hippy way of life. I say that because there are a few out there who call me a hippy for my habits of trying to save the earth and sometimes the clothes I wear. I say new age because I think colon hydrotherapy qualifies as a new age hippy sorta thing. 

Meeting Tom Lang who is a friend of a friend and gave me a better insight into the Balinese people. When I found myself struggling with some of the culture and the people he lifted my head and gave me a new way to look at them. 

Lots of fresh organic foods and juices at less them half the price they'd be in the states! If only I could pocket up all those cafés and bring them home with me! 

Hiking Mt. Batur volcano in Bali for sunrise with Alain and Shasta. It was a harder hike then I expected but amazing! The views from the top didn't fail our expectations. It was heaps of laughs and some strenuous climbing both up and back down. But it made the list of one of the best experiences.  

A 14hr layover in Singapore where Shasta and I met a friend of one of my friends... Alexis. A French guy living and working there. He let us into his apartment for our stay, took us to the hawker center to eat and treated us to part of it. Showed us around as much of the city as he could in the short time frame and then off we went again. Such generosity.  

Driving a scooter for my first time alone in Phuket had a little of that adrenaline rush to it. Need for speed! Especially since I was on the road with the rest of the crazy drivers of Thailand. My attire was awful (swim suite, sarong, & sandals but I chanced it, the not so smart thing to do. It was just to hot for better clothing. 

Getting scuba certified was one of the best things Ive done and also one of the worst. It was hard and had me feeling a lot of mixed emotions but I powered through because it's something my dad has done and I wanted to be able to share that with him. And hopefully share a few scuba diving adventures with him in beautiful blue ocean waters. That is what I focused on to get me they the class. 

My spontaneous Muay Thai fight on Ko phi phi in a real size ring but at a bar! I kicked a Sweden girls butt and it felt great to put her in her place for a brief moment. She was getting to much of an ego boost. Having strangers of both genders congratulate me after and give me money made me feel real good. Yeah I'm not always sweet and innocent, I definitely have some fight in me! 

Awesome hostels! - Rock Solid (NZ), M Hostel (Bali), Pondock Inda (Bali homestay), Slumber Party (AoNang, Thailand. 

Baan Khun hostel & tours was one I didn't even stay at but they treated me so good I can't NOT mention them. They have me free food and water, told me where and how I could save money and even let me stay a night for free (well that's depatable)

Cold showers in Bali and Thailand. I wanted to stand there all day with the cold water outing on me. 

New foods in new country's even if I did get sick, it was worth it. It's not always because there is something wrong with the food that we get sick. Sometimes our stomachs just have a hard time adapting. 

Couch surfing for the first time solo. 

I split my time in Chiang Mai between 2 different hosts and experienced many different things because of it. I learned a lot from both parties regarding Thai culture and the ex-pat in Thailand way of life. Ralph, his wife Cat and her daughter Wine were my first hosts. They treated me good, fed me and brought me in as if I were family. However towards the end I felt it was time to switch a commissions. That's when Carol reached back out to me. I excepted her offer and she became my second host. I felt like she was an old friend the moment I met her. I highly recommend couch surfing. 

Cooking school in Chiang Mai. I waited to long in my trip to try out a cooking school. I loved it. I wish I would have done one in Bali. Good foods and affordable cooking classes. Now I know and I'll look for them in my future travels. 

Tiger Kingdom was a clean and well taken care of facility with friendly staff and trainers. The tigers were clearly not drugged just had a lot of human interaction. It was fun to get up close and personal with these animals. 

Elephants at a rescue center not a for profit camp. I did a half day and I will definitely do a full day or maybe a 2 day or even a week long next time. It's worth it. They have a personality that shines thru the more you interact with them. Especially in the water. 

The sound of thunder in SE Asia is like no other thunder I have heard before. It's like a whip cracking directly above my head. It's ear piercing yet exciting all at once as it hits with no warning and makes you jump. 

Meeting a really cool "gypsy" couple from Utah at the mackro (costco/cash & carry store). Their names are Dee and James and they are currently traveling off a website they subscribe to where they house sit for people. They quickly adopted me in as part of their family.

Flying Emirates air to Dubai. The nicest plane I've ever flown on and the first time I've been on a plane with an upstairs in it. Fancy! It also had 2 entrances for boarding as the plane in incredibly long. I believe I read somewhere that it's the largest plane flying in commercial airways. They treat their coach customers (me) as if they were first class. We received a warm towel, full meal, and unlimited movies/ tv all complimentary. First class and business was upstairs. I can't imagine what kind of treatment they were receiving.

Going to Dubai. A place I have become very interested in, within the last 2 years. Somehow, luck of the draw I guess, I was supposed to go there. Just a little teaser trip but I got a pretty good taste without even leaving the airport. The people were friendly, I think the airport was 5 levels with a terminal train to connect buildings, a few big waterfalls, showed, a pool, gym, lots of eateries and shops and sleeping cubes. I even got a free meal ticket to eat in the airport 

I'm sure I'm forgetting people I met along the way. If you are one of them, I apologize. It's been a fantastic 4 months and I met so many outstanding people. I'm currently in the airport running off of jet lag and to many cat naps so my brain isn't functioning at its best. 

* more pictures to be added

Chiang Mai

I wanted to visit some waterfalls but I was given some interesting insight on that. For starters you have to pay $100 baht or more to get into them (ridiculous!) and I was told they are nothing compared to what we have in the states and that the water isn't as clean as what we have in the states, sadly. I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of having to pay to see a waterfall. It kind of took the beauty out of it and made it feel like more of a man made sight. Can the Oregonians out there imagine paying to see Multnomah falls!? Or any of the other less visited waterfalls in our area? Unless I'm paying to go into a state park or national park I'm not okay with paying to just see a waterfall. 

There turned out to be several things I ended up experiencing in this fun city. More attractions then I imagined myself visiting.

* I went swimming in a salt water pool across the highway from Ralph's house on a Sunday morning after breakfast. It was $130 baht to get in and the pool was surrounded by a botanical garden. Much to my surprise the place was empty. I thought that was strange for a weekend. It was nice to swim laps in a large empty pool with a the gardens surrounding me.

Botanical swimming pool.

* There is a popular Sunday artisan market from 4pm to midnight in the old city on the walking street. It's best to get there early to avoid the large crowds later. It was the best market I've seen in all of Thailand. Even better then Bangkok's largest market. I only bought a tank top and a pair of earrings spending a total of $5 usd. I bought some food to try as well and met up with Shelly (the friend I met in krabi who is from Australia) and another traveler, Joy (from L.A). We walked the market and didn't even have a chance to complete it before rain hit the city. 

While most everyone took shelter and a lot of vendors quickly packed up or just covered their goods, we continued to walk the streets. I am an Oregonian and that's what we are supposed to do, right? Tough out the rain!? 

Sunday market around 4pm

Sunday market inside the old city. 

Map of the market. 

* Cooking school was an experience I wish I had done in Bali too. I know better now. When in low cost countries with good cuisine, take a cooking school! They are fun, you usually get a cookbook with what you made in it as well as eating all the great food you make. Thai Farm cooking school picked Shelly, Joy and I up along with some other students who signed up and were staying at other locations. We went to a local market where they showed us curry powders and the process of making coconut creams. We walked around on our own for 10 min and then headed to the organic farm. We walked thru their gardens and picked some ingredients for our recipes. 

Bennie, explsining curry pastes at market

 My garden hat!

Cashew tree.

The class ended at 3 or 3:30 and we cooked and ate off and on right up to the end. I even brought food home with me because I couldn't finish eating what I made. The instructor we had was very bubbly and the entire course was just very organized and impressive. I hear there are lots of great cooking schools in this small city but I'm happy I selected this one. 

Demo time.

The group enjoying our tasty food.

* Open mic night at boys blues club down the road from Shelly's hostel was that same night. I knew someone who was going to sing that night as he does once a week. He offered to give me a ride home after, if I wanted to stay in the city longer. I took him up on it but Shelly, Joy and I wanted to support him so we went to watch. He showed up around 9:30/10pm with a bottle of rum to help us all enjoy the night better. I didn't have any and he had most of it but shared with some of his other friends. The girls and I were there from 9pm tell 12:30am when the bands finally warped it up. By this time he was pretty drunk and I was exhausted.

I didn't know how to drive home without direction to the house I was staying at but he did. I was feeling to tired to drive but was on the fence to drive because of his drunken state. He told me he was fine to drive but if I felt un easy at any time he'd pull over and let me drive. I was okay with that. I felt I was making a bad choice and looking back on it, I did. I should have drove from the start. I thought several times on the drive home that anything could happen and a bad accident was HIGHLY possible that night. 

I kept my hand on his shoulder talking to him and trying to keep him awake as he swerved into other lanes. I'd tell him what he was doing and his response was that he was in fact changing lanes. 

When he had changed lanes earlier he was using the blinker. 

He'd drive down the white line in the middle of the road and I'd make him aware of this. His response was, he had the entire road to do as he pleased as there was no one in front of him and no one behind him. He would drive over 100mph at times and then slow it way down. 

It was scary! 

I asked him several times to pull over and let me drive, I was awake now without question. He wouldn't pull over he obviously didn't remember telling me he would when we left the music venue. He told me while he was driving that he was really drunk and he also told me how he was actually quite good at driving drunk. 

Perfect! 

We somehow made it home where he had some water and passed out. I was really upset with him but felt like I was in a very bad situation to say anything as he had been so nice generous towards me up until this point. 

I'm not a supporter of drunk driving at all. My cousin was killed by a drunk driver, leaving her 1yr old daughter (at the time) without a mother. I have never been a passenger in the car of a drink driver but after this experience I'm a firm believe in no drunk driving. The obvious should be stated, he could have killed myself and himself or anyone on or near the road that night. 

I worry about him doing it again in the future. 

I never said anything to him. I didn't know what to say even though I was furious for the behavior but I was at fault as well for getting in the car with him. 

There's more to the end of this story, obviously but out of respect for others I'm going to end it here. I felt it was good to mention part of it in the blog to bring some awareness to drunk driving. 

* Joy and a few others from the hostel went to Tiger Kingdom with me. I looked into reviews to make sure I wasn't going to a place that took poor care of their animals. I didn't want one of the rumored, "drugged tigers" places either. 

Like my mustache? 

I wanted to wrap its paws around me.

The small tigers, not the smallest. 

This was a far shot from being anything close to a drugged tiger place. The trainers were so nice and playful with the tigers. The tigers were playful back and seemed to be in a very happy place, not drugged but well taken care of. I paid to have 15 minutes with the large tigers and another 15 with the small (not smallest) tigers. The time seemed perfect. It actually seemed to be longer then that. We each had some cuddle time with the tigers and before I left I walked around the other animal habitats and found that they have an albino tiger, lion and a itty bitty baby tigers that can't be out with the public yet. It was so cheap to see these guys and be close to them! I paid $25 for this adventure, Cheap I thought for what the US would probably charge for this.  

The smallest that we could handle.

* The 3D art museum or Art in Paradise as they call it here was SO much fun! Not only was the art fascinating but the photo opportunities were endless! Shelly and I went to this together and spent 2 to 3 hours taking photos of each other and having lots of good laughs. I was asked silently by a monk to sit with him for a photo.

So cool! 

And I took my clothes off for the first and probably the only time in a museum I order to better pose for a photo! 

Wouldn't have been as good w/clothes 

Toes on the nose.

Shelly and I also worked together with two non English speaking couples to make a few of these photos possible. 

Mirror image?

Stinkin it up. 

Hanging off the wall... or the floor? 

Over the hills and thru the woods. 

It was fun and challenging working with non English speakers as a team to complete these photos.

* I knew I wanted to play with elephants while in Thailand and in the Chiang Mai area there are a lot of elephant camps. Some are  just about making a profit and others are focused on caring for the animals. The elephants in Thailand used to be used for logging but it's not allowed anymore. Again this was another tour I needed to put some research into. I found a few company's I liked and ended up going with Ran-Tong Elephant save & rescue center. Shelly, Joy, and 3 other guys from the hostel joined me.

I had just opened the van door. 

When we pulled into the elephant park the morning of our tour 2 of the large magnificent creatures walked right up to our van door to check us out. They were very curious and not afraid. It was a greeting that I wasn't expecting! I got out and pet them while they sniffed me.the moohoots (spelling is wrong but that's how it's pronounced) gave us clothes to change into. These guys are the elephant trainers and they work with the animals so much that they are often considered the owners of the elephants. 

Stylish! 

The change of clothes was an excellent idea, especially since one of the 4 elephants we had for the day was into throwing dirt onto himself. They do this to cool them selves down but also as sun screen for their skin. 

Dave and I on our crazy elephant!

He was the only 1 who needed his moohoot to lead him so that he wouldn't take off on his own. 

The day started out with 2 of us pairing up with an elephant getting on it and walking to the water hole. To get on the elephant we waited for the moohoot to say a command to the elephant so it would kneel down. Then we climbed aboard, bare back. Dave, a guy from Canada was my elephant ridding partner. 

The moohoot working on his stubborn elephant. 

We walked a ways arriving to the watering hole where the elephant again kneeled down for us to get off. The water seemed to be the place where their personalities really showed thru. A few of them tipped us off into the water and then they submerged them selves in it by laying on their sides. At one point a snout suddenly appeared at my side and I had NO idea there was even an elephant underwater near me! We had bowls to splash the elephants with (bathe them) and that quickly turned into a giant water fight between the moohoot's, elephants and us. A water fight can quickly become the best water fight ever when elephants are involved. 

Just before the water fight.

Group shot! 

We rode them out of the water after an hour or so up to their shelter on a hillside. Ridding the elephants in a pack of 4 was funny! They each had a mind if their own and with their slow walk it was like racing on turtles! Some elephants would muscle each other off the path so others could pass. One elephant kept stopping with his people still on him and he'd squat down and run his butt on the dirt to relive an itch. The passengers holding on as they felt themselves slipping off! It was funny! 

The race was on, we lost! 

At the end if our day we had lunch provided for us. A delicious northern Thai dish called khao Soi and some watermelon. 

Lunch

We fed the elephants our left over watermelon and took some pictures with them now that we were off their backs and changed back into our clothes. It was a really fun day! They have 2 day and even a week long experience with the elephants where you can stay in a cabin on the property. If I ever get the chance to do this again I'll consider the 2 day to a week option. It was that good of a tour. 

Elephant selfie! 

OH! And guess what, we got a flat tire on our way back to the hostel! It wasn't as bad as the flat tire in Australia but it sure reminded me of it. Luckily we were near a 7/11 so while the driver fixed it we all went in to enjoy the AC of the mini mart and have some magnum ice cream bars! 

Our moohoot 

* A girl (Charlotte) from the hostel had heard about a Prisoners Thai massage and good reviews on it! She had been trying to talk me into doing it with her for a few days. I finally said yes and so did 7 others! So 9 of us set off on foot in search of the prisoners massage facility inside the old city. It was behind the 3 kings statue and museum. It was a nice place, not a prison at all but they were already booked for the day. Clearly this place was popular. 

The parole place not prisoners.

We were told we could go down the street a block to the ex prisoners massage building  (women on parole) for the same price. 

So we did. When all 9 of us walked in at once the ladies were surprised and counted us off as entered thru the door.  

It was a traditional Thai massage for $5.53. We were each given outfits, similar to scrubs but a but heavier and brought into a room with 10 beds, floor fans and dim lights overhead. It was like a slumber party when we all entered in our pajama like outfits. And when we all arrived together at the hitting/ karate chop portion of the massage the room was filled with our giggles. We felt bad for the person in 10th bed who wasn't with our group. 

The group 

After the massage we were given tea in the lobby, took a group photo and headed back to the hostel. 

A bunch of happy campers!

* I ended up moving to a different couch surfing host home with 4 days left in my Chiang Mai visit. Carol, the sugar glider lady had emailed me. She wanted to get together to visit and suggested I just come stay with her the rest of my time in town. I thought that was a brilliant idea so off I went. The best choice I could have made. I felt like she was an old friend or even a family member, right away. I was very comfortable with her and when she picked me up she had one of the sugar gliders in a pouch hanging around her neck. I inquired about the pouch and she gave it to me to hang around my neck. She said it's be good for it to get to know my smell and get used to me. 

Carol and I 

They never let me get closer to them then this. They were to freaked out. 

Russell, Sandrine & their daughter Lilly were already staying with carol as couch surfers from Europe and had claimed the spare bed room. I was fine with the couch though, it looked much cooler to sleep on at night. 

Liliy with the Thai army. 

Sandrine had dental appointments every evening so I went into town a few times with them. Carol and I went to a costco/ cash and carry like store called Makro one day. When we were about to check out a couple approached us to ask how this store worked. If it was a membership place or what it was. This turned into a longer conversation and ended in friends for life! They are a couple from Utah in their 50's who took early retirement, sold everything and now travel the world. I new I liked them before I even knew this about them. We exchanged contact info before partying ways. 

Dee & James are the two from

Utah. They are house sitting for a lady they found on the internet. She lives in Chiang Mai and needed a house sitter for 4 months. After this they may be in San Diego house sitting for another party. 

They offered to pick me up the day after we met and let me explore the city with them for the day. They had only been in Chiang Mai for two days. I took their offer. We went to a temple with a great view of the city and into the old city from there. 

Dee and I

I showed them the prison massage place and they took me to lunch and we found a pub that they see going to the next morning to watch a MMA fight on tv. James is a professional MMA fighter and jujutsu athlete. Dee showed me a video of James training a girl in Utah. He's impressive. They are a really fun couple! 

*Chiang Mai was a beautiful place. A smaller city then Bangkok with slightly cooler temperatures. Lots of activities to keep me busy and places to explore for days. Museums and the old city to see as well as great markets during all hours and days of the week. 

From all the places I have been so far in Thailand, Riley beach (the beach with the penis shrines, behind Riley was even better!), Ko Tao, and Chiang Mai have been my favorite places. 

Thailand, I'll come explore you again when the weather is cooler. I should have listened to those who warned me. Nov. - feb. is the right time to come to SE Asia, not late spring early sumner. 

Funny story w/a lack of photos

I got myself into a bit of a pickle 2 nights ago. 

I'm currently couch surfing but I've been hanging out at my friend Shelly's hostel a lot for the last 4 days. Everyone there including the owners thinks this is where I'm staying. 

The tour place is also the hostel. 

I'm not lying to them because they aren't asking me anything but I'm not telling them that I'm a couch surfer either. 

I've booked a few tours with them and I have visited with the staff and used their wifi to make use of my phone since the couch surfing house doesn't have wifi. So the hostel sees  a lot of me in between outings with Shelly.

On this particular night, I didn't realize it but the yellow song tails apparently stopped running at 7pm, according to the hostel owner. This was the same time I decided I should head home. Ralph, my couch surfing host at the time, had told me that they stopped at 9pm.

So I called Ralph and told him my issue. I told him I was going to walk to where I get dropped off by the song tails when I come into town. Then I'd cross the highway to get myself pointed in the right direction for his house. I'd look for the song tail

to get me to his place. If I ran into a problem I'd find a phone to call him.

The Thai lady who owns the hostel asked me what my plan was and I told her. She didn't want me walking to the song tail drop off area in the dark. She acted as if we were in a dangerous area, we weren't but it sounds like it's not common for women to walk alone at night. 

I told her I had to because my bag was there. I needed my things. 

She said that after the elephant trek I signed up for was over she'd have the driver take me to get my bag. The elephant trek was scheduled for the next day. 

she didn't really understand why my bag wasn't at the hostel but she didn't ask any questions. 

I told her tomorrow wasn't going to work, I needed it tonight so she stopped me at the door and had an employee of hers DRIVE ME 25min out of town to Ralph and Cat's house!

All I really wanted was to go to Ralph's to sleep in my temp. bed and have my belongings with me. But because of the misunderstanding of where I was actually staying, It quickly turned into a mission to get my bag and bring it back to the hostel. 

I tried to get out of staying the night at the hostel as I knew it was full. 

I told the owner when the driver got me to this house where my bag was he could leave. I'd get a ride back to the hostel when I was packed up and ready. She said no, it would be easier for the driver to wait and bring me back. And that was that. 

When we arrived at Ralph and Cat's home, I went inside and explained to them what was happening and that I was staying a night in the hostel but could I come back to their house tomorrow? They said yes, of course, with a laugh. 

Back to the fully booked hostel I went. I put my bag in Shelly's dorm room and planned on sleeping in the common area that is a loft above the main street level entrance. I ended up sleeping with Shelly in her twin bed on the top bunk. Thankfully the room was full of very cool backpackers and no one cared and those who did know what was going on, didn't ask. 

The upper loft. Not a very good picture.

As Shelly and I were falling asleep she whispered to me,  "so what all happened? What was the conversation between you and the hostel that got you here tonight?"

I told her and then she said to me, "they know your not a guest here."

WHAT!? 

She said, "I told them when I was ordering our breakfasts for the morning. I asked them if you could still have one even though your not staying here."

I couldn't believe this! I don't think the hostel understood Shelly though. I think she probably just confused them, if anything. 

Between 6:30/7 the next morning we were being picked up for the elephant trek. So I needed to be at the hostel early anyways. It actually worked out perfect, just a bit of a hassle that night. I woke up at 5 took my shower and went down stairs to wait for the rest of the elephant group. While I waited the owner came and gave me my free breakfast for booking the trek with them. Yogurt, fruit and mussilie which seems to have become my breakfast of choice during this trip.

The hostel never said a word to me about the night before. I however gave  the owner a hug and told her how nice she was. 

The end. 

Couch surfing dilemma

I thought I'd try my hand in couch surfing only this time solo. 

So, before leaving Joe's house and after careful reviewing of profiles, I put in 3 requests for couch surfing in Chiang Mai. Two responded, the best two.

Carol was a single and retired mom originally from Michigan but has lived all over, including Fiji which is where she adopted her daughter. Oddly enough her daughter is currently living in Portland Oregon, working at a Beaverton Starbucks and attending PCC and soon transferring to PSU. Carol lives in a community that has a swimming pool, spa, award winning restaurant, tennis court and other perks. She also owns 2 sugar gliders, cute little creatures that have always fascinated me! I've never seen one but I've heard stories about them and I want some! But I know ill never actually own them, I'm to busy. The down side was that Carol lived just far enough out of town that transportation to and from her place would cost me more then a single night in a dorm room. She claimed around $400 baht max! Dorm rooms around here are going for $100 baht!

But the sugar gliders...!? 

The second response came from Ralph, an English man married to Kat, a Thai lady. They had just built a house together and both retired. Ralph loves traveling and meeting new, mostly young travelers and has just re opened his home to couch surfers. He used to work in a field where he helped the not as fortunate  youth and he was given an award from prince Charles for the work he did. He was also trained as a cook in the U.K. and enjoys working out, singing at a pub on wed. nights and can be persuaded at times (so his profile stated) to take guests out into the town/ city because "I do know where the spots are."

His wife Cat is more on the quite side. She speaks good English but still struggles a little. She's an avid gardener and recently planted several water lilies in their backyard pond... that is their entire backyard. 

Looking down the backside of their house at the waterlilie pond. 

They only lived a $20 baht song tail ride away from town. 

A yellow song tail.

I read both descriptions and email acceptance letters to Joe to see if I could get some help. No help. So I emailed them both back inquiring about the amount of money in transportation it would cost me to and from their places. Ralph and Cat ended up to be my pick and yes because of the transport cost but ALSO because he offered to pick me up from the bus station at 7am! This told me he was a generous man and I knew I would feel comfortable with them. I wanted a warm greeting into possibly my last Thailand destination. 

Cat & Ralph

That's exactly what I got! I really hit the jackpot when I picked Ralph and Cat to host me and I made sure to tell them that.

They picked me up in front of a 7/11 in front of the bus station. Everything was wet from a good rain that had hit the city and cooled things down. We went to a store that was pretty much the Thai version of Costco. We shopped and I chatted with them (mostly Ralph) getting to know them. 

When we left "costco" they told me we were going to a French market in the woods. I didn't understand what they were talking about until we actually DROVE into the woods on a dirt path way. A French baker and other French people he knows have put together this every Saturday market. The baker makes crates full of different croissants (Ham & cheese, plain, chocolate, almond) and loafs of bread and other small pastries all sold at great prices! They have free coffee to drink, there's a pottery stand with some beautiful pots and a man selling fresh squeezed/pressed juices. Papaya leaf, ginger, and rosella where a few of his flavors. We arrived right as it opened.

Delicious! 

We bought some croissants and headed home for breakfast. We had a plate full of fruit, pineapple, mango and Papaya with a croissant and tea/coffee. Ralph told me each morning he and Kat wake up around 5:30/6am and go for a 5 mile bike ride and then walk a loop in their neighborhood. Then they come back, water their plants and have breakfast (usually fruit) together before starting their day. 

Kat brought out a container with an already cut into fruit that looked all to familiar to me.... durian! I laughed and told them I wasn't a fan of the mushy, smelly fruit but I'd heard you could get used to it. So I gave it another shot. I took a piece and then I took a deep breath as I brought it close to my face. You know, it wasn't as bad this time but I limited myself to only that piece. 

After breakfast Ralph took me on his motorbike to a wat on the hill in his area. It wasn't a heavily visited area so it had little tourist visitation. Monks lived here and the biggest Buddha temple I had seen up close, in person was here as well. There was some pretty in depth drawings high up on the wall of the temple that Ralph thought I'd be into. I was too after closer look at each of them. They had some very in depth meaning to them. 

The art. 

When we returned back to the house Kat and her daughter wine (just graduated high school) had lunch waiting for us. Then Ralph and I ran off again to locate my Crossfit box. I got him a little interested in it as well.  We found it but it was closed for the day and it was a ways from his house. I was going to need to figure out my transportation if I wanted to go there. 

I received a mini tour of the outside city before he arrived to the mote and brick wall that surrounds the old city. Ralph helped me find "Nice Kitchen" a Thai and healthy western foods eatery that Joe told me about. He knew the owners, "bicycle mike" (an American) whose married to Hon, a Thai lady. Mike was in the states getting some Medicare work done but I got to meet Hon. Turned out Ralph new her too. Small world. Ralph left me there in the old city and went to his gym, agreeing to meet me at 5 outside a museum and the 3 kings statue in the old city where he'd pick me up and head home. 

The inside of the old city.

 The 3 kings statue. 

I explored a portion of the old city, booked my cooking class and I also looked into hostels in the area incase I decided to move into town. The majority of them were $100 baht ($3.08usd) for one person. 

Ralph picked me up at 5pm as promised and we went home only to be greeted by more fruit on a platter to share with the family. There's never a shortage, my kind of place! 

Durian fruit

What the fruit looks like after cut open. 

I went on an evening walk with Ralph and Kat, something they do each night. I took my refreshing cold shower when I got home while Ralph made homemade pasta for dinner followed by homemade dried durian! It was actually good! I didn't even taste durian, really. It was more of just a light salty taste. And I NEVER thought id ever hear myself say that durian was good. 

Ralph and I wrapped up the night watching the movie "closer" with Jude law, Natalie Portman, and Julia Roberts.

My first day couch surfing solo was amazing! They greeted me with huge open arms and made me really want to return the favor to a traveler when I return home. They are truly a family that goes that extra mile to make someone feel comfortable in their city.