Day 6 - 31 December
Jeff turned 25 today! Every place in Chiang Mai was full for the night, so after about 30 phone calls to surrounding areas as well I found us rooms in Chiang Dao. We caught a ride to the bus station and found ourselves the only non-Thais crammed into a seat not made for our American bums! After a bit of stress we managed to find our guesthouse which turned out to be these wonderful huts on a farm in the mountains.
I was worried about Jeff's birthday not being festive so I had a little chat with one of the daughters of the owner. As a surprise to Jeff she cooked a fantastic dinner, with fresh fruits and veggies from her mother's garden.
After dinner she lit the birthday cake that she rode her bike into town to get with "Happy Birthday Jeff" on top. The whole family came and helped sing "Happy Birthday!"
When our bellies were full of cake the family let Jeff light this balloon type thing that villagers light for good luck at occasions such as birthdays and new years. You light the bottom and it creates a gas that makes the balloon light up and fly through the air.
Day 7 - 1 January
We hiked from our guesthouse to Chiang Dao's main attraction, the cave complex leading into the mountain.
The caves were packed with tourists from the city and while we always enjoy being the only white people at tourist attractions it gets a bit claustrophobic on a small pathway in a poorly lit cave with people stopping to touch or photograph Makoa nearly as much as the Buddhas. Outside we admired the Buddhas carved into the base of the mountain
and cooled down with some fresh squeezed orange juice and homemade ice creams in very interesting flavours.
Day 8 - 2 January
After breakfast we headed back to the bus station to return to Chiang Mai.
This time the bus was full and while we sat near each other, Jeff, Don and I were split up and had to ride the hour and a half with almost one butt cheek each on a seat. Makoa was on my lap and fell asleep so I had to try and balance with my arms holding him in the isle - I am really learning about some muscles I didn't realise I had! We went back to Vanilla Place and Makoa was excited to have 'his' room back. I had a massage and Don and Makoa went back to the Antique House again for lunch :) In the evening we took a tuk-tuk to Wat Suan Dok where we met with monks attending the university. There is a monk chat program set up to help the students practice English. They LOVED Makoa and while there was one other couple there slowly ALL of the monks managed to make it to our table and play with Makoa and look at his toys and give him presents and take him for walks . . .
Once the newness wore off a bit Don and I had some really amazing conversations. I was very interested in education and finances (hello, I am Julie Blake Brown) and Don discussed the relevance of Buddhism in modern society (let's just say we were both true to our nature!)
Day 9 - 3 January
How do you know you've spent over a week in cramped corners traveling with three boys? Your son looks at you after you get out of the shower (there is no where else to look in our little room) and says: "Mama naked." Thanks for stating the obvious, I mean, "That's right Koa." Then continues, "Mama no penis. Koa, Dada penis." Again thanks for the obvious as I try not to laugh hysterically or get a little emotional that my baby is growing up and learning the differences between girls and boys already, I say, "That's right Koa, very good observation, Mommy is a girl and doesn't have a penis."
I got dressed and prepared for yet another travel day. Today we fly to the island of Koh Samui. This is Makoa's 22nd flight (I wonder at which point I will stop keeping track . . .) - wow! We arrive at our hotel and find that it has a big tree swing - big plus in our books.
Speaking of books, I was enjoying a little alone time at lunch while the boys were at the swing and when they came back I tried to move some things and dropped my book in the pond. I am only on page 42 so for a week I will continue to read a soggy novel.
Day 10
We took a stroll to town for some sunscreen and some beach toys and weren't too impressed with this island. We are walking over what smells like a sewer on the street and the people are not as nice here. Perhaps they have been bombarded with rude vacationers and have given up on trying to be friendly to everyone. We can't wait to get to our little undeveloped island tomorrow.
During dinner Don went next door to an internet cafe and I ordered Makoa his first fancy drink, a watermelon smoothie. I watched our waitress walk across the street to a stand and get a watermelon to make it!
We walked along the beach on our way back and saw the fancy resorts like I've seen in magazines. It looks like a dream Thai vacation, but I am not sure it would totally be worth the money. Once back to our hotel I ordered us cocktails which we drank with our feet in the sand as Makoa played with his new shovel and pail - now this is a Thai holiday!
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