Well, I am in Thailand. Awesome! It's so nice and warm here and it smells wonderful!
To describe the first long day of the trip (which is actually 2 ½ days): The plane ride from MSP to Tokyo was really long and boring. A 12 hour flight with only romantic comedies to watch on a screen I can't really see? Lame. I did homework on the plane, because we have a 3-inch reading packet, and a good quarter of an inch was due by the time we landed, as well as a 2 page write-up about what we read. Our layover in Tokyo was nonexistent. We landed, went through security and walked to the gate just as they called the final boarding call.
This plane ride was much better. 7 hour plane ride from Tokyo to Bangkok, and the seats were more comfortable, and we had individual movies and games and stuff. I tried to watch a Bollywood movie called “3 Idiots” but by then it was 6am in the Midwest, so I fell asleep during it. I'll have to netflix it at some point.
The layover in Bangkok was...interesting! We landed at midnight, and we couldn't get our boarding passes until 5am, and the flight didn't leave until 8am. So, we couldn't get through security until after 5am, so we just hung out in the awkward ticketing area for 5 hours. I tried to sleep because it was midnight but it was 11am in Central time, so it did not work. The cold tile floor is not comfortable enough to sleep on. I got some coffee and a sandwich around 2am (1pm Midwest time), and did more homework and read for pleasure for the first time since June. After we got our boarding pass, we were able to sit in the business class lounge, use the internet, eat the free food, etc for the last couple hours. The plane ride to Chiang Mai was short and uneventful. Nice meal though, but it was weird to be served a meal for an hour-long flight. However, I did have a window seat, which was great. The other flights, I was in the middle seat.
Once we got off the plane, we realized how awesome it was! It is like a warm late spring day in Minnesota. Not too humid, but delightfully warm and sunny. The air smells alive, like in the Como Conservatory.
Furthermore, our hotel is the greatest place on Earth. We're in the city the same size as Minneapolis, but it's like we're in the jungle. It's a magical garden that happens to be a hotel. It is so extravagantly decorated that we find exciting and beautiful touches at every turn. There is so much detail everywhere, from the wonderful light canopy on my four-poster bed to the bright blue shrimp in the aquarium. The pets here are amazing! There are 4 cats, which are the weirdest cats ever. There are many fish in the ponds and aquariums. My favorite though are the birds. There are about 8 birds in cages around the gardens. Some of them are trained to talk. I have heard them bark like little dogs, meow like cats, wolf whistle, and say “hello” and “sawatdee-ka.” They're so great. I took about 50 pictures of the hotel, so hopefully you will understand how awesome and delightful this hotel is. We can hear distant air and vehicle traffic, but mostly birds and frogs and the rustling of the gentle breeze through the plants.
My only complaint is the extremely hard mattresses and the frogs which all decide to croak in unison loudly at night. The bathroom isn't wonderful, but it's liveable. It has a shower and a Thai shower tub. Thai showers involve dumping a bucket of cold water over yourself, lathering up and then dumping more cold water over yourself until the soap is gone. I'm sure it feels great in 110 degree humid air, but when its 80 and not humid, it's just overkill. Thai people don't shower as often in winter (I know, it's winter, right?) because it is just cold, and not as refreshing.
Finally, on the 5th, we met with Charlie and Surat. Surat was an exchange student, and Charlie graduated from Olaf a couple years ago. They gave us a tour of the area around our hotel. Crossing the street here is insane! Cars are crazy. Crossing at corners is not practical. You just have to jaywalk by waiting for a break in the traffic and hoping cars stop. Sometimes, you can't even wait for a break in the traffic, you just have to make one. Our first dinner in Chiang Mai was at this crazy buffet. Rows and rows of food on tables, which you bring back to your table and cook on the little hot pots that were on each table. I ate panda-shaped fish and pig intestine as well as a lot of vegetables and fruit and dessert. It came to about $7 for the buffet, which included live music. It was located in this giant warehouse type place, and reminded me of a meal at a flea market or fairgrounds. If I had stumbled upon it, I probably would not have eaten there, but it was new and fun, so I'm glad Sue and Charlie brought us there.
After, we went to the night market, which is a bunch of street vendors selling things. I bought a pair of dark gray fisherman pants. They're super comfy, and cost $3.30.
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