Hello Chiang Mai!

After a full 24 hours of flying, we finally made it to Chiang Mai yesterday around 4 pm. The flights were great and I think we're all convinced that Asian airlines are far superior to American. (Oh hello, in-flight singapore sling!) The air hostesses are all impeccably put together and apparenty the secret to their flawless Singaporean skin is a daily dose of birds nest tea. We're going to comb the street markets for that!

We checked into our fabulous hotel, The Rim, and opted for a dip in the pool rather than a shower to prepare for our first city excursion to the night market. (Hygiene is our first priority.) Our hotel van dumped us in the middle of a bustling street fair that only happens on the weekends and when we asked how to get back, he said, "you find your way." Find our way, we did, though the multi-sensory feast of what seemed like endless booths of Thai crafts, artists, musicians, and best of all, food stands. Tucked off the main drag, we found a courtyard of food vendors where we just decided to point-and-pay for whatever looked interesting. Five American dollars later, the four of us dined on a pad Thai omelette, spiced ribs, sausage, a mysterious meat substance that had been cooked in a banana leaf and was served to us in a plastic sack, and pineapple. All delicious, and so far our GI tracts are still in tact. We finished the evening with a beer in a bar off the market before taking our first tuk-tuk ride back to the hotel. (The safety of these things is questionable, to say the least.)

Today we're off to the Doi Suthep temple, after which, we'll be treating ourselves to hour long Thai massages and poolside cocktails. This is the life.