A Little Taste of Home

I was reminded today that it has been over a month since our last post.  First, let me apologize.  Second, let me assure everyone that we are both still alive.  We had started to settle into our little Thai routine when things were quite pleasantly stirred up with some visitors from home.
My parents came in late January and spent a week with us up in Chiang Rai.  We packed nearly every tourist activity that it had taken Scott and I our entire time here to do into one week.
Highlights of our time together in Chiang Rai include kao soi, a trip up to our favorite temple on the hill where we met Carey, a 9 year old Australian boy who gave us a tour, hopping on motorbikes out to a beautiful waterfall and touring my school.  Scott and Dad checked out the Black House while Mom and I opted for Thai massages (an obvious choice, I thought!)  It was great to be able to share our life here with the 'rents, and we had our fare share of laughs, mosquito bites, lost in translation moments and spontaneous zumba dancing.

Dad cooking up some massaman curry

The following weekend the 4 of us went to Chiang Mai and again packed our days full of fun. We went to a muay Thai match Friday night, but a storm rolled in and the outdoor match was stopped early when the wires got wet and all the power went out.  Saturday we took a cooking class where we learned to make curries, spring rolls, mango sticky rice and a variety of stir-fry dishes.  After cooking we got to sample each others' dishes and I must say, we're pretty darn good cooks!


Sunday will be a day that I will remember forever.  We went to an elephant sanctuary where elephants rescued from the logging industry and other industries come to live out their lives in freedom.  The park owns over 250 acres where the elephants can roam and play.  We fed the elephants and were allowed to get so close that at some points we were covered in elephant spit and saliva.  Mom especially took to an elephant that had recently arrived at the camp who was visibly under nourished and very eager to eat all the bananas we could offer. 

Mom feeding a recent arrival.

We rode bareback through the jungle, learned about the history of elephants in Thailand and got to understand the struggles that come with rescuing elephants.  Our guide had an obvious love for the animals and said, that while this camp is not the ideal environment for elephants (they should of course be free living in the wild) the camp strives to provide the best environment possible under these circumstances.  Releasing the elephants into the wild would make them susceptible to capture again, and would most likely guarantee their return to the logging industry, where using elephants is illegal but still widely practiced.

 
We cruised the night market that evening and the following day headed up to Doi Suthep, a huge temple complex on a mountain overlooking the city.  Scott and I headed back to Chiang Rai that evening, and Mom and Dad headed down south to the beach before Dad went back to the States and Mom met up with her cousin Carol to tour Angkor Wat in Cambodia.  I met up with my mom and Carol in Bangkok before my mom headed home after a month of traveling.  We toured the city pretty hard, making to the Grand Palace, Chatachuk Market, water taxi ride and China Town.  We also made sure to slip in some time for a Thai massage :)  It was an amazing trip with unforgettable memories!  Scott and I are really lucky to both have families that encourage us to travel and explore different parts of the world.  It is something that we're both truly passionate about, and it means a lot that people from home are willing to make the trip out to see us.  We had a great time, and we look forward to the other visitors heading our way!

My Family :)