Happy Kid

I'm a happy kid these days. Despite the 40 million mosquito bites I have, I'm absolutely in love with this country. The people are wonderful, the country is beautiful, and there is something magical about being here. I love absorbing the culture and learning new things everyday. Like how to navigate the streets of Chiang Mai. Or reading in the day bed at our guesthouse. No doubt it can be horribly stressful sometimes, but all in all, Chiang Mai has definitely broken into my top 5 cities in the world. Along with Thun/Switzerland, Stockholm/Sweden, San Francisco/CA, and Timaru/New Zealand. It's funny that many of these cities aren't the biggest cities or the flashiest cities, but they hold very strong and happy memories of traveling or meeting wonderful people.

Funny things about Thailand that I've noticed- street lights have giant timers in Bangkok. Meals average about $2. The school next door to our hostel has a PA system and the instructor teaches the children the Hoki Poki, and the Macarena (sp?) all day. The music in restaurants includes American songs by Pit Bull, but often the lyrics are sung by a random Thai person (in English). And Tiger Balm...man, that stuff is amazing for mosquito bites. It has menthol in it so it's very cooling.

We just booked our hotel for the Full Moon Party at the end of Jan. The end of Jan and first week of Feb are going to be spent on the beaches of Thailand- scuba diving, snorkeling, and mellowing on the beach. It'll be a lovely continuation of my 9 month summer :)