The first part of our trek included a half hour elephant ride. It was so fun to be on top of such a large animal. We also thought it was funny that the elephant in front of us had a gas problem. It didn’t smell too bad, but there were sure a lot of strange noised coming out of his back end. During our ride Sonja explained to me the strategy for avoiding snakes and leeches during our hike. Some of her Malaysian friends told her that it is best to be in the second or third position when hiking because the first person will find the snakes, and the last people usually get the leeches. As you can see in one of the pictures on the next post, we strategically followed that advice.

The next morning we got lost in the city when we were looking for water for our trek. When we finally made it back to the guesthouse, our guide was waiting for us. We picked two other American girls and headed to the market to by the food for the trek. I was so excited to eat fresh pineapple again. I think I ate several pineapples during the last few days. While we were at the market, our guide scolded Sonja and I for wearing flip flops to hike in. He was glad that Sonja brought some water shoes and said that I needed some other shoes as well. I only brought flip flops, so I tried hard to make sure that they didn’t slow me down.

My mom has been worried about the leeches out here, but we haven’t had any problems. However, we have found a few other interesting creatures.

That night my backpack still had not arrived at the guesthouse, and I was losing hope since the next two days we had arranged to spend in the hills trekking. However, just before I went to bed, my backpack arrived. I couldn’t believe how excited I was to receive an bag of full of old clothes, bugs pray, and Ciff bars.

Sonja and I found a hostel called Same Same (kind of like our names we were told). We paid about 3 dollars each. We thought it was a great deal since we had access to free internet and warm showers. After we checked in, I asked one of the workers at the guesthouse to call the airport for me and ask them about my lost luggage. The airlines told her that they would send my pack to the guesthouse by 3:30. We spent the rest of the day exploring the Chiang Mai. We saw a lot of old Buddhist temples and got lost several times.

When we arrived in Chiang Mai, we hired a tuk tuk to take us to a guesthouse. As we started down the road, I noticed that the driver had a picture of Christ visiting the Nephites in the middle of his steering wheel. When we arrived at our destination we asked him about the picture, and in broken English he said that he was LDS and told us about the big chapel they meet in. Had we known that we would have so much trouble finding the chapel later on, we would have asked him to show us where it is. Anyway, it was fun to meet someone who was LDS.

Sonja and I have been waiting several hours in the airport, and we have entertained ourselves by walking backwards up the escalators and eating the snacks we brought. Neither of us has been able to sleep, so whatever activities we do in Chiang Mai today cannot involve sitting.