Monday, February 1, 2010

Country Roads







This is what we look like when we blog



Update on Elephant, Tang and Mosquito counts:
Elephants- sitting at the bar our first night in Chiang Mai we saw a baby elephant walk by!! This is not a joke and elephant did in fact walk by the bar!! We tried to get a pic but apparently those things are quick. Then on our way ATVing we stopped at an elephant camp and we got to see a mama and baby elephant. This baby was soooo cute he had little hair and was just adorable!! We were told this baby was born in the jungle but is now at the camp until he is a bit older!
Tangs- still no tangs tho Caitlin mistook a squirrel for a monkey (it did have a rather monkeyish tail)
Mosquitos- still in Malaria country and one of those suckers got Caitlin through her pants!! Tomorrow is Malaria pill Tuesday for those of you who follow us on Twitter!

We arrived in Chiang Mai and checked into our hotel pretty easily. We found a cute western saloon down the street and were able to get ahold of Aubree for her 26th birthday! Woo hoo! We were very excited. We drank some beers and watched the Liverpool game and actually more of the very cute soccer players. We were in the minority due to our total lack of knowledge of professional soccer or even what tournament we have been hearing about since Vietnam but we chose to root for Liverpool because that’s what all the little kids in Sihanoukville were abuzz about.
The next morning was Sunday, which is not God’s day in Chaing Mai…but the day of the Sunday night MARKET! Worship we did. (We have really slowed our roll on the buying though…we just like to look.) During the day we booked our outdoor adventure activities and visited a wat, had a pedi and once again waited around for an appropriate time to go marketing.
The market was HUGE!! It took up about 10 square city blocks and had stalls selling everything from keychains, to t-shirts, to chocolate covered bananas to sushi (which we have been craving but didn’t try because we didn’t know how long it had been sitting out). We did buy a lot of things at this market but the prices were much lower than what we had been seeing at other markets and there were some really neat, handmade, one of a kind items to be had. We a few hours shopping before the chaos of the market got to us and we decided to call it a night. We went back to the saloon for a light dinner and drinks before heading to bed.
We got up bright and early at 7:30 this morning to go ATVing. The drive took about an hour and a half as we went out into the country towards Burma. Once we got to the site we had a quick lesson on driving the quad which seemed very intimidating but apparently the Kates are born- ATVers!! The guide was impressed by how quick we took to driving the quad and maneuvering on the bumpy practice track. Before we knew it we were on the road heading out to the trails. I know many of you will be surprised but we really loved ATVing!! It was so much fun- Caitlin even commented that she wished it were muddier so we would have gotten to splash through mud puddles. (???) We were with a cute Turk/Thai family (we don’t think it was sex tourism) and the mom just kept telling us how good we were doing! It was cute because as the Thai ATV instructor was teaching us about the quad (in English) she would retranslate for us into Mom English to make sure that we were careful of the hot exhaust pipe and the potholes on the road. Our trip took us up paved roads till we got to a forest where we were able to off-road down steep, bumpy, narrow paths which were right next to ravines. Apparently the guide kept telling the Thai mom how good we were doing!! We had so much fun we are looking into ATVing in another town- now we can do the full day advanced courses we are so good!!
After lunch we headed back into Chiang Mai and relaxed for a bit and now we blogging, school working, and travel booking before heading to…ANOTHER MARKET!!
Tomorrow we are doing a overnight white water rafting/ zipline tour- stay tuned!! We have run into some problems with the Laos leg of our trip. The 3 day slow-boat is the big un-miss-able trip in all the travel books and we have been excited for it and have planned three day trip taking care of elephants there while we were there…however we are finding it hard to find a way to get from there to southern Thailand without spending close to a week on buses or spending 400 USD on plane tickets. Stay tuned for that new info as well!
Keep leaving the love!!!!

9 comments:

  1. Two blogs in one day, I feel like its Christmas.
    So I noticed neither of you are wearing helmets on the ATVs. The mom/ER nurse factor is really kicking in.
    Your elephant going by the bar story was pretty cool. Had you been drinking a lot when you saw the elephant. No shipping any baby elephants home Caitlin.

    The 3 day trip does sound like a great experience but getting there does seem a bit challenging/expensive.
    Continue with the photos, they are incredible and its nice to see you faces. Miss you.

    Love you both,
    mom

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  2. Feel free to ship baby elephants or puppies to Pittsburgh! PG would be thrilled! I hope you have an excellent time on the white water rafting/zip line trip...it sounds like you are having so much fun and I'm jealous!!! I mean its no ATVing in Chiang Mai, but I am updating my computer's operating system today, so feel free to be jealous of my life as well. Miss you both muchos!

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  3. I'm not sure if you two are born ATV drivers or the guide liked the bumpy roads and bumpy boobs! I agree with Mom about the elephant, was the baby elephant pink by any chance? Not doing any funny stuff over there are you?
    Missing you both, glad your safe and having fun.
    Love AJ

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  4. Hello Ladies....the dorky mom who wears HER helmet while biking in Palmyra is kicking in(not that you two made fun of her or anything) ...Like the other Kate's mom, I wonder, where are yourhelmets??? Loved hearing about the day though.

    You took me by surprise - I was just re-checking on your last posting and BAM, this one was here. Love sharing your adventure with you. Continue to have wonderful experiences, and stay safe. Miss and love you both.

    Mom

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  5. hello ladies!

    2 blogs at once is quite a treat!!

    not going to lie, you 2 look good on those quads!! i guess i know what to get Caitlin for her birthday. (May birthdays deserve excellent presents). i am going to have to agree with the parental units and ask where the heck are your helmets??? hopefully, when you post the pictures of your future full day ATVing experience, they will include a full array of proper safety equipment!

    sorry to hear about you laos troubles. im sure it will only take a few beverages for you to come up with a suitable solution!

    enjoy your whitewater rafting and zip lining adventures! i know youll love zip lining. its so fun!!

    i would also like to request a baby elephant. thanks.

    miss and love you,

    jay

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  6. Ladies, Always one to see the positive, I have to let you know I did a full screen on those ATV pictures and while it was of concern that you were not wearing helmuts, I was able to see good solid footwear and not flip flops. Good job, girls, good job!

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  7. caitlin, how did you get the bruises on your arms in the blogging picture?

    update from bridget world: i rearranged my bedroom yesterday.

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  8. OH MY GOD.... If you say Liverpool one more time! There is only one futbol team you are allowed to follow. I can't believe you even think about others... I understand about the cute boys but all you have to do is go to the Feisty Goat and if you say you follow the best team in all the land then sing the Manchester United Football fight song! Here is the a little refresher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxR-bdoP57c
    And they won this weekend 3-1 (Arsenal)... in case you wanted to know !!!! YEAH BABY!!!!

    Other than that... elephant sitings are always cool! And you will love White Water Rafting! It is sooo much fun.. if you like it, we'll plan a trip to West Virginia in the Fall.
    Miss and Love ya,
    Fish

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  9. there were helmets people! we wore helmets and facegear and eye protection...these pictures were taken before we started the engines! slow your rolls!!

    bridget- caitlin's bruise is from a nasty attach of the backpack. It was harsh! You should see it now...looks worse with the tanning. how did you re-arrange the room??

    AJ- there are no drugs!!

    A- good job on the operating system..we'll look into elephant shipment. a gift from us to PG.

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