day 12: thrill-seeking tourists

day 12

ryan: what do you want to do today?

me: i don't know.  maybe go rock climbing.

ryan: yeah, but if it rains, we will have to stop and it won't be worth it.

me: aw crap, you're right.  um, bungy-jumping?

ryan:  yeah?!

me: yeah! (squeel)

in the picture below, the guy is asking me if i have ever done this before.  and my reaction is "no" with the following face.

my jump:

ryan's jump:

now we are addicted and craving another jump.

day 11: jungle flying

day 11

we took a 1.5 hour drive up into the mountains.  as we were driving, there were times when it felt like the truck was going to tip backwards because the climb was so steep, but once we got to the top the view was amazing.  at the top is where we climbed into trees, hooked ourselves in a harness, placed our hair caps on our heads, and strapped on our helmets.  we zip-lined from treetop to treetop, walked across wooden bridges that were nearly 100 yards from the ground, and zip-lined straight down from the treetop to the ground. 

during this free-fall, the workers played a funny joke on ryan by telling him to unhook one of his straps, (which is what we were suppose to do), but as soon as ryan unhooked they yelled, "no no!", to scare him.  they did it to me too.

day 10: elephant trekking

day 10

we woke up, had our usual breakfast and then waited on the front porch of our b&b for our ride to pick us up.  when the truck pulled up, we hopped inside and joined 7 other guys from the UK.  we all squeezed into the back of the truck and headed on our way to the mountains for an all day adventure of elephant trekking, hiking, waterfall swimming, and white water rafting.

first was the elephant trekking.  it was a 45 minute trek through the jungle.  the elephants carried us through a ravine and up alongside a narrow trail on a mountain.  afterwards we were all served lunch and then headed out for hiking.

the hike was probably the best hike i have ever done.  it was a two hour hike on a narrow path that ran alongside a raging river.  we were given hiking sticks at the beginning of the hike.  at first i thought that it was a cute idea, but then i realized that we would need those sticks in order to save our lives.

the water was abnormally high due to monsoon season.  at several different times on our hike we had to cross the river by balancing on a small log that had been thrown from one side to the other.  we had to climb over boulders, weave in and out of tree roots that had been uprooted and blocking the trail, and jump from rock to slippery rock that was in the river and part of the trail.  it rained for the whole duration of our hike, so the trail was really muddy and rarely visible.  my walking stick saved me from sliding in the mud and down the cliff into the river.  eventually the hike led us to a gigantic waterfall.


below is a picture of one of the log contraptions we had to balance on to cross the river.

after our hike we headed to another part of the same river to go white water rafting.  this was probably my favorite part.  we had fun group on our raft and we raced the other rafts down the river.

later that night we met up with all the same guys that went on the adventure with us.  we went to a reggae bar and hung out and eventually danced the night away.

day 9: chiang mai

day 9


our first day was pretty relaxing.  we spent the day exploring the city we were in.

the first thing on the agenda was to sleep in.  once we woke up we got our usual breakfast.  since we were staying at a bed and breakfast, we got breakfast every morning.  we would eat outside at the tables, take our time eating and read our books.

on day 9 we spent a long time relaxing, taking a nap, reading and lounging around the garden.

next was a must: eat some thai food in thailand.  our first experience was a major success.  as we sat at lunch we both agreed that it was the best thai food we had ever had, and it only cost about 2 bucks total!  we ordered pad thai and green curry, our two favorite dishes.

after lunch we visited a monastery and saw some monks sitting before a buddha statue in silence.

then, of course, we had to get thai massages for about 7 bucks each.  it was our first time getting thai massages.  these woman didn't hesitate to start pressing their elbows into our thigh muscles and using all their weight to add more pressure, all the while we are folded in a pretzel.  i'm a big fan of massage therapist stretching me during my massage, but i have never had it this intense.  i think at one point i was in a back bend while she was pushing her elbow into my leg.  the massage ended with us laying our heads in their laps while they rubbed our scalp, shoulders and neck.

when we finished, it was time to eat more thai food. after dinner we went to a muay thai fight.  this was really exciting for us because lately we have been obsessed with the ultimate fighter.

the first two fights are little boys, about 8 years old.  it was heartbreaking for me to watch because the kid who lost would look like he was going to cry, especially when he would get thrown down really hard and the crowd would go wild.  He seemed so embarrassed.

we also got to see some women fighters.  we both thought that they were more entertaining than the men, because as soon as the bell would ring and the music would start, they would go at each other throwing elbows and punches, clinching in for the knees and tossing each other around the ring.

ryan and i bet each other on each fight.  the winner of the night got to get the best version of a thai massage from the other person.  i won.

game bong

i'm taking a quick break from our vacation posts to post about one of my friends birthdays.  we had a great weekend with friends celebrating.

we went to a place here called a "game bong" which means game room.  it's genius.  it's a giant room full of tables, comfy chairs, a cafe and all the games you would want.  when we sat down at the table, one of the workers handed us a menu full of games.  each table is equipped with two blow-up hammers that are used to hit the person who lost the game.  it cost about 2 bucks for the first hour, and then any additional hour is .40 cents.  this particular game room was on the sixth floor, so we had a great view.

we played a few new games that we loved, but we spent the majority of the time playing speed uno.  it's became pretty intense at our table.  other people were often alarmed by our screaming and laughing.

day 8: onward to thailand

day 8

we spent a day of travel to go to thailand.  first we had to fly from cebu island to manila, philippines.  we had to catch another flight from manila to bangkok, thailand.  immediately from our flight into bangkok, we had to catch an overnight train from bangkok to chiang mai, thailand.  and of course our day of travel was on my birthday.  it's okay though, because ryan made up for it by waking me up to him singing happy birthday to me.  i told him the day before that it was all i wanted for my birthday this year.

we started the day with pancakes for breakfast.  we ordered chocolate chip peanut butter pancakes, and lemon cream cheese pancakes.  mmmhhmmm!

we gave the philippines a korean goodbye.  in korea, everyone poses for pictures with the peace sign.

next it was onto the trains.

our train had to stop about 4 hours from our destination, because the tracks were flooded, so we had to take a 4 hour bus ride into chiang mai.  once we were there we rode in a tuk tuk to our bed and breakfast.

we really enjoyed staying at this bed and breakfast.  it was full of fellow backpackers from all over the world.  we made a lot of friends in chiang mai due to backpackers season.  breakfast was served everyday in this outdoor eating area near their garden and water fountain. the bed and breakfast was located about a 2 minute walk off of one of the main roads.  we were able to walk everywhere we needed to go.  the streets were full of shops, restaurants, massage parlors and foreigners.