It’s only been a little over a week and I am already getting whinging from certain people that I haven’t kept this blog up-to-date. My apologies!! Geez…
It has been a major festival in Chiang Mai, and we have been exhilerated and terrified by the many and varied activities going on, including the lighting of fire balloons, the making of flower floats, the watching of parades, and the near death experiences of being too near too many fireworks that any crazy Thai person chooses to let off near an unsuspecting passerby.
Apart from that, I have had a most interesting week. A week ago I met up with a guy I knew from High School (Nick) who stayed in our hostel, and together, with our guide Pong and Kath, we took our motorbikes out for a two day ride to some hot springs up in the mountains. On the way we stopped at an elephant camp and watched some elephants doing some very strange things, including dancing, painting pictures and playing soccer.
We then went on an elephant trek through some glorious countryside and then made our way up through the countryside to a lovely campside next to some hot springs in the mountains. After returning the next day - we dumped Kath back at the orphanage, and then Nick and I went white water rafting for a few days up in the jungle. Awesome experience, well worth it for anyone thinking of going to Thailand. It was certainly a bit of adventure travel, and adventure eating, although I would like to stress that I did NOT eat turtle as certain other people on the trip did!
Now I am back in Chiang Mai getting myself ready to come back to Australia on Monday. I am very excited and I’m quite sure I will probably be on my knees kissing the ground as I get back into the sweet, sweet country of my youth for the first time in 20 months.
As an update on the orphanage, the number of children there was bumped up to four a couple of days ago with the arrival for a new three year old girl Hannah. They are expecting another three children next week, so it is now well and truly on it’s way to becoming a much bigger orphanage…
I am just now adding a few more photos into the Thailand folder on my gallery, and expect to add a lot more when Nick comes back on Sunday night as I didn’t take my camera, and expect to steal a lot of his photos. He he….
See you soon!!
