Thailand: Getting There...

The only way I'm going to be able to give our Thailand trip the least bit of justice is by blogging about it bit by bit. So, here I go... :)

Nate and I wanted to do a big trip to celebrate him graduating and before we entered the working world again.  We really wanted to go somewhere where we could see some amazing sights and also get in some serious r&r. So, after much thought and advice from friends, we decided on Thailand.  

Getting to and from Thailand is always an adventure in and of itself.  We left on May 13th and with the time change, we arrived in Thailand on May 15th.  And although we didn't travel a full two days, we did have 25 hours of flying time and 10 hours of layovers. Needless to say, once we got there we were exhausted! But I'm getting ahead of myself.  

We left for Thailand right after Nate's graduation.  Nate's parents were already here and so Nate's saint of a mother stayed behind to stay with our girls while we went on our dream vacation. I was feeling really guilty for leaving them for so long and being so far away, and took comfort only in the fact that they were with Grandma.  Thank you, Pat!

This is what we looked like getting on the flight...

Sending love to our girls...

We flew to Chicago and then to San Francisco.  Then we had a 3-hour layover.  By this point it was 1am and we downed a 5-hour energy drink to help us stay awake as long as possible as we tried to get our bodies used to Thailand time.

So this is what we looked like about a quarter of the way through our travels... Notice my tired watery eyes.  Nate still looks great though.

And this how we looked at the very end.  SO tired! And again, Nate still looks great. I look like I've been crying watching chick flicks.

So, we finally made it to Chiang Mai for the first part of our trip! We checked into our hotel, which turned out to be nice enough for the one night we were staying there and it was dirt cheap!

It took everything in us not to go to bed right then and there at 3pm, but we had to fight it to stay awake.  Since we were so sore from all that sitting so we decided to get one of those famous Thai massages you always hear about.  We asked our front desk guy and he said there was a place just a few paces down the road from our hotel.  So, we walked down the random street our hotel was located on and there was this hole-in-the-wall massage place. Three europeans walked in ahead of us and so they didn't have enough masseuses on staff.  So instead of making us wait, they actually called in some women to do our massages! I was a little weary because the place where they massage you was on this mat on the floor next to two other people.  So, it was me, Nate, and this other man getting our massages while another guy got a foot massage right next to us.  However, in traditional Thai massages, you remain fully clothed since they are so big on modesty. Anyway, I can honestly say that the massage I got was the best massage I have ever received.  It was so incredible and was just what we needed.  And after both of us got our massages for a full hour, we left with a bill of only $17 USD, including tip!  What?!?! It was awesome and we felt sooo much better afterward.

Then we got dinner at probably one of our favorite places that whole trip.  Again, it was this outdoor, hole-in-the-wall place right next door to our hotel with gecko's on the ceiling and beams. It was one of those heart-swelling moments where you think, "ahhhh, Thailand" with a content grin on your face.

I don't even remember what this was called but it was so good!

Nate got some delicious curry.

 Our first dinner pic in Thailand.

After dinner, we got back to our hotel room and went to sleep at 9:30.  The next day is when our 2-day, personally guided tour of Chiang Mai began (aka, the real fun).

Next post: Chiang Mai: Day 1