It hurts so good

Day two Chiang Mai. This morning was quite possibly the first time in history that four girls we're up before 7am without complaint. After a breakfast of Thai champions- a tamarind and lime shot, papaya, and noodle soup- we were chauffeured to Doi Suthep, a local Buddhist temple 30 minutes outside the city. There were blessed by a monk, a process that went something like this:

1. VVV&B kneel in front of a monk

2. Monk takes a swig of a cloudy brown substance from a 1980s Listerine bottle

3. Monk chases moonshine with a juice box

4. VVV&B bow heads and place hands in namaste? We really have no idea what we're doing here.

5. Monk flicks holy water on us with a tiny broom while chanting a prayer

6. VVV&B get bracelets (bonus!) that we're instructed to wear for 3 days for good luck

 

After "wat"ting it up, we were driven back to the hotel for our hour-long group Thai massage in our hotel suite. If you haven't had a Thai massage before, it involves tiny this women with incredible strength turning you into a pretzel and then walking on you. Delightful.

We're now recovering poolside, with watermelon cocktails (hold the ice, thanks), juicy novels, and a DEET sheen.