[Just some sweet shots of the tigers playing when we weren't in there with them :)]

*Rode an elephant for an hour - I loved the feeling of my bare feet on the elephant's neck and head. It was very cool.

*Watched an elephant show [Must See the Videos!]
-they bow and toot like a Thai bow and “sa wad dii”
-they played soccer
-they painted incredible pictures – each one different – some flowers, some mountains, or an elephant or something altogether abstract.

* Held Snakes

[These are poisonous jumping snakes that seriously scared me to watch and this kid caught that with his mouth after it lunged into the air for him . . .]

[The guy holding the snake here reached back and pinched the back of my leg HARD to make me jump and scream - of course the audience loved it :)]

*Saw paper umbrellas being made.
-women there doing the same tedious task (ie gluing or cutting or shaving or painting) for 20 years straight and they are so happy and say that they aren’t bored. Why can’t I be more content with a simple life? I should be.
-had an elephant painted on the corner of my shirt by one of the umbrella painters

*Visited temples in Chang Mai - [All but one small one was open on the inside. You see the monks in orange wandering around. People were there praying and burning incense in front of these statues - notice them in front of the statue with the umbrella thing over him - . . .all very foreign to me and I felt bad for them and I felt bad for God. I wanted to run up and say "Hey! These are just statues! Pray to your father in heaven - the ONE TRUE GOD! You don't need these flowers and candles and jewels to communicate with him. He hears your heart. He loves you. Pray to HIM! These people are trying so hard to communicate and do things right and somewhere along the way there was a big miscommunication . . .]

Scooters and Elephant Love :)

March 2nd, 2010

Now I am on a train to Bangkok. There is way too much to write and I knew this would happen is I didn’t force myself to write everyday. Matt and I have just been going and going and we come back home wasted every night. There is so much to take in and so much that I want to record.

*Everyone carries umbrellas and wears long sleeve shirts and hats and even face covers to protect their skin from the sun. They want to be as white as possible. It is interesting how serious they take it and how opposite it is from our culture of wanting to be tan and exotic.

*They attach everything and anything to a scooter. Their entire food stand will be attached to the side of their scooter or they have big metal crates with a bench attached to help carry the family or supplies.


[I am just throwing this picture in here to quickly show this other form of transportation. It is basically a tuk tuk but with a bike instead of a scooter. This above picture is obviously a set up, but the real ones look just like this minus the flowers. The irony is that these "saam " are almost always pedalled by a really old man! It is so weird to see these grandpas out there lugging all these young people around. It just doesn't seem right.]

*After the hour ride on the elephant and after feeding them bananas and sugar cane numerous times you would think I was raised with the elephants! I am so comfortable with them! Honestly we have run into a couple elephants on the street and I practically run up and hug them and let them get their snotty trunks all over me as they search for food from me. I just think it’s amazing how comfortable I am with these huge animals. They are just like large playful horses (that are always hungry :) It is really cool to feel the big rough trunks coil around your hand to get the food.

[I know these are all pictures of Matt but I'm usually the one behind the camera. So either before or after these pictures I was hugging these animals :) I usually beat Matt to the punch :)]