Day 52 - Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon)

Today the three of us got up to go to the Royal Palace that is now just a museum since the fall of Saigon in 1975 during the war. The real palace is now in Hanoi, but this palace has not been touched since the end of the war. All the remnants including war strategy maps and furnishings were left behind.

Then we went to the American War Remnants Museum. This was an interesting museum, because they showed most of the portrayal of the war through photos, very few words. The first exhibit gave the history of the war including maps and statistics, but the next exhibit was just pictures taken of the villages, the soldiers, and destruction. The third and fifth museum (the biggest exhibits) showed the affects of the toxic chemicals that were used during the war that on the villages, the people, and the crop lands. If a picture did not portray someone who was burned or wounded from the direct attack of the chemical it was a picture of someone who had a birth disorder or got another body deforming disease because they ate food from crops that had the chemicals in the them. They say the chemicals are still causing many birth defects to this day. Not only was it hard to look at some of the pictures but the homeless people on the street brought the whole reality to life with heads that were bigger than two basketballs and no limbs with burned faces. It is a reality that is hard to miss in the country. I would have taken more pictures but I did not want to see some of the images again.

We spent the rest of the day going to the Notre Dame Cathedral, seeing another Chinese pagoda, enjoying a traditional Vietnamese meal where we made our own summer rolls, and shopping in the large market.

BUT that does not cover the two highlights of the day... First, it started to rain so we went into a department store to wait and the first song we heard was by Kenny Chesney. Here are three Americans singing and dancing in the middle of the store. It was great! AND that night the Vietnamese football (soccer) team played Thailand for the Southern Asian championship and WON for the first time ever!! It was a moment in history for the country so the street went insane. At one point in an intersection there were at least 20,000 people waving flags, banging pots and pans, and standing up on their motorbikes screaming. I have never seen any sporting event like it!! What a night to be in Vietnam!!

Day 50 - 51 Mui Ne

Last night we left Hoi An on an overnight bus to Nha Trang to rent a motorbike and driver for 2 days into the central highlands of Vietnam but when we arrived in Nha Trang in the morning is was rainy, so we made the decision to stay on the bus for another 5 hours to go to Mui Ne, a beach town along the coast that is famous for it's red and white sand dunes and the best surf waves in Vietnam. We got a bungalow on the beach with Steph, a girl from Boston who is teaching in Japan, and hung out for the afternoon. The next morning I got up and rented a motorbike to go to the check out the sand dunes. I guess this wasn't something I planned to see but neat to see a small desert (not quite so hot) in that part of Vietnam. Also to make up for my snow deprivation this winter I went sledding in the sand dunes!! You don't move quite as quickly as you do on snow, but still fun!! I also hiked along a stream through the canyons and then headed back to the beach for the afternoon. We headed down to Ho Chi Minh City that night (aka Saigon) to meet Steph who took an early bus.

Day 48 - 49 Christmas in Hoi An

We arrived in Hoi An by about noon on Christmas Eve and checked into a hotel. This is a beautiful tourist town that is very influenced by the French roots of Vietnam (Vietnam was controlled by France for many years in the 1800's and 1900's and the traditions are still heavily influenced by food and architecture). The small town is known for it's cheap tailor shops where everyone gets clothing made in a day (a three piece woman's suit cost $50), French and Vietnamese cafes, and the beach area along the coast. We spent the day shopping and walking through the streets and markets. That night Lindsey and I went to a Catholic Christmas Eve Mass that was filled to capacity in an outdoor plaza (Catholics make up about 10% of the population due to the French influence and makes for the 2nd largest Christian population in Asia). Although the mass was in Vietnamese the Priest read the Christmas story in English and French!! (NOTE: We sat next to a Vietnamese man who spoke English so he tried to interpret the service for us. At one point he leaned over and whispered in my ear that he spent Christmas in 1978 and 1979 in the war fields. That was the only comment that I received about the war from a Vietnamese person. We found that all the Vietnamese people were very nice and courteous towards us the entire trip.)

After the service we celebrated Christmas with a woman from England, a woman from Germany, and a man from Portugal (we had met them all on the Halong Bay trip), who also brought a Chinese woman they met on the bus, two guys from England that Lindsey and I met on the bus, a girl from Australia who I met at the guesthouse in Hanoi and a French guy she met at her hotel in Hoi An! It was like a celebration of Christmas all over the world!

On Christmas Day Lindsey and I rented bicycles for the day and rode all around town, out to the beaches, and through the countryside to a fishing village. It was a great way to spend Christmas day! AND I met the first people from Minnesota and Chicago! There was a family sitting next to us at lunch who saw that I was wearing my Twins hat and asked if I was from MN. I guess the parents had grown up in MN and he is now working for General Mills in Switzerland. Come to find out they also lived in St. Charles, IL, for a few years!! Small world!

Day 45 - 47 Halong Bay

We decided to take a three day tour of the Halong Bay area, which is located about 3 hours east of Hanoi on the Sea of China. This area is famous for the 3,000 small islands off the coast.

Day 1: We left Hanoi in a minivan with 15 other people to go to Halong Bay and then boarded a sleeper boat to set off out to sea for the next couple days. After lunch on the boat we stopped on an island called Vinh Halong Bay to see a cave that is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. It definitely deserved to be one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, because the cave formations were fantastic! We then sailed into an old floating fishing village where the people sustain themselves by fishing and living in homes on the sea year round. We boarded a small motorboat that took us into some of the bays of the islands and specifically showed us where one of the James Bond movies was filmed. From there we went to another island to get into kayaks that we could use to paddle around and watch the sunset (by far the highlight of the day!) The day had been a bit cloudy all day, but we got to see an amazing sunset!! Then we had dinner and slept on the boat that night.

Day 2: After breakfast on the boat we docked on Cat Su Island, which is a national park on one of the islands, and boarded a van that took us to the foothill of the mountain range on the island. We trekked to the top of the mountain and down in about 3 1/2 hours to see the views of all the islands. After the trek we checked into a hotel in a small town on the island and hiked around the beaches and town for the afternoon to enjoy the scenery! I am not obsessed with sunsets or anything, but we sat on our balcony that overlooked the fishing bay and watched another beautiful sunset!

Day 3: Today we got up and boarded the boat back to the mainland. After arriving in Hanoi late in the afternoon we grabbed dinner and boarded another bus for the 17 hour bus ride to Hoi An!!

NOTE: If you follow our trip via a map we followed the coast all the way to Ho Chi Minh City and although I don't have a lot of great picture we really got to see a lot of the countryside and villages via the bus that cost about $50 to get about 40 hours from North to South over the week. We literally followed the coast along the ocean and even when we were in the mountains the coast was right below. It was fun just sitting and looking out the window at all the surroundings!!

Day 44 - Hanoi, Vietnam

Lindsey and I arrived safely in Hanoi, Vietnam, the capital city, this morning on a flight that took about 2 hours from Bangkok. We had a bus drop us off in the middle of the Old Quarter (the tourist district) and we found a nice guesthouse to stay in for the night. We decided to get oriented with the city that has very narrow, confusing streets with lots of traffic and people walking around (you actually have to walk in the streets cause the sidewalks are full of vendors). We first went to the Hoa Lo Prison which was a Vietnamese/French torture Prison before the start of the Vietnam war for citizens who went against the political reigns. The forms of abuse and torture that those people endured were graphic and disturbing, especially for the women. Then during the Vietnam war (or as the Vietnamese refer to it "the American War") it become the holding area for the U.S. POW, including John McCain. The museum had a whole exhibit that showed the POW's being captured, enjoying their free time playing basketball, enjoying feasts of food, receiving presents and letters from their families and finally being released. It gives the world the idea that they were not harmed and life was good as a captive when most people would probably believe that they were tortured everyday and reduced to confined living areas. I would now believe there is middle ground to both sides of the story.

(Picture of the hallways of cells in the prison and the suit that John McCain wore when he was captured)




We then went to the first Confucius temple I have seen in Asia. Northern Vietnam is very influenced by the Chinese culture. The temple actually use to be a school where they taught the Confucius students, so there was beautiful writing carved into walls along the walkways that were ways they preserved the beliefs of the teachers.


That night we enjoyed an internationally recognized water puppet show at a theater, which is an ancient Vietnamese form of entertainment for rice farmers. The puppets are actually dancing in the water and portraying different stories about the children, the kings, and the Vietnamese way of life on the river beds.

Day 42 - 43 Christmas Season

Christmas is in full swing a Nantawan School. This whole week I have been preparing Christmas lessons, decorating my classroom with Christmas ornaments, and practicing with the kids for their big Christmas show tonight (4 hour production). Yesterday we had a Christmas party in our homerooms where the students shared white elephant gifts and brought it tons of food. It was fun to see how excited they were for the day!

All around Thailand Christmas is celebrated with gifts, trees, and Christmas music, but the people are all Buddhists so it is really just a consumer holiday. I doubt any of my students know the true Christmas story about the birth of Jesus, but they do sing Christian songs at school for their program. In fact the last song we are doing with the entire school tonight is the Sister Act version of Joyful, Joyful (I'll post video later). It has been nice to be surrounded by Christmas things during the holiday season but a bit sad not to be surrounded my family and friends who celebrate the true meaning! I think the two things I miss most during the season is real Christmas cookies (not the ones in tins like they have here) and the snow. (but I seem to be surviving 80 degree days just fine!) I had my kindergartners build a big snowman this week in class but we had to use poster board and it just wasn't the same!

Well I actually get a nice two week break for Christmas and New Year's. My friend Lindsey, who was in the TESOL course, and I are flying to Vietnam in the morning for a two week backpacking trip across the country and into Cambodia! We are excited to spend a couple weeks exploring the mountains and beaches! I'll try to keep my blog updated!

****I have added a 4 pictures above of my kindergarten girls (TL), my 1st grade boys in their Chinese puppet costumes - hence the makeup (BL), the school production of Joyful, Joyful (TR) and myself with 4 of my 1st grade girls. Below is a video of my 1st grade girls doing a traditional Thai dance!!

Day 38 - My Condo

The school has given me a condo to live in while I am teaching here at a place called the Casita's. I have a three bedroom, two bath (two floor) condo with a small kitchen, dining room, and living room. There is a pool and fitness area for me to use which is convenient. I think the biggest adjustment for me is just that I have never lived on my own, but I have been busy every night so far which is nice! There are several teachers and some students living in the 6 building complex so it is nice to know others are near. It is about a 4 minutes ride to school in the morning and a van comes to pick us up and drop us off each day. I live about 1/2 mile from a large market and about a mile from the nearest Tesco Lotus (big grocery store/mall). I don't see to many forangs in my area, but like I have said before it is not too hard for me to get into Bangkok. If anyone is coming to here I have extra beds and I am only 10 minutes from the airport (if there is no traffic!)

So for everyone who was asking if I was living in a grass hut I'm not... I actually am pretty spoiled with this place and I have only had to kill one cockroach so far!

**Here is a link to more pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/jglesne/MyCondoInSamutPraken?authkey=C9jvXn2-SR8#

Day 34 - Constitution Day

Well today was another Thai national holiday... Constitution Day, so I got the day off from school! I went into Bangkok to bum around to figure out where everything is located and see some of the tourist attractions! I took the Sky Train (it is about a 20 minute taxi ride from the sky train station) to Victory Monument that acts as a mid point of the city where a significant number of bus lines run to and from. From there I walked to the King's residence to see the grounds but I found it was closed for the Holiday. I continued my walk to the Golden Mount (Wat Saket) which was constructed in the 1800's on an artificial by King Rama III. It is famous for the Golden dome on the top of the hill. From the top you can see the entire city in every direction. Then I moved onto the Wat Ratchanatdaram also built by King Rama III on the canal and is famous for the square pillars around the premise. I spent the afternoon at the National Museum which was wonderful. I couldn't take pictures there but some of the highlights included funeral and ceremonial floats of the King and Queen that were 50 ft tall by 100 ft long, ancient ceremonial thrones made of gold, water puppets, musical instruments, and more Buddha figures than I have ever seen in my life. I walked about 10 miles looking at different places and enjoying the city today! I ended the day at a large mall where I met some friends for dinner.

My impressions of Bangkok so far are these: Traffic is AWFUL! I use to hate an hour commute in Chicago, but getting around Bangkok can take three hours (especially by bus!). However, with that being said they do have an efficient, clean, and new Sky train and subway system that moves swiftly once you are able to get to a station. These stations are not always central locations in big areas of the city. This city has grown tremendously in the last 20 years from what I understand so when you are walking around you will come to a large hotel or skyscraper full of condos and right next door will be a small house made of metal where the family is cooking over a fire pit and fishing from the polluted canals for their dinner. A little different than most large cities I have visited. I also found there is so much to see and do it will take a couple more days of exploring to see everything!

*** Here is a link to more pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/jglesne/ConstitutionDay?authkey=2W2Sh3SUWVE#

Day 29 - 31 Happy Birthday to the King!

On Friday it was the King's birthday which is recognized as a Thai national holiday. The King is the most respected person (beside Buddha) in the country so of course he gets a day that honors him. The current King in Thailand has been in reign for over 60 years, but little known fact he was actually born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was a great saxophone player who played with Benny Goodman (a well known American Jazz musician)!

For his birthday they have a huge celebration that is televised live from the palace in Bangkok and includes all day festivities, a speech from the King, and a fireworks display at dusk. At approximately 7:30 on Friday night my friends and I were sitting on the ocean in Hua Hin at seafood restaurant and everyone stopped in the middle of their meals to stand and sing to the king for about 10 minutes. We didn't know what they were saying so we sang Happy Birthday instead! (Note: Every Monday everyone in the country wears yellow shirts with the King's emblem on the left breast, because it is his favorite color so I have had to add yellow to my wardrobe since arriving in Thailand.)

Due to the Holiday we didn't have school on Friday so 3 of my friends and I went down to Hua Hin (about a 3 hour bus ride Southwest of Bangkok) for the weekend to meet some of our others friends who are teaching there. We stayed in a guesthouse that was propped up on stilts over the ocean, so when we woke up in the morning the tide was right under our room! It was a nice relaxing three day weekend that was spent on the beach, reading a couple books, enjoying a campfire on the beach, exploring the town, and devouring some great seafood!! Life is pretty rough right now....

Day 28 - Update from Bangkok

We just found out that the protesters are leaving the airport this afternoon, which is a good sign for the entire country. Unfortunately this has cost the Thai economy millions of dollars and placed a sad image on the country's tourism industry.

But from what we hear this is not over yet.... It seems that the election process here is very corrupt and has been for hundreds of year which is why these protesters do not think the Prime Minister should be in power. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks. I'll keep you posted. Again thanks for all the prayers and concerned emails!

Day 27 - Nantawan Trilingual School

Tonight I took an overnight bus from Chiang Mai to Bangkok to start my new teaching job at Nantawan Trilingual School about 10 km directly South of Bangkok (about 2 km from the Gulf of Thailand). I arrived at school by 7:30 am and was in the classroom monitoring midterm exams by 8:30!! I guess it was good to be thrown into things right away, because I could meet the students and other teachers. I will be a homeroom teacher for about fifteen 1st graders and then will teach 2 periods (40 minutes each) of ESL to 1st graders and 2 periods of ESL to second graders in the morning. In the afternoon I will teach 1 or 2 periods of ESL (or fun and games as I am told) to Kindergartners!! I am excited about my schedule!

Nantawan is a private primary school for students in preschool - 6th grade (the families of the students are very wealthy). There are about 350 students in total at the school, so the size is wonderful. (they had prepped us to have 40 - 50 students in the class like most Thai schools, but I will only be teaching 9 - 11 students). The students learn to speak English (which they are suppose to speak 70% of the time), Chinese, and Thai. The English level of these students is very high. They understand everything you say, but it sounds like they need help writing and forming the correct sentences! Everyone seems very nice and encouraging so far! I have the website for the school if you want to check it out. I will post more pictures in the weeks to come, but at least you can see the facility! http://www.nantawan.ac.th/

The school also provided me an apartment to stay in near the school. I'll post more about that soon....

Day 19 - 23 Teaching

Well I can officially say that I am a TESOL certified teacher. After completing the classroom work the last two weeks the group was able to go into two different Thai schools to teach. On Monday and Tuesday we were at a primary school and taught students between the ages of 10 - 12 years old. These two days went pretty well, but the English level of the students was very low. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we were at a secondary school where the students ranged from 14 - 18 years old. This group of students did well with their English. It was a lot of fun helping them expand their vocabulary and teach them to speak proper English!



On Friday night the TESOL program threw us a party at the hotel where we dressed in traditional Thai clothing, enjoyed a wonderful Thai meal, watched 5 Thai women perform traditional dances, and sang Karaoke! It was a nice way to wrap up the course and start saying goodbye to the friends we've made over the past couple weeks!






As I reflect over the past couple weeks I feel like I have been on one of my J-term college trips again, because you are in unfamiliar lands with people you don't really know to share in an awesome experience. I can't believe that the lasting friendships that have been established and the special memories that I have been able to share with these people. I have also been thoroughly impressed with the ATI course. I left the US wondering if it was all a scam and was blessed to be in such a great program with great teachers and good contact people in Thailand. If anyone wants more information about this teaching program please let me know!

*****http://picasaweb.google.com/jglesne/GoingAwayDinnerInChiangMai?authkey=4kpSQvUgirI#

*****http://picasaweb.google.com/jglesne/ThailandSchools?authkey=7R5LUewu5QY#

Day 22 - Happy Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!! I HOPE YOU HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY! I am thankful for all you! I just enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast at an American restaurant with some friends. It wasn't quite like home but really pretty good! Have a wonderful day celebrating with family and friends! LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!

Day 22 - State of Emergency in Thailand

I hate to bring up anything not cheerful on Thanksgiving, but I have already gotten emails from people about the state of emergency that has been declared in Thailand today. Currently there are protest groups trying to overturn the Prime Minister of the country and they have taken the two airports in Bangkok under seige. There have been bombings and shootings over the past couple days/weeks in Bangkok and 3 people were killed at a protest in Chiang Mai last night. Right now they are just advising us to travel in groups and to stay away from protest areas in the city but demonstrators are not targeting Westerners. (this is a National affair not an international affair)

I was suppose to fly to Bangkok on Sunday night to start teaching on Tuesday (which I will post more about later), but it looks like I will be taking another mode of transportation. I will keep you posted on any new developments (there are articles on foxnews and other sources if you want further information).

Thank you for the concerned emails but I am safe. I am praying that they will reach a peace agreement soon and also praying for the people of India and the families of those who lost loved ones!

Day 16 & 17 - Trekking

Since we went to class 6 out of the 7 days last week they gave us a 3 day weekend so my friends Julia and Ben Francavilla and Matt signed up to do a two day trek into the national parks close to the Burma boarder.

DAY 1: On Friday morning our guide picked us up at the resort at 8:30 a.m. for our trek. We met another guy from Ireland downtown (it was a great, small group to travel with) and off we went in our Song Tauw (which was an adventure in itself on the roads of Thailand) about an hour North of Chiang Mai to a market where the guide purchased food for the next 4 meals. It was nice to get out of the city to see some of the countryside and smaller villages. Then we headed into the northern part of Doi Suthep National Park where we hiked to Mork Fa Waterfall (pic 1). This waterfall was twice the size of the falls we saw last weekend. From there we headed further North through the foothills and mountains of Doi Huay Nam Dang National park to a hot springs (yes a very "hot" spring) where we ate lunch and soaked in the warm pools of water (pic 2). It was actually very enjoyable, because Friday was not as hot outside (low 80's). After our skin was red and our hands pruned we got our gear ready for the 3 hour trek into the mountains. About a half a mile into the trek was the Pong Dueat Geyser that reminded me of something you would see in Yellowstone (pic 3 didn't think I would see one of them in Thailand!!) The trek continued up and down two parts of the mountain range before we finally arrived in a Karenon village (descendants of the native hill tribes) about 5ish to spend the night in a hut. (pic 4 and 5).

Day 2: The group left the village by 8:30 on Saturday morning and hiked for an hour before we found the river where our elephant trekking began. Here three of us rode on one elephant (no seat belts included) through the river and along the banks for about an hour and half (pic 6). (YAY! I got to ride an elephant!!)

After that we got on a bamboo raft, that our porter had constructed that morning, with all our gear and continued down the river (pic 7). (NOTE: Bamboo rafting is about 15 pieces of long, fresh bamboo pieces tied together that the whole group stands on down the river. The porter and guide use Bamboo sticks as oars and when you go through the rapids the group balances the weight of the raft with their feet. However, through the bigger rapids the guide will yell for everyone to get down and everyone just holds on for dear life.) There were 5 other groups bamboo rafting with us that morning and we were the only raft that didn't tip through the rapids. We came very, very close because at one point we were all leaning with half our bodies and gear soaked in the river but luckily we managed to save the raft. After our 2 hour rafting adventure we stopped for lunch and headed back down to Chiang Mai (pic 8 workers in the rice fields on the way home). We had a blast on our trek!

*** See more pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/jglesne/2DayTrekInDoiHuayNamDang?authkey=yVNlHWGH_UQ#

****There are many trekking companies in the Chiang Mai area who offer these package deals, so it was hard to know what company to go with. However, Matt had read about the Eagle's Nest in one of his guide books and we were thoroughly impressed with the company that was run by an Irish woman and her Thai husband. We were able to meet our guide the day before we left and felt very comfortable with what they were providing us. The trek included our guide Doh, our porter Song, food, accommodation, pickup/drop off at hotel, and two amazing days. I would recommend this company to anyway traveling in the area. That's my promotion for the week :)

Day 15 - Chiang Mai

Today we got out of class a little early so a couple of us decided to go to the cultural museum and learn more about the Chiang Mai area. I'll give you a few highlights:

• Chiang Mai is over 700 years old and was founded by the Lanna Kingdom (means millions of rice fields)


• Was under rule of numerous kings from 1200 - 1400's and then moved to a location South of the original dwelling closer to the Ping River


• The new city was built in the early 1400's in a square mile parameter with a Moat (a canal that is about 4 feet deep) that runs around the outer edge. The entire kingdom including the temples and palace were built within these boundaries.


• Between the late 1500's and 1800's the city was overtaken by people from Burma and Ayutthaya. The moat area was overrun at this time but Chiang Mai regained power in the early 1800's and the gates around the city were rebuilt.


• The first Westerns arrived in Chiang Mai in the early 1800's and the first Christians formed a church in the mid 1800's


• The postal service and railway came to the area in the early 1920's and during WWII many Thai people in the area were contracted to build roads around the Northern region to open up travel through Asia


• It is now the second largest city in Thailand with over 200,000 people

Chiang Mai is a very "Americanized" city from what I have seen over the past couple weeks. There are ATM's, coffee shops, Internet cafes and 7/11's on every block and you can find any type of food from around the world in the city. Chiang Mai attracts many forangs (Thai word for foreigners) who live here permanently or backpack/vacation through the region. I heard that there are over 5,000 Americans who have retired here permanently and I would expect the number of retired Europeans to be even higher (NOTE: A foreigner is not allowed to own more than 49% of any home or building in Thailand. A Thai person must own 51% of a building so I guess if you want to live here you better know a trustworthy Thai!) This city is one big tourist trap and sometimes I feel like it is a European city, because I see more foreigners than Thai people! Trust me I don't stick out here as much as you may think with blond hair and blue eyes.

The moat area remains intact today with 4 major gates in the North, East, South and West that allow access into this central downtown area (see picture above). Here you will find numerous temples, restaurants, hostels, hotels, bars/entertainment and markets. However, I am staying out West of the moat near the university so we see more of the everyday Thai lifestyle. It has been nice to be outside of the "forang area" and around the students. We can walk out onto Suthep Rd. (which is where our resort is located) and find Thai food and delicacies at the street vendors and great markets with fresh fruits and vegetables.

I have really enjoyed Chiang Mai the last couple weeks. It is a beautiful city with lots of things to do in and around the area. It also has a rich history that the people respect and cherish.

Day 13 - Gettin' around

There are three main ways that a traveler (foreign or not) can get around Chiang Mai: by scooter, Tuk - Tuk, or Song Tauw. It is very common to see 3-4 people (an entire family) on one scooter driving through the busy streets. I have not dared to ride a scooter yet, because they are very dangerous. We have seen numerous accidents in the street. However, they say it is great to rent one for the day to take up into the mountains! A Tuk - Tuk is a small triangular bike that seats about 3-4 people. They are cute and fun to ride in! (see the picture above) But the mode of transportation we normally take is a Song Tauw. It is a pickup truck with a covered back that has two benches for people to sit on. They do not have a bus system in Chiang Mai, because from what we have heard the Song Tauw business is run by the mafia (along with many other things) and they will not allow the city to start a system. It usually cost us each about 20 baht to get from place to place around the city. They do have cars and trucks here, but I would say that they are about 1 in 15 vehicles on the road.

The pollution level here is very high. The first couple days out on the streets I had to cover my mouth and try not to breath in while we were in a vehicle, because they do not have regulations for the emissions. Unfortunately I think I getting use to it and it doesn't bother me as much now.

Day 11 - A Great Day in Chiang Mai

Today I woke up and left the resort with 4 other friends at 6 a.m. to go up the mountain to the Wat Doi Suthep (Wat = Buddhist Temple of Doi Suthep = the mountain range) and watch the sunrise over the mountains. It was absolutely breathtaking. From the base of Doi Suthep there are 302 steps up to the temple that is famous for the bells that hang all around and make many sounds depending on the wind movement. This temple overlooks the entire town of Chiang Mai and at night I can see it lite up on the mountain.

We left the temple and made our way further up the mountain into the Doi Suthep National Park and started our approximately 4 mile hike down the mountain. The path (or what path there was) followed nine levels of a waterfall down the mountain, so we would hike, then swim, then play in the waterfalls, and hike some more until we made it down to the lowest level of the waterfall about noon. We were so glad we left that early in the morning, because it was cooler out and we only ran into three people the entire morning!!

After our hike we decided to go to the zoo which is at the base of the mountain. None of us were that overly excited about going to the zoo, but we found that the Chiang Mai zoo was different than most American zoos. First of all the did not have to create the surroundings of the zoo like the trees, the flowers, and the plants, they actually built the zoo into the vegetation of the mountain. Second, they allow you to get right up to most of the animals and feed them or go into exhibits and just have the animals out in the open (this was like birds and smaller creatures), so we ended up having a great time at the zoo.

Next, we went to Wat U Mong (the Temple of the U Mong), which is actually located on the road right past our resort. It was a temple built in the 1200's that means the forest, because they have preserved a lot of the trees, plants, and pond around the premise. This temple was very large compared to most (it was kind of like a small college campus)becuase it had numerous buildings connected by walking paths unlike most others in Chiang Mai that only have one or two buildings. The Buddha's at this temple are found in underground caves. We also went to a lecture put on by one of the monks every Sunday where he talked about the religion and the temple.

We were all pretty tired by the end of today, but we are only in Chiang Mai another 2 weeks so we are trying to do everything we can!

***Check out more pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/jglesne/WatPhrathatDoiSuthepTheZooAndWatUMong?authkey=2_aQ8JV5e4I#

Day 9 - Thai Massage

Today I had my first Thai massage and I all can say was fantastic. It was an hour and a half of pure heaven that cost me 550 baht (about $16). Most of the massage places are only about $6 - 8, but we opted for the royal treatment. I just thought I would share my new found relaxation technique that I am incorporating into morning yoga sessions!

Day 6 - 8 Loy Krathong (Loi Kra - tone)

In Thailand each year they celebrate the Loy Krathong festival on the last full moon night of the 12th lunar month which happens to be November 11 - 13th. It is the Thai way to offer their thanks and offerings to the Mae Khong Ka (or the Mother of Rivers) since they depend on the rivers for survival. The people float these beautiful Krathongs made of fresh flowers, candles, and incense down the river to remove all the bad luck.

I was fortunate to be in Thailand during this 3 day celebration, because it was one of the most spectacular events I have been to in my life. All the houses, shops, restaurants, and hotels decorated with lanterns of all shapes and colors. On the second night I went down to the river with some friends to float my Krathong (see picture). We heard that it was good luck to put a couple baht, a piece of hair, and fingernail clippings into the Krathong for good luck, but I just stuck with the baht!! The smell of incense filled the air along the river filled with thousands of the Krathongs.

The other feature of the festival is not only the lanterns along the buildings and streets, but the hot air lanterns in the sky. These are lanterns that have a kerosene flame like a hot air balloon and when it gets hot enough the people can release them into the sky. When you look up into the sky at any given time during the festival there are hundreds of thousands of red flickering stars in the sky floating off into the mountains. It is truly an indescribable scene. (The video shows some lanterns being released).

Each night of the festival there was a parade that featured floats with men and women in their traditional costumes carrying lanterns. Firecrackers are also a big part of this festival. All firecrackers are legal here, so people are constantly setting them off down by the river on the bridge. You actually have to be carefully because the streets are packed with thousands of people each night (all night) and they don't really care where they throw the firecrackers in the crowd or in the air. This starts at dusk and does not end till about 3 am. Unfortunately, pictures and video won't do this blog justice!

*** Check out more pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jglesne/LoyKrathong#

Day 5 - American TESOL Program

Today I started my first class through the American TESOL program (Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages) that is conducted right at the resort where I am staying. There are 27 students in the class from America, Canada, Ireland, Indonesia, India, and the United Kingdom. We all come from such different backgrounds. For example, we have a retired doctor/stockbroker, a former high school principal, a dietitian, teachers and everything in between. Most people range from about 25 - 30 years old, but there a few older people who are taking the course as a fun retirement job! Our teacher, Sangeeta, is from South Africa and has taught this course all over the world.

The class includes 80 hours of classroom work for us and 40 hours of teaching and observation in 2 different schools. We learn different formats and teaching techniques to help prepare us, because we are not allowed to speak Thai to any of the children. From my understanding all the students we will be teaching will have learned the English alphabet and numbers, but that is the basics. This is a very intense 3 week course that includes a lot of lesson planning and homework outside the class, but I am excited to share ideas and practices with all these well educated people.

It is now also required that teachers coming into Thailand have 20 hours of cultural training at the completion of the course. Our TESOL leaders here in Chiang Mai will go through that will us on November 29th and 30th.

Day 4 - I am in Thailand!

I arrived in Chiang Mai about 12:30 a.m. on Sunday morning safe and sound AND with both my pieces of luggage!! Like I had mentioned before I will be staying at the Sinthana Resort for the next month, but please don't get the impression that I am staying in a "resort type room" because our group is staying in a hostel building that is run by the resort. However, I must say the accommodations are still very nice and the grounds of the resort are beautiful! I also lucked out because I am not on the side of the hostel where the roosters wake everyone up at 4 a.m.!! Here are a few more quick facts:

• I have a roommate from Lincoln, Nebraska, and thankfully she studied in Thailand for 6 months during college so she is helping me learn the Thai language.


• The time zone in Thailand is 13 hours ahead of Underwood/Chicago, so it is pretty easy to convert when I call home.


• It is in the mid 80's degrees during the day and it cools down to the upper 60's at night during this time of year which is the winter season for Thailand. They also have a lot of humidity, so it makes it feel even hotter.


• From what I have seen so far the landscape surrounding Chiang Mai is lush vegetation that extends through the mountainous region in Northern Thailand. I am looking forward to some weekend treks to enjoy the scenery.


• The Thai Currency is the baht and approximately 33 Baht = $1. To give you an example of how cheap this region is I can buy 1 liter of water for 13 baht and I can buy Pat Tai at lunch for about 30 baht.