Adrenaline Junkie - see the videos!

Greg, Jim, Addi and I went zip-cording through the northern Thailand jungle today. 4 hours, 34 platforms, 4 repels, 2 canopy walks. Elevations up to 1000 meters above the canopy floor and zip lines up to 300 meters long.

It was tremendous fun and very safe. The guides loved their jobs which made it even more exceptional.

As soon as Addi heard about zip-cording she was begging to do it. She rode tandem with a guide on the long or fast zips, with one of us on the slower ones...and solo on some of the slower and shorter ones!! She was amazing. My fearless adrenaline junkie started doing tricks....flying like a bird, soaring like Supergirl, hamming it up my pretending to fall asleep (I'm not kidding!) It was a hoot. I asked her if she felt afraid before taking the plunge and she said "no, mommy- but I felt good!!" ....so...She never felt fear (which makes me feel a little bit of fear!)

Then first video is a tandem zip Jim and I did together. The second is one of Addi's 15-or-so solo runs. In this instance, she is flying like a bird.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIlP0XwgT6s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFuyR3YNQ4s

(PS: I uploaded the ropeswing video into that entry as well)

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Earthquake in Myanmar (Burma)

There will be an entry about today's amazing adventure to follow under separate cover, but I did want to drop a note about the 7.0 earthquake in Myanmar about 30 minutes ago. The epicenter was about 160 miles from Chiang Mai. While we felt it- the table and lanterns were shaking- it was not strong enough to spill the wine. We are fine.

Xoxo

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the Womens Prison Rub Down

We had a leisurely morning in leisurely Chiang Mai sipping coffee by the river while we waited for Greg and Bonnye's overnight train from Bangkok. Addi ran over to tell me about the new game she was playing with Luna, a 1 year old girl living here. "Mommy! Mommy! Look! If you take some of the legs off of crickets they crawl all over you!" .....what?!? Well, I will have to unteach that when we get home!

After they arrived, we headed out for the famous Chiang Mai lunch of khao soy...a noodle curry dish that is a-maz-ing. We walked it off wandering through the quiet (relative to Bangkok) streets with one end place in mind: the Women's Prison. Yup.

The Womens Prison here has vocational training that includes massages and we thought: how could we not!? So off we went and I have to say it was an amazing foot massage (we decided to stay away from full body)! Addi became a doll for three of the women and got a foot massage, arm massage, hair braided, facial....etc. She loved all of the fawning (of course) it was too funny.

We ended the day by meeting up with one of our old favorite waitress from Som Siam- the local Thai restaurant at home- for dinner. Addi fell asleep to the sound of the live band while we all drank wine and ate great food.

PS: the parasol says" Chiang Mai Womens Prison" on the top. Worlds best souvenir? I think so!

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Short Hike in Doi Suthep National Park

High above Chaing Mai City. Wat Phra That is gold and red an glittery with rows of bells. What Phra Lat is green and brown and humble in nature. Short hike down the mountain from there- a clear path busy with butterflies, wild orchids, termite mounds, bamboo, dry brown leaves crunching underfoot, loose rock, baked mud. Hot sun blazing, Cicadas screeching. Fairies watching? Done already?

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I Will Never be a Mahout. But Addi Might. (rope swing video added)

Addi is so calm on top of this giant creature that it truly amazes me. She spent half of the ride on the elephant's head with the Mahout (a life long trainer/ handler to a single elephant)- looking around, reaching for a giant flapping ear, and talking. She spent the other half telling me not to be afraid on the steep parts because "if I just watch, I will see that he won't fall down...and if he seems like he is falling down...well...maybe he is just resting". I'm not sure I follow the logic, but I am not the future Mahout, so who am I to question it?!

We each had the opportunity to sit in the Mahout's spot on the elephant's neck for a minute, which was fun...but I was secretly just wishing he would get back in the drivers seat- FAST!

It did not remotely compare with the experience Addi and I had in Sumatra, but it was fun and I am glad we finally got Jim on top of an elephant! (He was not nearly as nervous as I was, but I did hear several gulps and gasps from his direction!)

After the elephant trek, we headed to the Kuang Si waterfall. It is multi-tiered and wide (vs high and narrow like most we have seen). Much to our surprise, the water is turquoise blue- like the Caribbean or Indian Oceans. Addi found 'her own little waterfall' to float leaf boats down and we all swam in the cold blue water. There was a rope swing which Jim braved several times. Attached is (or soon will be) video of his first jump! :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3jv7BM5QHc

We leave Laos tomorrow and are not ready to go. It ranks with Sumatra as one of our favorites. This country is beautiful- with smiling people and beautiful countryside. Brilliantly, Laos is taking the Eco-Adventure approach to tourism so it is really easy to get into nature and find the 'undiscovered' places. From Luang Prabang, one can arrange single or multi-day foot, elephant or kayak treks, village homestays, rock-climbing, ect.

I am hopeful that this tourism approach will preserve some of this country's charm. There is so much of the north we have not seen...and we haven't touched the south (rumored to be even more beautiful). Perhaps when Adventure Addi is older we will come back and trek into the wilder corners of Laos!

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Slow Boat on the Mekong

We woke up to the sound of monastery gong drums, as we have every morning here. The thought of strong Lao coffee got us out of bed and we enjoyed breakfast in the sunshine overlooking the river.

We hired a slow longboat for a 2 hour ride up the Mekong to the Tham Ting caves. The river was running fast, but was calm. The riverbanks were primarily quiet and natural with the occasional group of people bathing, doing laundry, gardening and picnicking. We spotted remote villages in the limestone mountains and soaked in the sunshine. It was as relaxing as a trip in Mom and Dad's boat on the Piscatiqua in Maine...only it was the Mekong...in Laos!

We stopped en route at "Whiskey Village"; a village of people dedicated to whiskey making! Jim sampled (and bought) a few rice whiskeys, but we stayed far away from the creepier glass jugs filled with whiskey and pickled creatures- scorpion, lizard, cobra, black bear feet (yep, you read that right), etc.

Back in the boat, we putted for 30 more minutes to the Tham Ting cave which hovers about 25 feet above the water. We climbed the white stone stairs and entered the cavern. There were literally thousands of Buddha statues- large and small, new and old- inside. Something about this place was magical and mystical. We whispered and pointed out our favorite statues. Addi made a love proclamation naming Riley, Aiden, Kaia and Tessa...and added in that all of the Buddhas here were so, so beautiful that she couldn't even believe it.

The peace was disrupted by the booming karaoke of an approaching Thai party boat, so we hopped in our boat for a sunset ride home.

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Across the Bamboo Bridge

Luang Prabang is a quaint (but very touristy) town on a narrow peninsula where the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers meet. It is UNESCO preserved, so the old charm of the french colonial era remains strong. There are dozens of active Buddhist monasteries, so there are monks in saffron robes quietly walking everywhere. There are thousands of guest houses, so there are buckets of tourists everywhere too.

We are staying in a guest house overlooking the Nam Khan river. Our side of the river is lined with small outdoor cafes and across the bank are small villages with farm gardens touching the water. We walked across the peninsula in the afternoon and found that the Mekong banks look exactly the same.

During the dry months (which includes March) the villagers build a bamboo bridge across the Nam Khan for easier access to town. We hiked down the hillside with a spring in our step (no rain today!) and crossed the rickety bridge. I watched some men on a longboat working to stabilize the supports and walked just a little faster. Once on the other side, we hiked about a mile to the Ban Xang Khong craft village where we admired handmade paper products (books, cards, lanterns, etc), silks, baskets and wood carvings. Addi found a little girl and played tag for a while- there is a universal game! We climbed an endless staircase to Wat Xienglek; an active monastery and watched a few monks kick around a soccer ball.

We crossed back over the bridge in the early afternoon and took of 4 of the 5 layers we had been wearing all week. The sun was breaking through and it was warm! We wandered around town- in and out of shops- until we were done window shopping and called it a day.

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