Yesterday we got an early start on the day with Liz frying up a breakfast storm (scrambled eggs, bacon, coffee). Chris took another Cisco voice-over IP test (three tests down, two to go!) in the morning while Liz and I lounged around waiting for him to come back. All of us then set off for the Old City.
We visited a number of temples and monuments in the Old City that Chris and I have never been to before, like the Three Kings Monument (showing King Mengrai, who founded Chiang Mai, consulting two other kings of different provinces in Thailand about the site of his new city). Liz and I are in front of the monument in the picture here. It’s funny how you live in a place for a long time but never go to any of the tourist stuff because you think there’ll always be another chance to visit that kind of thing and it’s not high on your priority list. Liz, armed with Let’s Go Thailand, was the impetus for us to get off our butts and move! You can visit her blog here.
One highlight of our daylong trip to the city included a visit to Wat Pan On, a temple next to AUA (where Chris takes Thai classes). We visited in the middle of the day and had a nice break on a part of the temple ground where they had a noodle cart and drink stand set up. I had Thai iced tea and Liz had water. She also captured this candid of us there: 
In the temple, I introduced Liz to ‘siam sii’ or fortune telling. Originally derived from a Chinese practice, it entails shaking an open can of sticks with different numbers on them until one falls out. Once a stick falls out, you go to a shelf where you find your number and take the fortune corresponding to that number. My fortune (#16) was only written in Thai, so I had to have a friend read it later. It was a great fortune though, and corresponded with the fortune I had told to me by a local Thai fortune teller when I was just starting college in Swarthmore. The gist of the fortune was that I usually got what I wished for (ie if I put my mind to something, I was usually successful), was blessed with good health, and would have people who cared for me surround me throughout life. My sign, the sun, represents a bright future as well as how I bring warmth and happiness to those around me. Very good :) Maybe my projects will still work out after all.
Other highlights of the day included fish ball soup, an hour long Thai foot massage at the women’s prison in the city, vintage clothes shopping, and Thai dinner (and bread and chocolate!) with Aum and Gig. I also had this awesome online conversation with Gig and then we discussed weekend plans, so our trip to the mountains is coming together!
tanyaporn.wansom says: hello gig! how was pai?
gig_vitara says: hello. is ok.
gig_vitara says: we want travel with crist and porn,but ying and aum tell porn busy. my friend from bangkok.
tanyaporn.wansom says: gig! my friend from us is here
tanyaporn.wansom says: we want to travel too, this weekend?
gig_vitara says: Oh.ok
tanyaporn.wansom says: did you go to pai
tanyaporn.wansom says: last weekend?
gig_vitara says: yes 6 person.
tanyaporn.wansom says: oh :(
tanyaporn.wansom says: chris and porn never go to pai before
gig_vitara says: gig,aum,ying,pe,kea,maw
tanyaporn.wansom says: that sounds fun
tanyaporn.wansom says: you want to travel this weekend?
gig_vitara says: by car gig,
tanyaporn.wansom says: we can go however
gig_vitara says: gig tell aum,we want crist and porn with trip.
gig_vitara says: we can comeback again.
gig_vitara says: :)
tanyaporn.wansom says: go to pai again? or where
tanyaporn.wansom says: what you do later tonight
gig_vitara says: my friend from us.How many person?
tanyaporn.wansom says: 3 - porn, chris, liz
gig_vitara says: no plan.
gig_vitara says: ok.. we can travel.
Thai people are awesome hosts, so Gig helped us plan this cool weekend trip visiting a village in the valley of two mountains, the traditional Thai umbrella making factory (Bo Sang), an elephant camp and hospital, hot springs, waterfalls, and flowers. We’ll also spend the night in a tent at this campsite not too far(about 70 km) from Chiang Mai. Right now it’s just me, Chris, Gig, Aum, and Liz, but more people might be added from the MA house (we’d have to rent a van though, or take two cars). Thank God for friends with cars.
PS Liz taught me how to insert pictures in blogger with text wrap, so i added a few to previous entries - check them out!
Yesterday we got an early start on the day with Liz frying up a breakfast storm (scrambled eggs, bacon, coffee). Chris took another Cisco voice-over IP test (three tests down, two to go!) in the morning while Liz and I lounged around waiting for him to come back. All of us then set off for the Old City.
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