Lori and Drew's Visit
From January 2-7th we were visited by my dear friend Lori (a roommate at Flora Way) and her boyfriend Andrew. Coming from a freezing Chicago, they were so excited to be in balmy Thailand. Otto and I picked them up at the airport at 11 pm and took them back to the hotel. We only had one night in Bangkok so we explored the backpacker district on Kao San road and once that was shut down, walked around by the river and stayed up late talking. The next day we checked out the Royal Palace and walked through a big amulet market. We took a ferry over to Wat Arun (temple of the dawn) and were lucky enough to be able to attend a new years blessing ceremony there. monks chanted and sprinkled holy water on us and also tied the protective magic thread (sai sin) around our wrists. We took a crazy tuk-tuk ride and then went to the airport for our flight to Chiang Mai.
Otto had left his car in Chiang Mai so we got around easily. We took them to our favorite little guesthouse called the Pagoda Inn. It has a cute garden and is painted with bright colors and has lots of little Buddhist touches. We took them to the night bazaar after dinner, but jet lag was definitely setting in so we called it an early night.
Sunday morning we had a huge brunch and then spent an hour in a crystal/rock shop. We found the most amazing pendants and stones there and Lori and Drew definitely didn't want to leave! We took off for Lampang and stopped at the Elephant Center and the jungle market on the way. Once in Lampang, we showed them around our house and i opened lots of awesome gifts from Lori! she brought tons of good snacks from america, an amazing-smelling candle and some cute jewelry and soaps. We had dinner at our favorite Issan restaurant and then they went off to the night market.
The next day, i brought Lori and Drew to school with me. I had my students interview them by asking personal questions. I knew that my students would be nervous, but i had no idea that L and D would be nervous too! I'm glad they got to see where i work and get an idea of my job. We took them to the Herbal Center for body scrubs and massages. Unfortunately, there is no heating in thailand and it was quite a cold day. They had to get naked for the scrubs and it was freezing! I could hear them shouting from another room! To make it even worse, they had to take cold showers afterwards to wash off the scrub. However, they mentioned that their skin felt great after it was all over. They loved the Thai massages! They also got to visit a ceramic outlet with Otto while i was busy teaching. That night we took them to a dinner place situated on bamboo rafts. It was a lovely atmosphere and they got to meet some of our friends in Lampang.
On Tuesday, we went to the prison for foot massages and then they got to visit the oldest temple in Lampang, Wat Pra That Lampang Luang. After school, we drove back to Chiang Mai and stayed once again at the Pagoda Inn. We had our last dinner together and then took them out for a night on the town. The first place we took them was a quiet little bar that Otto used to go to when he lived in Chiang Mai. The whole bar is situated under a huge banyan tree and thus it was dubbed "The big tree bar" by Otto. We were the only customers there and enjoyed the quite and chill atmosphere. Then we went to hear some live bluegrass music at Sudsanan bar. The trio consisted of a father who sang and played guitar, his 18-year old daughter on fiddle and his older son on slide guitar. drew tried out the local whiskey (yuck!) and they bought a Thai reggae CD. Then it was on to the reggae bar where Otto and I met (Roots Rock Reggae) for lots of dancing. After breakfast on Wednesday, we dropped them off at the airport. They were off for a few days on Phuket and Koh Phi Phi. Lori and I both teared up. It was so good seeing her and getting to show them where i live and work. I hope that more friends have the opportunity to visit in the future!
Otto had left his car in Chiang Mai so we got around easily. We took them to our favorite little guesthouse called the Pagoda Inn. It has a cute garden and is painted with bright colors and has lots of little Buddhist touches. We took them to the night bazaar after dinner, but jet lag was definitely setting in so we called it an early night.
Sunday morning we had a huge brunch and then spent an hour in a crystal/rock shop. We found the most amazing pendants and stones there and Lori and Drew definitely didn't want to leave! We took off for Lampang and stopped at the Elephant Center and the jungle market on the way. Once in Lampang, we showed them around our house and i opened lots of awesome gifts from Lori! she brought tons of good snacks from america, an amazing-smelling candle and some cute jewelry and soaps. We had dinner at our favorite Issan restaurant and then they went off to the night market.
The next day, i brought Lori and Drew to school with me. I had my students interview them by asking personal questions. I knew that my students would be nervous, but i had no idea that L and D would be nervous too! I'm glad they got to see where i work and get an idea of my job. We took them to the Herbal Center for body scrubs and massages. Unfortunately, there is no heating in thailand and it was quite a cold day. They had to get naked for the scrubs and it was freezing! I could hear them shouting from another room! To make it even worse, they had to take cold showers afterwards to wash off the scrub. However, they mentioned that their skin felt great after it was all over. They loved the Thai massages! They also got to visit a ceramic outlet with Otto while i was busy teaching. That night we took them to a dinner place situated on bamboo rafts. It was a lovely atmosphere and they got to meet some of our friends in Lampang.
On Tuesday, we went to the prison for foot massages and then they got to visit the oldest temple in Lampang, Wat Pra That Lampang Luang. After school, we drove back to Chiang Mai and stayed once again at the Pagoda Inn. We had our last dinner together and then took them out for a night on the town. The first place we took them was a quiet little bar that Otto used to go to when he lived in Chiang Mai. The whole bar is situated under a huge banyan tree and thus it was dubbed "The big tree bar" by Otto. We were the only customers there and enjoyed the quite and chill atmosphere. Then we went to hear some live bluegrass music at Sudsanan bar. The trio consisted of a father who sang and played guitar, his 18-year old daughter on fiddle and his older son on slide guitar. drew tried out the local whiskey (yuck!) and they bought a Thai reggae CD. Then it was on to the reggae bar where Otto and I met (Roots Rock Reggae) for lots of dancing. After breakfast on Wednesday, we dropped them off at the airport. They were off for a few days on Phuket and Koh Phi Phi. Lori and I both teared up. It was so good seeing her and getting to show them where i live and work. I hope that more friends have the opportunity to visit in the future!
posted by Jen @ 9:41 PM
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