Chiang Mai

Scott and I finally made it to Chiang Mai yesterday after an eight hour bus ride to Bangkok and a fifteen hour train ride to Chiang Mai... it was so long and I am so happy to not be traveling around again for a while. Chiang Mai is different than I expected I think I thought it would be a lot smaller with a lot less people. It is quite a bit warmer here than it was in Koh Phagnan which really surprised me. I think we must have hit that island at just the perfect time because the weather was awesome the whole time we were there. It was cooler (less humid and hot then Flordia even). Despite the heat Chiang Mai is a really cool place. It has a lot of really good food and shopping that my mom would die for. Mom you would love it here there are so many things to buy and everyone is willing to barter. It is quite a bit cheaper than BKK or Koh Phagnan and there are temples on every street. We rented a motor bike but we have been mostly walking as it is difficult to navigate the streets (most of them are not marked) and there are alleys that branch into other alleys that can be a bit confusing. We are settling in and I think we are finally almost caught up on sleep. It was so funny because we got here on July 5th (July 4th in the US) and there are signs everywhere that say Happy New Year and even a Merry Christmas one at our hotel... they are a little fuzzy on what July 4th is but they know it involves fire works and they put up the New Years banners for the Americans (ha ha). We love and miss you guys!