Went out into the woods (jungle) yesterday for some "adventure" activities. First on the list? Zip line. Yeah, so I did that. We hit this really neat place where they have platforms on trees all through the trees connected by zip lines ranging from 100 to 400 meters (a quarter mile), the longer ones which take you over the infamous Mekong River, (see Vietnam War or any of the Vietnam War films of note).
Then we went white water rafting. One of the guides (who ended up on our boat) was excited to know we were English speakers as we rode in the back of the pick up truck with him on the way to the "embarkation" (patch of mud). He clearly had saved up some words he needed translated and began to see if we could help build his vocabulary. Oddly however, one after another, they all ended up being mythical creatures. First, he asked about what is half fish and half lady. Easy, Mermaid. I also pointed out that there were Mermen, which he through was a pretty funny idea. Then half horse half man. Okay, Centaur. This went on to some stranger beasts that he was either making up or were from some Aztec culture not in the Anglo educational canon. (bird faces, man legs, wings and arms...) Good times.
Rafting was a blast, and I for one would like to do more in the near future. (Although I think I hurt my ankle. It was starting to swell a bit later in the night, but luckily mom has a ton of medical stuff with her - including an ace bandage. Which is why you always bring a doctor on the Oregon Trail. We are taking Typhoid pills too.)
I then forced everyone to go to Tiger Kingdom, by far the most touristy of all these "adventure activities." (They were all clearly geared toward tourists if you didn't guess that. We asked about who was coming an it's mainly Northern Europeans and Americans but also quite a few Chinese as well as many Israelis - of whom I've noticed a lot myself).
So, yes, I met a couple of tigers in a very locked down environment, but it was still pretty nuts to be that close and to touch them. Their fur was a lot thinner than I had thought, but I guess that makes sense being that they are Indo-Chinese Tigers after all, (did I mention it's hot here?)
The weather is cooling down as Monsoon season approaches. We are having some rain, but it is sporadic, and short lived when it comes. Mostly it's keeping it an almost perfect temperature for bare skin and no sweating.
Took a rest after all that "adventure" and then headed out to the Chiang Mai Night Market - which is incredibly every night. It's the biggest/coolest/latest at night market I have ever seen. Tons of cool stuff, a laid back environment and did I mention its huge and everynight? All this embedded in bars and restaurants that are equally laid back. Too much for one night, will return this evening. I'm jealous of a climate that keeps everyone outdoors like this all night.
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