fight on sc!!!

Come on ... you didn't really think a small trip to Thailand would get in the way of my beloved Trojans! Go SC ... good way to start the season!!!

Anyway, I am writing from Chiang Mai. We have had a great time here so far, although I do have to say that after Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai isn't quite living up to my expectations. Perhaps if we had more time to explore outside the city.

When we arrived yesterday, we were all in awe of our hotel, the Tamarind Village. It is straight out of Architectural Digest. We laid around the pool for awhile and then went on a two-hour boat trip on the Ping River to a fruit farm. The river is pretty polluted, but we saw some beautiful houses. At the farm we tried dragon fruit, which I thought was way too sour, like a lime.

On the trip we met two guys, Thijs from Amsterdam and Nik from Stockholm. After Leanna flirted :) we met up with them at the Night Bazaar. I can't even describe to you how big this thing is. It's huge. We didn't even cover 25% of it so we're going back after we finish checking email. Although we only covered 25%, we did manage to shop a lot!

After another delicious Thai dinner, we met up with the guys and had drinks at the Sham Rock Bar (that's how it's spelled here) and drank Changa beer and played Jenga. Neither boy had ever seen it and by the end, Nik was a monster.

Today we traveled into the mountains to a Hmong Village. The village was interesting ... more cute dogs who will be next week's dinner ... but what was amazing was the scenery. It was like the Amazon ... SO beautiful. We had a to take a 4x4 truck to get there. The sad part was a little dog who kept following us everywhere ... with his front let hanging together by skin :(

On our way back down the mountain we visited temple Wat Doisuthep which is high on the mountain top. It was gorgeous. Buddhas everywhere and a view to die for. Today was the head monk's birthday so we got to see a lot of special ceremonies. Speaking of which, monks are all over this town as it has as many temples at Bangkok. One is sitting next to me now checking out his MySpace friends. I kid you not.

So that is Chiang Mai in a nutshell. It's the market tonight, then to bed early after last night ... followed by a morning massage and then a plane flight to Phuket, the last stop on our journey. I am so excited to head to the beach!!!

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. Miss you all!!!