Arrival in Chiang Mai

I wrote this post last night but couldn’t post it until now…after today I realize im going to need to be a bit more concise because so much goes on in a day!!

My first post and first night it Thailand! My trip started a little more than 24 hours ago. Bittersweet goodbye and I was off to South Korea. I thought I would go crazy on a 13 hour flight but luckily the melatonin, Benadryl, and Dramamine (a little later) knocked me out….which is why I am awake writing this. In South Korea I found Roz and Grace and a few other girls on the program. I attempted to finish my required reading…partial success…and then we were off to customs. Customs and baggage claim were easy. We meet with part of the group and ISDSI reps and head out to our “taxi”. This is where culture shock began. This taxi was basically a read pickup truck with a covering and benches, which looked like a stall for horses . The driver put all our bags on the roof and we all CRAMMED in. Ohhhh…and then we realize that there is no door on the back of this “stall.” So this was the beginning of our journey…

The taxi drops us off at Mountain View Guesthouse. This place is also a bit difficult to describe…mind you, I have only been in Thailand for a couple hours in the dark. It takes a while for the receptionist to figure out what is going on but eventually he brings us all up to the rooms. The rooms have two beds and all are pretty worn in, you could say. But, he asks if we can fit three into a room and of course, we say yes. Language barrier is definitely apparent. He later brings up a little mattress and what looks like someones bedroom sheets and blanket and we make up the mattress. Good news…we have air-conditioning. I was a little concerned at first because Chiang Mai is hot and HUMID. As worn as this place is, it is really beautiful. The rooms all open to the outside. In the middle there are plants/shrubs/trees, picnic tables where we will get our meals, and a huge hammock looking structure.  I have a feeling this is pretty standard.

After we arrive in our rooms, we head downstairs to find the computers to email home! Everything is so cheap here. Internet is 10 baht for a half hour or less and 30  (about $1 I think) for an hour. The receptionist told us to pay whenever since we don’t have the currency yet…not sure that would fly in the good ol’ US.

Just took my first shower and I'm off to bed...not sure I'll fall asleep after sleeping most of the flight to South Korea! 

LATERRRR