Day 20; To the Panviman!

Today was our last full day in Thailand. We head to the airport around noon tomorrow so this will be my last post for a bit due to travel, and time changes, and jet lag etc, etc, etc!

We had a slower morning and packed up all of our gear to head to the spa where we will be sleeping tonight. We said goodbye to our wonderful "hotel mom" named Rung (pronounced roong with a flipped r). She taught us a little thai the last couple of weeks and made us eggs almost every day! She was wonderful!

Then Mr PP picked us up so he could take us somewhere for lunch and deliver us to the spa. I forget the name of the place we stopped at for lunch but it was absolutely beautiful! There were paths to walk all over with gardens and waterfalls. The view from the restaurant was spectacular and the food was so good! 

View at lunch

Mr. PP taking us to the waterfall! 

Lime tree! 

After lunch and our walk Mr. PP dropped us off at the Panviman and helped check us in. About 14 years ago Mr. PP was the architect that designed the spa, and he had a big hand in building it!!! 

When we got there we were all floored! I had looked up pictures online and took a lot myself, but they just don't do it justice! Don't get me wrong, I loved being I'm Chiang Mai, but it's a city and it was fast, and loud, and honestly smelled like garbage a lot of the time! (Probably because there was garbage all over the streets....  like, hot, been sitting in the 95 degree heat for days, garbage smell!) So it was absolutely incredible to just come here and be surrounded with the views and the fresh air! 

Our room is absolutely amazing!  I'd love an apartment the same size! I could live very happily and comfortably! I tried to get pictures, but it's hard to photograph a room! We ditched our stuff and headed straight to the BEAUTIFUL pool! We met 2 little girls there who didn't hesitate to show off their back flip skills! They also told me all about this amazing treat they got... coconut ice cream, with fresh fruit pieces, topped with whipped cream, and served in a coconut!  SERVED IN A COCONUT!  That's like my favorite thing about Thailand! I can eat all the things I want inside the things I love!!!! I told them I had to get it and they told me exactly how! Thank god we met them! 

I felt like a princess!

Part of the resort

one of the pools

another pool....I won't bore you with all of them! 

Obligatory poolside selfie!

After swimming, Morgan and I wandered around for a little while. The whole resort is in the hills so getting from one spot to another is either up a steep hill, or down one. So there are little golf carts that the staff drive around and pick you up or drop you off. You just dial 5 on your phone and tell them where you wanna go and they're there in about 1 minute! We've been mostly walking though. ....afterall, we're about to be crammed in a plane for almost 2 days! 

These are the "meditation caves" there were chairs and ledges everywhere to sit and meditate, and signs asking for quiet. 

the pool area from the main lodge

After wandering I decided to check out the spa treatments and get one! Best decision ever! I got a coconut body scrub with a coconut aromatherapy massage. It was almost 2 hours long and INCREDIBLE!!!!  

Then we grabbed dinner where I just got some spring rolls and that coconut ice cream I'd heard so much about! More walking around, and then we decided to take a quick dip in our balcony jacuzzi. Oh I'm sorry....did I not tell you we had a jacuzzi on our balcany? Cause we do! 

My coconut treat! 

So that's it for today! We just ordered warm brownies for room service! Night guys!!!

Day 19 continued!

Ok! Sorry about that folks!
So, yesterday! Yay graduation! It was really bittersweet though. I'm so glad we finished school, amd I'm so thankful for all I've learned, but I will really miss my new SVG family! They were so wonderful and it will be sad not sharing each day with them.

After our exam, we had a little graduation ceremony and took plenty of photos! We invited everyone to join us for dinner to celebrate school, and our last night in Chiang Mai! And they all came!!! 

As you've already heard,  after dinner there may have been some dancing! It was a blast! But listen, thai clubs...really really hot! Like I was drenched! Lol....great way to end our time here!  Here's a smattering of pics for you all! I have to pack! 

The riverside restaurant where we had dinner! 

taxi ride selfies! Thank god morgan didn't drop her phone!

Family dinner! 

Mr. PP giving me my certificate and striking a pose! 

Our class! 

Look mom and dad! I did it! :) 

Our dancing crew! 

Day 19; oy

Ok, I'll be brutally honest.... we graduated and went out for dinner and then some of us went dancing and drinking. I was in that "some of us " group. It's 2am and I'm not really ready for a blog post! I am safe and sound back in my hotel room. I passed my exam. And tomorrow is our first day in 3 weeks to sleep in! I promise I'll post more later! Goodnight all! :)

Day 18; Study! I guess that's why I'm here!

Well, today was our last full day to practice our massages skills at school. Tomorrow is our last test. They will break us up into morning and afternoon test takers, and Paul told us today that Morgan and I will test first. So think of us when you guys are getting ready for bed tonight because we'll be sweating away trying to give fantastic thai massages!!!

We grabbed an early dinner with our friend Bee and said goodbye to her. Made a quick walk through the night market and are now back to our room studying before trying to get to bed early! Wish is luck! Should have one or two more exciting posts before coming home!

Our dinner! Morgan got pad thai, I got pineapple rice in a pineapple and we shared fries! A little if the east and the west! :) 

Bee brought us out a surprise plate of fresh pears and mangos! We didn't have the heart to tell her how full we were so we ate as much as we could before our stomachs knew what was happening! That was my 3rd mango today... not sure if that's a good thing or not! 

Day 17; more school, more town

Well, like the title of the blog states, more school today. We finished up all the new material for level II though!  Tomorrow is a practice day and then our exam is on Friday. I'm feeling a lot better about this one than last week's. Although, my thumbs are really sore! Might need a little rest for them when all is said and done!

Anyway, tonight we went to the night bazaar since there was nothing else to do! Morgan and I found our favorite bartender Bee again and she was soooo happy to see us! I seriously love Thai people! They are so happy and friendly! She taught us a couple of new phrases and we promised to have dinner with her tomorrow night since that is the last night we'll get to see her.

I know these last few posts haven't been super exciting, but it's been mostly school this week! Tomorrow will be about the same with small updates I'm sure so thanks for sticking with it guys!  :)

I did buy myself a dragon fruit today! Very beautiful, but kind of boring! I heard it tasted kind of like kiwi, but honestly I didn't even taste that! Very bland. 

Day 16; practice, practice, practice!

Guess what?! More school today! It seemed hard for me too! I think we were all kind of tired and it was really really hot. I know I've said that in about 10 posts, but it honestly seemed hotter today! I had to take breaks from working on my partner because my face was dripping on her!

Other than that, not a whole lot happened. We got back and swam before doing some laundry and getting dinner. Morgan and I didn't want to go to the bizarre tonight cause we're wiped out, so we're just hanging out at the hotel and relaxing and doing some studying. Well, that's what we should be doing. It hasn't happened yet, but honestly, as soon as I'm done with this post I'll hit the books!

On the plus side...when we don't go adventuring it gives me a chance to upload some other random photos that I haven't been putting in the other daily posts!  So here are some more!

We needed to strike a dramatic pose at the rooftop bar! I'm pretty sure we nailed it!

This is Bee. She is a bartender at a cute little spot Morgan and I found. She was so friendly and we spent about an hour and a half there talking to her and learning Thai prases! 

I just really like this picture! This is me showing Anna a selfie of the two of us that I just bullied her into! She's not big into photos so it was pretty great to see her laughing about it! 

This elephant's name is Lucky. She is the one we got to bathe. She is completely blind but very calm. She will follow you anywhere as long as you call her name out! She just doesn't like to be snuck up on, so when approaching we just had to tell her we were coming. She was beautiful and so sweet. 

And just so you guys know it's not ALL play time! We are doing work too! My thumbs and hands are actually starting to feel pretty tired at this point! Good pain though! 

Oh....did you know that half the fun of learning a new modality is that half the time, you get to be the "model" that your partner practices on? And trust me, even a novice thai massage is better than none! Especially when Morgan is your partner!!! 

Day 15: back to class

Not a whole heck of a lot to report today everyone. We started level II Thai Massage today which is exciting! Can't believe we're on our last week here already! After class we unwound a bit and then got caught in a rainstorm on our way to finding a place to eat dinner! Always an adventure! 

I actually didn't have a super awesome day so after dinner my roommate Morgan decided we needed to explore and grab a drink! So explore we did! We found a fun little outdoor bar with live music....the singer was Thai, singing mostly beatles songs! I would've recorded or taken pics, but I left my camera behind due to the rain!  After that we found another local bar with the sweetest bartender you've ever met! Her name was Bee and she taught us lots of useful Thai phrases that I'll test out on you all soon! We promised her we'd come by again before heading home!

Now I'm back at the hotel, it's 10:30 pm and I need to redo some notes from class today before I fall asleep! Thanks for reading everyone!

Have I mentioned that the mangos here are so perfect and sweet and delicious?! I've had one every day and I'm going to miss them so much! (I can cut them like a pro now BTW!)

Morgan and I in the black room at the rooftop bar last night!  Nice teeth! Lol

This picture isn't that exciting...I just got pumped cause it was a Kabota and that's where one of my best friends works back home! So this pic is for you Darrell Morgan!!!! They use Kabotas at the elephant nature park in Chiang Mai Thailand!!!

Day 14; Elephants!!!!!

How do I even start a post like this?!

We spent the day at the Chiang Mai elephant nature park. If you've never heard of it, please google it. They are doing such amazing work! Right now they are home to 44 rescued elephants and about 100 or so dogs and cats! Each elephant has its own tragic story about how it ended up at this park. I won't break your hearts with that right now, but trust me, they are living much better lives now!

We got to the park and got to feed them (we actually fed them about 4 or 5 times....elephants eat a lot!). We got to give them a bath and pet them and walk with them and feed them some more! It was crazy! Each elephant has its own mahook  (I'm sure I spelled that wrong but it's basically their own private handler). They walk with them everywhere all day long and give them food and keep them calm and whatever else the elephant needs!

Most of the elephants we saw were incredibly friendly. You have to approach them slowly, not from the side or behind, or even directly head on! But once they realize you are friendly or have food they pretty much relax! But elephants are big guys! These were Asian elephants which aren't as big as African elephants, but they were still huge! It was amazing! I hugged so many elephant trunks today! I gave some of them shoulder rubs, and fed them watermelon and stuff, and threw water at them! I could do that every day and be happy! It's absolutely incredible the amount of time and effort and money and love that goes into this park! I'm completely floored by it! Oh but don't ever touch the babies! Elephants are incredibly protective and won't hesitate to charge you if you come near their young!

begging for food! 

How can I resist?! 

an elephant family having a meal together 

braving the proximity to baby for the perfect shot! Lol....we were lucky!

Best I could do for an elephant selfie!

Snack time. ....again

Oh baby elephant! We get it...you're adorable!

Not zoomed in. ....just really close!

Lol...these elephants we were feeding and they were practically on top of us! As soon as we ran out of food they walked away and did this!  "Later losers!"

Day 13; Alms and cooking class!

What a wonderful and exhausting day! We started our Saturday morning by leaving our hotel around 6:30 to go to the alms. Every morning the monks from the local temples walk the streets with collection bowls for people to donate food and water and anything else. After the collections are gathered, the monks will combine everything and split it up amongst themselves evenly. This will be their food and water for the day. They do this everyday!

We got to participate with the help of our temporary guide Wit (a good friend of Pok's!) Wit was just about the happiest man I'd ever met in my life and I told him so! He made my whole day with his smile and energy first thing in the morning! I insisted on a picture together since I wouldn't be able to take him home in my suitcase like I wanted too!

The monks walking down the main road. Notice the tiny one in the middle! 

After you donate, you kneel and the monks will say a prayer for you.

Wit, the happiest man alive! 

After we finished the Alms, we grabbed some breakfast before being picked up again to head to the Thai Farm Cooking School!

We were asked to fill out cards indicating which dished we wanted to learn to cook. I was surprised with how many choices they gave us! 

I did a little bit of a variety so I can cook things for lots of my friends and family! 

Our guide ' s name was Thurian, and our first stop was the local market to get the ingredients that don't grow on the farm. Thurian taught us a lot about different items there and all the essentials for a well stocked Thai kitchen! 

I stocked up on some mangos and rombutan while we were at the market because they are so cheap and I won't eat them this fresh or this sweet maybe ever again!!! 

After the market we got to the school where we were asked to wear red aprons and large hats to protect us from the sun while we toured the farm! Again, Thurian taught us a ton about the food they grow and tricks they have for a well tended farm! We got to sample almost all the plants there! For example; lemon grass, galangal, peppers  (hot and mild), ginseng, amd everyone's favorite....pineapple cut right from the stalk in front of us! 

Once the tour was over we gathered at the table to start cooking! To save time a lot of the ingredients are prepped in advance, but we do most of the work!  ; ) 

The way the day kind of ran was that we would prep something, learn how to cook it, cook it, then eat it immediately. After we finished we would move on to the next dish and do the same! So there was cooking, then eating, then cooking, then eating, then some more cooking, more eating, and finally cooking and eating! It was sort of awesome! What we couldn't finish we got to bag up and save for dinner! 

Thurian showing us how to set fire to the oil in our woks during our curry prep! 

I won't post all the food pictures because there were a lot and I'll need some new ones to post on all the social media's when I get home! But here are some of my favorite photos from the day! 

Ok....so as you've heard, mango and sticky rice is my absolute favorite thing here! I have shared photos of the blue rice! I asked Thurian how they do it and apparently it's with a flower called butterfly pea, and she showed me how today! So I bought some of the dried flowers to bring home and try it on my own!!! 

We also made green rice just for fun! So beautiful and tastey!!!

The whole cooking crew today! 

Some of the girls enjoying their work! 

After the school with full bellies we returned to the hotel. We went for our customary, end of the busy day swim in the pool before making evening plans. Morgan and I went adventuring on our own for a bit before meeting up with the others to head to the Saturday night market. Not quite as intimidating as the Sunday market, but there were moments when it got a little hairy!  (Getting stuck between two elbows literally on my face, you'd think someone would notice!) 

The group really wanted to find some cocktails but it was so crowded we couldn't seem to manage it! You're allowed to drink in public here and there's even a drink cart that sometimes rolls around!  A passion fruit mojito is what we were craving! But alas, no cart in site and we were fading fast! So taxi ride "home" and beers from the corner store it was!  I hadn't eaten since we left the school at 3, so by 9:30 I was ready for dinner and then bed! What a day! :) 

 Just eating my left over pad thai from a bag on my hotel room floor and drinking one of my favorite Thai beers! Full stomach and a happy heart!