Sorry about the radio silence here, it's been a tiring and somewhat stressful few days, waiting for internship results. In case you haven't already seen our posts, I matched! Mu and I will be moving to Baltimore come summer. In the meantime, we're still in Thailand for a few days, continuing to do fun things. This will be a summary post without pictures, since we're a little behind on getting those up.
So, highlights! On Wednesday, we went to the zoo, which was one of our favorite things from the last trip. It was as big as we remembered, and just as great! Of course, I had to feed hippos and giraffes again (as did Mu, but I had been looking forward to the hippos pretty much since last trip). There were also adorable adolescent monkeys playing what I can only describe as tag -- they kept running after each other, taking turns chasing and being chased, and literally bouncing off walls in the process. There was also a tiny baby monkey who was clearly still trying to get the hang of the game. He'd chase the teenagers a bit, but when he got too close, he'd freak himself out and run away! It was super cute and we hung out for a good 10 minutes, just watching them. Monkeys doing cannonballs off their structure into the moat is especially amusing. :) It was nice to visit again, especially since we came earlier in the day and were less hurried than the last time. We got to take our time and be leisurely, and even visit the surprisingly pretty rose garden in the middle. We also probably walked about 5 miles, which was a good thing, because we had a foodie tour in the evening!
The foodie tour was through the same company that the morning tour was with last week. This time, there was another couple on the tour, from England, and a different guide, Montri. We visited two different markets and tried a huge variety of things! There was stir fry with squid (cooked very nicely), preserved egg (a strange ingredient and one I wouldn't choose on my own), and frog (to make the most cliched statement ever, it really did taste like chicken). There was also stewed pork leg and garlicky chicken and spicy fish soup and spicy pork salad, all in close succession. We then had dessert, mochi and egg in coconut milk. We thought this meant the end of the tour, but it was only a break before moving to the next market. There, we had the smoothest green curry I've ever had (yum!), more Chiang Mai sausage, some very strange jelly dessert, mango and sticky rice, and a coconut flour pancake thing. It was super tasty, but we thought we were gonna explode by then! It's a good thing we prepared for this and only had a small meal earlier in the day. :)
The next day, Thursday, was very relaxing, as we went tubing down the Ping river with Chiang Mai Tubing, a very well-run operation. We were driven (along with about 16 others) for about an hour up the river, to the Chiang Mai Beach Club, which had cabana-like things with hammocks and cushions, as well as a volleyball net and other games. After selecting what drinks we wanted to have on the river with us, we were driven another ways up and dropped off with our tubes at a convenient entrance. Everyone got their own tube, and each group also got a tube with a cooler with ice and their drinks, as well as an oar. You then strapped your tubes together so you wouldn't get separated and went floating down the river at a leisurely pace -- it took us about 2.5 hours to float the 8km (or so). It was really great -- quiet, not too hot since you're on the water, and utterly relaxing. Upon our return, we camped out in the hammocks, barbecued skewers (it was a choice between DIY skewers or American-style burgers, and we had no desire for the latter), and generally relaxed some more with our books before returning to Chiang Mai in the evening.
We knew that yesterday (Friday) was going to be a stressful day due to waiting for internship results, so we booked a tour for early in the morning, since we were unlikely to sleep well in any event. It started at 6am (!) with a visit to a morning market to buy food to give to monks. Monks have to rely on the community to feed them, so every morning, they go walking with their bowls, dispensing blessings in exchange for food. They go barefoot, so when you approach them, you have to take off your shoes as well. You put food in their basket, then kneel/squat and they recite a blessing. We gave food to novices (a monk under 20, we've been privately calling them baby monks) who looked like they couldn't have been more than 10! They recited the blessing in unison, very precisely. We also got to visit Wat U-Mong, a temple in the forest, and hear some monks chanting, as well as another wat (I don't remember the name) where we attended a talk by one of the monks. He had great English and was actually quite funny and engaging, and of course the message of letting go of attachments was quite timely, given the internship nonsense. We were super sleepy by the end of this, but it was very worth it.
Today, we've been taking it easy. We stayed up late with excitement of the match, so we've been resting and wandering. We did get some things at Warorot market, and will probably go to the Saturday walking street (another night market) tonight, mostly with the goal of eating more yummy street food. I can't believe that we leave in 2 days!
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