Bangkok and Loi Kratong

So, it sort of bothers me when people go abroad and start a blog and then don't write anything until they go to a cool festival, and then post a whole bunch of pictures. But that's what I'm going to do! My excuse is that we haven't had consistent internet access. But right now, Richard and I are in a cute coffee shop with free wi-fi, where I got maybe the most delicious latte I've ever had. I am happy to know that I do not need to give up my coffee habit here.

We spent a day in Bangkok after flying in. Bangkok: well oiled machine for ripping off tourists. Everywhere we went, we were harangued by people trying to sell us things for jacked-up prices. We didn't love it there, but we saw some cool things. The Grand Palace was beautiful!

Bangkok was a bit of a disappointment, but Chiang Mai is lovely! We're staying right by Chiang Mai university, and the area around our hotel feels like any college town, with tons of little coffee shops and restaurants. I put on a long skirt to go out, and was surprised to see Thai students in shorts and tank tops, and generally looking more stylish than I ever do. Most of the restaurants don't have any English on their menu, so it's been fun to try to order things in Thai. Richard has been very successful with that, but all I ever really say is "thank you."

Last night, we were lucky to run into another person in our program who knows English teachers who have been living here for a while, so we got a chance to join a big group of people heading out of town for the first night of the Loi Kratong festival. We crammed 12 people into a songtow with another 3 hanging off the back and traveled out to a big field where thousands of loi (hot-air paper lanterns) were released into the sky. With fireworks constantly being set off, it felt a lot like the Fourth of July, but without any safety regulations. Seeing the sky lit up with floating lanterns was surreal and one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen.

Those photos don't even begin to capture it. Maybe I'll post a link to some better ones. Our certification course starts tomorrow, so we'll let you know how that goes. Sorry for such a long post! I'll try to be snappier from here on out.