Safe Arrival

Everything's gone really smoothly so far. Bus rides were okay. Ferry was okay. Flights okay too. I guess I learned the ropes after doing everything I could possibly do wrong last time (haha ok maybe it wasn't so bad). Even the taxi driver found the guesthouse with no problem.

Oh, only thing that went wrong is I forgot to take my nose medicine an hour before the plane took off. For BOTH flights (maybe I did it on purpose subconsciously, nose medicine is gross). Anyway, going up wasn't so bad, but it really sucked when we were descending. I thought my head was going to explode. My whole face hurt. I was worried my ear drums would tear. Can that happen?

There's no Internet at the park, so I can't use my iPhone. Last time, the staff said they would contact my parents to tell them I arrived safe, but no one did. This time, I decided to get a cell phone so my parents could call me instead. Incoming calls are free for me haha!

When I got to the guesthouse, Eric and his family came to pick me up. His older two kids room at school. It's summer vacation now, but they're working at school so I didn't meet them.

Eric drove us to airport central plaza. I picked out the phone and he handled the rest. It was really easy! I was going to go with the cheapest phone, buut I ended up getting a pretty pink flip phone. Haha

By the way, no protestors here. Not even traffic! Safe :)

My bags are packed

I'm ready to go!

Tomoe Sensei picked me at 8:30. It's been raining all day, so I'm glad I got a ride.

Phonecall to Eric

Today, I called Eric (and actually got through for once!).

It was good to catch up. I can't believe I'll be in Thailand by Friday. That's five days from now. And then another two more until I go to the park.

Eric offered to drive me to the mall so I can get a cellphone. When I get to the guesthouse on Friday, I will give him a call. After I get hooked up with a number, I'll probably get to meet his family.

I found out he has SIX children. I wish I knew earlier so I could have sent them something in the mail. He said he never told me because I never asked. He doesn't look THAT old but I remember that most of the staff at the park surprised me with their age.

Good news. I didn't get Pon's birthday wrong. Eric received the package and he was able to give it to him on his actual birthday. I hope he liked it.

Flight of the Gibbon

I made a reservation for one, with Flight of the Gibbon. I asked for the earlier time slot because it`s discounted and I can walk around Chiang Mai (or nap) in the afternoon. They are picking me up at 6:30 from the hostel. I am so excited! I hope it is as fun as it looks. It is not just swinging around on ziplines in the canopy. We get to walk to some pretty waterfalls and visit a village too.

Now, my major weekend activities are set. The rest of the time will be walking around Chiang Mai and shopping at the markets. First stop, get a cell phone!

Sarah Guesthouse

I booked a hostel with cheap tour packages you can add onto your stay. I plan to do the trek on Saturday. It will be something relaxing to do before I go to the park.

One Day Trek - Sanpathong Area (ref.CM01S)
This one day trek includes all the activities of a trek - elephant riding, rafting and hiking. The trekking area is approx. one hour south of Chiang Mai in the foothills of Doi Inthanon. Ride on the elephants for approx. 1hr. and cruise down the river on a bamboo raft at the end of the day for approx. 1hr. During the day walk to visit Hmong and Karen villages and relax at a waterfall.

i-News article

i-News is a bilingual newspaper in Imabari. I have been asked to write for them two times previously. This time, I volunteered to write because I wanted more people to know about Elephant Nature Park. My article got published in the April/May edition.

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