Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is in northern Thailand and is a unique, fun-filled place to visit. 

Our 1st stop was at the Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep.  It is a temple that overlooks the city.

We then visited the Meo Hill Tribe Village. They live in the hills and used to grow opium there. 

Our next day was very adventuresome.  We started out zip lining through the trees above rice paddies and waterfalls.

This was an incredible zip line. There were 35 stations including rope ladders and bridges. We didn't think any zip line could top the ones in Costa Rica, but these might be the best we've been on. 

A view of the rice paddies below one of the zip line towers. 

We made it to the bottom of the mountain!

We then relaxed by touring an orchid farm where they also had a butterfly house. 

The orchids grow suspended in the air. 

We walked through a large area filled with different butterflies. 

Our next stop was a once-in-a-lifetime experience!  

Yes, it's alive and no, it's not drugged. Talk about a liability issue!  Yikes!  This wouldn't happen in the USA!

At least this one was asleep!

On to the elephant camp!

An elephant painting with it's trunk. 

The finished painting!

Taking a ride. 

A ride on an oxen cart. We then floated down the river on a raft. 

The last stop was to see the long necked women from Burma. 

Sue bought this scarf for 100 baht which is about $3 USD. It took this lady 2 days to weave it. 

The girls start wearing the rings at the age of five. They are added as there is room. 

This little girl is 7 years old and already has many rings. She is sitting with her grandmother. 

This girl is 15 years old. 

Thailand was a very memorable escapade. We loved it!

Thailand - Bangkok

'Note:  Our blog has been completely blocked here in China. We have not been able to post to it for over a month. We think that we have figured out a way to write and post it. We hope so!

October 1st is the anniversary date for the formation of the Communist Party in mainland China.  We were invited to a very nice reception at one of Guangzhou's 5 star hotels to celebrate the event. 

It was the 67th anniversary. The next day we left for a week in Thailand. Bangkok was our first stop.

The president of Thailand was in very poor health when we arrived in Thailand. He died the week after our visit. Many of the places we visited were closed to the public after his death.  

The first place we visited was the Royal Grand Palace. The royal family lived there for centuries. 

Beautiful Thai architecture.  We also visited the Emerald Buddha temple which has an enormous jade Buddha. No pictures allowed.

The next temple was Wat Pho which houses a reclining Buddha that is over 100 feet long. 

A trip down the Chao River gave us a view of life along the river. 

This house is actually occupied!

The Temple of Dawn or Wat Arun is on the river. 

It is very common for men to spend some time during their lives living as monks. 

We were able to spend a day at the world's largest outdoor weekend market. Huge!

Another day took us north of Bangkok to Ayutthaya, the home of the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace. The royal family used this as a summer retreat. 

The grounds were beautiful with shrubs trimmed into the shape of animals. 

Inside one of the buildings. We had to take off our shoes. 

We then visited one of our favorite sites - Wat Mahathat. It reminded us of the ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. 

The tree roots have grown over the statue.  You are not allowed to take pictures if you are not lower than the Buddha, hence Rick is on his knees.

We then took a cruise ship down the river back to Bangkok. 

What a wonderful, exciting place to visit. Our next stop was Chiang Mai. That adventure will be in our next blog. 

Back to Our Life in China

We flew back to China on September 9. Our new teaching contract didn't start until September 15, so we assumed that we would start teaching on Monday, September 19.  That would give us a week to get over our jet lag and get settled in.  Wrong. We got in late Saturday night and found out after church on Sunday that we were to start teaching the next morning, September 12. Yikes!  We hadn't even seen the syllabus until then. On top of it, our luggage didn't arrive with us. We finally had it delivered late Sunday evening.

Seeing one of our old friends here in Guangzhou. This lady has Cerebral Palsy and works all day selling newspapers and magazines.  She dresses in Chinese attire and always wears a hat. We always exchange "hellos" as we pass her newsstand. She was so excited to see us that she was waving at us from a block away. It made us feel as if we had returned home. 

Views from the Canton Tower.  It is 1,916 feet tall.  We visited it on our first day off. We never had a day last year when we were both off and the air quality was good enough to see into the distance. The views were spectacular. 

We rode in the enclosed glass "bubbles" around the top. 

The next day we visited Lotus Mountain with the Homer's. It was another beautiful day in China. 

The sailors coming up the Pearl River knew they were getting close to Guangzhou when they saw the pagoda we are standing by. 

They have old quarries on site that are very interesting to explore. 

This was a restroom at Lotus Mountain. We were wondering what a Momen is.

The mid-autumn festival was celebrated last week. Everyone gives each other moon cakes that are made just for this holiday. 

Our university hosted an activity for us where we learned how to make moon cakes and also dumplings. 

They are molded using these ancient molds. 

We then got to taste the finished products. This is Neen with Rick. He is one of our favorite students at SCUT. His English is excellent. 

This is a typical scene outside our apartment. They set up tables in the parking lot. 

We are getting ready for the National Holiday. It is the first week in October when the country celebrates the formation of the Communist Party. It was officially started on October 1, 1949. The entire country has a week off and most people travel somewhere.  

We will be flying to Bangkok, Thailand for several days and then on to Chiang Mai. We are looking forward to eating lots of delicious Thai food!