Chiang Rai!

Last week I went to Chiang Rai (in Northern Thailand) with the 2nd year language students. We were there for about a week. We left on Sunday the 21st at 6am...yuck...and we didn't get there till 8:30 on Monday. We had to make a ton of stops since the schools 'luxurious' bus doesn't have a bathroom. On Monday we were given a tour of Mae Fah Luang University, they have a huge gorgeous campus. While the students were in Chinese activities we got to take naps and relax.

Waiting for the bus...YAY!

On Tuesday the students had Chinese activities all day so Collin and I hopped on the free trolley things and explored the campus. We found a tiny museum about the history of the valley. Then we went to the building the students were in and read in the Chinese garden. The day would have been completely boring if we hadn't gone to Wat Phra Kaew where the Emerald Buddha was found. According to the legends the Buddha was discovered when part to the temple was struck by lightning. After it was discovered the original Emerald Buddha was moved, and is now in Bangkok, but they have since created a replacement which is in Chiang Rai. The temple was very beautiful and interesting. After going to the temple we went to dinner and then to the night bazaar to do some shopping. The bazaar was fun there was a ton of stuff from the northern tribes. I bought a hand made journal from one of the vendors.

Wat Phra Kaew and the night bazaar!

Me after the night bazaar...
I'm wearing all the stuff one of the students bought...
she thought I was crazy!

On Wednesday we went to the mountains to learn about making tea. We went to a tea shop, a flower garden (the flowers are turned into tea), and a memorial for something. The trip was a lot of fun but the mini-bus ride was not. Half of my students tried to get sick from the breakneck speeds and the curvy road. After everyone's stomachs settled down we had fun drinking tea Chinese style and exploring the area. The tea was really good and it was fun seeing how a plantation is set up.

To the mountains!!!!

My mini-bus!

Tea plantation!!!

Flower garden!

The memorial!

The tea and tea sets I bought

Thursday we went to Mae Sai which is on the Burma border. While we were there we all went into Burma to go the Tachileik market to buy some really cheap stuff. To get into Burma The 2 Chinese teachers (Wang and Sam) and I had to get a special VIP ticket which also ment that we had to leave Burma together. I went to the market with the students and held onto the ticket while they went to the casino with AJ. Aurter. The market was huge and we all had a lot of fun shopping and wasting money, I bought a new purse (which could pass as a real Prada purse) and movies. While we were in the market I bought some of the students’ ice cream for helping me barter with the shop keepers. Mae Sai and Burma were both really dirty and I'm glad we only spent one day there.

Mae Sai/ Burma!

Immigration/entry to Burma

One of the students with Burmese face paint

Wang with our 3 person VIP Burmese ticket!

My new purse and wallet (YAY Prada and LV)!

New movies $1 a piece!

Friday we went up to the golden triangle to look at the river that separates Laos, Thailand, and Burma. I don't really know why we went up there since we didn't do anything besides take pictures and shop some more. After out brief excursion we all piled back onto the SUPER AWESOME bus to begin the long trek home. Luckily the drivers REALLY wanted to get home so they drove like speed demons and got us home in 24 hours!!!

The Golden Triangle!

Time to get a snack before the ride back..
.An ice cream sandwich!

Mmmm.....

The bus ride back! Yippy!

Yay! One of the bus drivers aka speed demon!

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