Elephants and more....

Sorry we have not posted a blog update in a few days- we have been lacking internet, or a way to upload pictures.

On Thursday we visited an elephant camp in Luang Prabang, and it was an amazing day! We booked a package trip with "Elephant Village", an organization just outside of LP which has 11 female elephants.  We did quite a bit of research before we booked this excursion, to ensure we had chosen the best place (in terms of care and treatment of the animals).  Not only that, but the outfit is set on a beautiful embankment of the river, and the scenery was breathtaking.  

We started the day by getting to know our guide, and learning some of the commands to "control" the elephant.  We then did a ride in a carriage type-thing, and then when we returned we were able to purchase some bananas to feed our elephant.  They LOVED them!  and it was too much fun.  We then stopped for lunch, and after that we did what I was really looking forward to- taking them into the river to bathe them!

After the elephant riding was over, we got to hang out in their beautiful pool.....

When we got back into LP, we crossed the "bamboo bridge" and had a rest in this awesome tree-house bar thing.

We then hiked up to a temple at the top of a giant hill, and watched the sunset.

Then, we witnessed this adorable sight.  A sweet old man serenading an adorable little puppy.  It was quite the moment.

We then traveled down to Vang Vieng, but because Tyson was feeling under the weather, we mainly just relaxed at our hotel.  Today we took a bus down to Vientaine, and then continued on to cross the border back into Thailand.  We are in Udon Thani now, and plan to fly to south Thailand tomorrow.

Thanks for checking in!!

Luang Prabang, Laos

Yesterday we flew from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang, and we are staying in a small guest-house in the downtown area.  The city was previously colonized by the French, so there is French influence in the architecture, food etc.

Today we took part in a day-tour; first a ride in a "slow-boat" (key-word slow....).  We visited the "Buddha cave", which is a place where damaged or old images of Buddha are placed.  Apparently there are more than 4000 in these caves.

After that we visited a village, and then headed back to LP for lunch.  Next we took a van to a waterfall called Kuang Si, which was beautiful!  We jumped in for a swim, and although it was cold at first, the water was very refreshing (especially with the 33+ heat!).  Also, I asked our "tour guide" to take some photos of us swimming in the waterfall.  Turns out he was just another Asian tourist.  Whoops.  I think he was honoured that we selected him specifically out of a crowd to take our photos.

Also, Laos pug-sighting.  We named this one pug-Laos (we named the one in Chiang Mai pug-choi, for those of you who were curious).

Temples and Markets...nothing new!

Yesterday afternoon we took a tuk-tuk to another temple, this one called Wat U-Mong.  This one has chambers that are found inside tunnels, so that was pretty neat.  We learned that this temple was abandoned at some point in time, and then in the last few decades it has been restored.  

We headed out to the night market again, grabbed some dinner and walked around.  The last two nights at the market we have gotten Thai massages- $3.00 per half hour!  Can't beat that!

 I also scored this great find :)

We are off to Laos later today, and not sure what the internet access will be like at our hotel- so please be patient if it takes a few days to get another post up!  Thanks for reading!

Doi Suthep and the Sunday Market

Yesterday afternoon we hired a driver to take us to Doi Suthep, which is a temple way up on the mountain that overlooks the city. The drive was up a very windy road, which took about 40 minutes, and by the time we got there we were both feeling woozy from sitting in the back of the truck. Once you arrive there is a huge climb up a staircase, as you can see below.

The temple is quite beautiful, but the view of the city wasn't as great as we'd hoped.

We had a quick rest at the hotel and then ventured out to the Sunday Market. This picture doesn't do it justice- the market is HUGE. We walked for over 3.5 hours and still did not see it all, and it's absolutely packed with both Thais and tourists.

We didn't buy much as we are trying to pack light, but Tyson did get a nice leather card holder (for $4) and we got a neat piece of art for our home. Today we are just relaxing, possibly visiting one more temple, and going to another market tonight. Tomorrow we fly to Luang Prabang, Laos!

Thai-Pug Sighting!

 Today we got up early and set-out to find breakfast (yesterday we had yummy waffles from a street vendor....4 for less than $1.00) and low and behold, we found our first Thai-pug!  We stopped and had a visit with her and her owner :)  Can you tell we miss Gabby??

Our plan for the morning was to walk around the perimeter of the old city, which is surrounded by a moat and the remains of the wall.  There are lots of neat Buddhist temples which is wandered in and out of, and we stopped and explored a local market.

By noon we were exhausted by the heat, so we stopped for lunch at a place called Bamboo Cafe, and had some delicious pad thai and a mango smoothie.  Tyson tried the local beer, "Chang".

We went back to the hotel and headed straight for the pool.

This afternoon we are going up to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, which is a temple outside of the old city, set up on a hill that overlooks old Chiang Mai.  Then, tonight we'll head to the night market.

Chiang Mai!

We finally arrived in Chiang Mai, our first destination, after a long trip from home (calgary>seattle>tokyo>bangkok>chiang mai).  Once we arrived in Bangkok, we had been awake for over 30 hours and were beyond ready to sleep.  We stayed in a hotel close to the airport, and then the next day took a shuttle bus to the other airport (which is for domestic flights) and then flew up north to Chiang Mai.  We are staying in a lovely little guest house called "Chiang Mai Thai House" that costs $12 per night! 

Today we participated in a day-long Thai cooking class, which was super fun and we learned how to make quite a few delicious Thai dishes (pad thai, several curries, fried spring rolls, green mango salad and of course mango sticky rice!)

We also saw this really neat blue lizard!

Tomorrow we plan to explore some temples in the old city, and then go to the Sunday Night market, which Chiang Mai is famous for! 

Bags are packed!!

Well, this is it! Our lives for the next 6 weeks are packed in these bags.  We've done fairly well with packing light- my bag is about 20lbs and Tyson's is about 30lbs. 

 

Tomorrow morning we are getting picked up at 3am... and then flying to Seattle, then on to Japan, and then finally to Thailand. 

Bittersweet

Last Monday night, Gabby went with our friend Elissa to Ontario. She will be staying with my parents, for which we are grateful. Seeing her go was bittersweet....we miss her so much, but it means we are that much closer to going on our trip!

 

We are now both done work and school, and are just working on packing and the last minute details we have to take care of (getting american cash, making sure we have the right clothes/shoes, booking a few more flights and the first few hotels, getting our house cleaned before we leave etc etc).

 

 

only 3 more sleeps!

The Tentative Plan

After spending over 27hrs in transit, we will arrive in Bangkok, Thailand.  The first leg of our journey takes us up to Chiang Mai, in Northern Thailand. 

We'll spend a few days exploring that city before we fly over to Luang Prabang, in Laos.

After LP, we will head down to Vang Vieng, and then down the Vientiane (the capitol city). 

After Laos, we will be headed to Southern Thailand to get some beach time.  We plan on checking out Krabi, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan.

Next we travel into Cambodia, first to check out Ankor Wat in Siem Reap, and then to Phnom Penh. 

Before departing Cambodia we'll head south to the town of Kep, for a little more beachside R&R.

Finally, the last leg of our trip (might be the best part), we are headed to Bandung Indonesia to see our friends, Matt & Connie, and their two sweet girls.