The Blue Temple in Chiang Rai was honestly my favorite temple in Thailand. Unbelievably intricate, stunning details, and very, very beautiful.
Bus to Chiang Rai and the Blue Temple
Chiang Mai Temple Hopping
Today we temple hopped around Chiang Mai. First we had a nice big breakfast of mainly the seasonal fruits (passion fruits, watermelon, cantaloupe) but we have been perpetually full since the food tour on 2/1. Then we got coffee and of course thai tea at a local café. The thai tea was perfect, and the coffee was sweetened with coconut milk and coconut pulp fresh from a coconut!
The temples were so grand and opulent, with massive buddhas in all sorts of positions, including one that was laying on his side relaxing. There were many monks too. One asked for Forrest. We thought he was going to give him blessings as he did for me and many other people, but it turned out he just wanted to hold Forrest. Forrest loved being held by the monk and the monk loved holding Forrest. He literally sat being held by the monk for about 10 minutes, playing with the prayer beads, and giving the monk smiles. Leanne asked to take a picture of Forrest and the monk, and afterwards the monk asked for Leanne to take a picture also, with his iPhone! Then the monk whipped out his iPhone for the picture.
The night ended with the night market that seemed endless. The night markets start at 5pm and go until midnight, with endless rows of little shops and street foods. I got chicken satay with peanut sauce, Tom Kha Gai soup (made right in front of me!), basil stir fry with shrimp, and washed it all down with coconut water fresh from the coconut (with the pulp as well). To finish off, of course I got mango sticky rice.
Chiang Mai Sticky Waterfall and Elephant Sanctuary Tour
Today we did a tour. It started with a sticky waterfall in the middle of the jungle. The waterfall had rocks that were both smooth yet grippy so it was easy to climb. Forrest loved the water.
Afterwards we went to a long neck village. Refugees from Myanmar populated the small village and the women had very long necks for beauty. Every 3 years they add a ring. Next to the village was the elephant sanctuary. Elephants there are rescued and saved from the hard and cruel labor of circuses. They were so well taken care of. We fed them sugarcane, bananas, and pumpkin squash. What was amazing was how much the elephants took to Forrest. The older female elephants especially loved giving Forrest kisses and playing with him. We also got to go in the river with the elephants and play with them there.
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Travel Day to Chiang Mai
We flew from Bangkok to Chiang Mai today. Forrest did great on the plane ride over, and is getting very used to contact napping again. A little too used to it. In Chiang Mai we checked into our hotel, and our hotel is gorgeous. We were treated to a tea time from with tons of little hordeurvs and Thai desserts. Afterwards we explored Chiang Mai by walking around the city. I ended the day with a traditional Thai massage. The massage therapist literally gets on your body and puts her entire weight into those knots. There is a lot of stretching too! I realized I need to stretch more.
Bangkok Food Tour
While in Bangkok, we went on a food tour and ate for 4 hours straight, eating about 17-18 dishes. These include Michelin Guide street food vendors and even one Michelin star restaurant as part of the tour! Surprisingly, so much of the food was heavily Chinese influenced. Also, apparently, they rarely eat Pad Thai in Thailand, so it was not part of the food tour.
“Sawadee” from Bangkok, Thailand!
First day in Thailand! The place ride over Forrest did great! Landing in Thailand was so cool, but it is crazy how hot it is here! Coming from snowy Misawa, I was surprised to get out the airport to 90 degree weather. We checked into hotel in Bangkok, then we ate free food for happy hour, including a delicious papaya salad, chicken and pineapple, and so, so much fresh fruit. Watermelon, dragon fruit, passion fruit, cantaloupe, all you can eat. After that, we headed out to the local night market where clothes are so cheap! A soccer jersey for only $3? Even if it is a knockoff, that’s really cheap. Leanne got some flowy Thai pants she can wear at temples with an elephant print. We ate fresh coconut, fresh sugar cane juice, durian, beef with holy basil, and pudding with coconut milk and pulp. There is still so much to eat, but I’m sure I’ll get to experience so much more food tomorrow with the food tour. A surprising thing about Thailand is people are so free to touch your baby or play with your baby. Not at all like Japan or USA! The culture here is totally different.
Forrest Chooses A Starter Pokémon
There comes a time in every child’s life when he must choose his starter Pokémon. These are Squirtle, a water-type Pokémon, Bulbasaur, a grass-type Pokémon, and Charmander, a fire-type Pokémon. My starter was Squirtle and Leanne’s was Charmander. Who will Forrest choose??
Of course, we think it’ll be Bulbasaur because, well, he’s Forrest The time has come Forrest! Choose your path!
He chose…
Forrest says his first word: “Dada!”
Forrest has been making lots of sounds and most have been nonsense gibberish. He has also been saying “dada,” but it never felt intentional until yesterday. He kept asking for Dada at the store, and was so happy when I joined Leanne and him, and he saw me! Then later we said, “where’s dada?” and he looked right at me, every time we tried!
So it’s official. Forrest’s first word is “Dada”!
Ski trip!
Living near the snowiest region on Earth has its perks! The last couple of weekdays we had Forrest in daycare and went skiing at Okunakayama, about an hour and a half away. The first ski day was with my guy friends in Misawa and the second was with Leanne’s coworkers from the hospital.
Leanne was shredding the black diamonds and I did a jump over a ski ramp! Can’t wait to go skiing some more, especially while it’s so close and so cheap!
Happy Japanese New Year
Japanese New Year is a lot like how my family celebrates New; it’s a very Family Central holiday. Leanne and I went to the grocery store early to get osechi, which are Bento boxes with lots of little different items Each of which is supposed to bring a separate fortune or luck for the year. Leanne also got everything needed to make peanut butter noodles, so we were fully ready to bring in the new year. On New Year’s Eve in japan, the main television channel of Japan nhkg plays a New Year’s Eve show called “Kohaku Uta Gassen,” or “Red White Song Battle.” A lot of the top bands in Japan, both modern and traditional music, will play in the red white battle. The red team is led by female singers, whereas the white team is led by male singers. However, it’s a very long show, so it is broken up by different random events. One of them was a huge room filled with dominos that we saw fall down into cool designs with, oddly enough, traditional Japanese music playing in the background. Another is a world record for most balls on the cup in a row. Either way, it was a very interesting and fun way to ring in the new year!
