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.