That's all she wrote.

Well. That's a wrap. In a few hours I will be heading to the airport, jumping on a plane (3 planes), then its just a short 27ish hours and I'll be home sweet home. Doesn't that sound like fun? On the bright side, I will be travelling back in time. So that's neat. I leave here at 8 o clock Wednesday the 21st, fly for 21 hours, then get home at 3:20 on Wednesday the 21st. Maaaagic.

There are so many things I have to say about this trip to Thailand. Too many in fact. So I will make a list or two in an attempt to get some of my points across.

To start us off I figured it would be a good idea to list the things I am looking forward to.
Off the top of my head and in to particular order;

1. Not having to pay to go to the bathroom
2. Having people understand me when I speak english
3. Snow
4. Spending more than a few hours with my brother
5. Pickles
6. Holiday music
7. Snow
8. My birthday
9. My friends and family/giving everyone their Thailand swagg
10. Walking down the street without getting called Shakira....I don't get it either
11. My kitties


Now the things I will miss;

1. 6 dollar massages
2. Seeing temples every time I turn a corner
3. Fresh fruit every five steps
4. Seeing the orange of monk's robes...gets me everytime
5. Petting exotic animals
6. The sunshine
7. Meeting new people
8. The thousands of stray kitties for me to play with
9. Being asked if I would like a tuk-tuk....PSYCHE

Here are a few lessons I learned;

1. Always carry toilet paper with you in your purse
2. Always insist on using the meter when getting into a taxi
3. When bartering, offer them half of what they ask for then slowly go up
4. If someone trying to sell you a suit or a dress goes to shake your hand...don't do it, they will never let go
5. Don't mess with a Thai person. I watched an old man get beat up in the middle of the street.
6. Never, EVER, say no to a bucket


In all seriousness I have learned a lot this trip about the way life works, sometimes things work out the way they were planned and sometimes they don't. Everything happens for a reason and I learned to make the best of whatever situation I am in and to always keep a positive attitude. As my mother always says, positive begets positive and always keep an open mind. My trip didn't go as planned, but it still turned out to be an amazing experience filled with new friends, new sights, and a new maturity. I have been asked by a lot of people if I think I have changed since being here, if i have 'found myself' as so many people intend to do when they set out to travel. I'd like to say I have, but the truth is I have no idea. Does a person really change that much over 3 months? I guess I will let you guys be the judge of that when I get home but all I know is the changes I have seen in people on this trip, and I can't help but assume that I have done the same. I have spent a LOT of time by myself here which has granted me time in indulge in planning my future. I didn't have any major epiphany which resulted in me finding the career path I want to take but more than anything it just solidified the plans I already made. I have always known what I want to do when I grow up and being here just made me more sure of it. I have been making new plans though. I now have a burning desire to keep travelling, which I'm sure happens all too often to people after they return from their first adventure, and I am already thinking about all the places I want to go and see. I get excited just thinking about it.

Part of the reason I want to continue travelling is because of the people I met. I made a life long friend in Tanita that's for sure. I have always heard from others who have travelled about all the people they encountered along the way and I'm so glad meeting people was as easy they made it out to be. I met so many people in so many different ways, whether it was through TEFL, or some strangers listening to the black keys in the lobby of my hotel, or friends of a friend I met here, or even a kind boy taking care of my drunk friend. The great part is that everyone I met has a story, and probably my favourite thing was listening to these almost complete strangers open up and tell me theirs. I think there is a safety in knowing that the person sitting across from you listening intently to what you have to say has no prior knowledge about your past that is comforting to people and allows them to open up. I heard stories of adoption, the death of a mother, struggles with addiction, problems with parents, just about every kind of problem you can imagine, and the cool thing was, everyone over came whatever their struggle was and taught me another lesson that I can carry with me as I grow up, life goes on. No matter what happens in life, things will get better. It truly made me appreciate the life my parents have given me that's for sure. Until now I think I had taken for granted what a loving, supportive family I have, and I can assure you thanking them for that is the first thing I am going to do when I get home.

These are all lessons I've heard before, things that people have told me over and over again during my childhood but I don't think anyone can really understand until they experience it for themselves. So thanks Thailand, I will takes these lessons home with me and try to never forget them.

Well. I've got a bag to pack, some sleep to sleep, and a cab to catch so I guess by the time you guys read this I will be on my way home. Can't wait to see you all. Love you very much.

Silly me, always forgetting things

So I forgot to blog about the cooking class I went to the other day! Which is silly of me because it was awesome and I don't know how I managed to forget that. Anyways, since Chang Mai is famous for their cooking classes I figured I had to do another one cause I hadn't quite mastered Pad Thai yet. Our day started off at the market where our instructor taught us about the ingredients the Thai's use to make their dishes special. I may have a slight problem cooking these dishes at home because in Fernie we are uh...lacking in the ethnic ingredients department. Did you know there are like 6 different types of basil? I didn't. Thai markets are a lot different from Canadian grocery stores, in our meat section you don't typically see an entire dead chicken, feet and all. Or bags of chilis that weigh a tonne. It was a neat experience though and hopefully I can find some ingredients that are similar and make curry paste from scratch back home...cause I know how to do that now...

Tanita if you are reading this do not look at the next picture

Seriously. How cute are these. I couldn't get over it.

You can make absolutely any Thai dish if you have these two utensils. Christmas and my birthday are coming up....

I could pretty much start my own restaurant. But not actually cause the only things on the menu would be Pad Thai, spring rolls, stuffed peppers and grilled cheese.

These are the ingredients used in curry paste. I would tell you what they are but I forget.

Homemade curry paste! Apparently if you walk by someones house in Thailand and you hear pounding it means a good wife lives there. She is either making curry paste...or doing something else that makes a banging noise...

Massaman curry what upppp

Kyle left to hit up Pattaya for some...beach time....before flying home so I have been hanging out by myself just kicking around Chang Mai looking for ways to keep myself entertained. I have done a lot of walking, seen a lot of temples, and drank a lot of Starbucks. I'm a dummy and forget my camera the majority of the time but here are a few pictures of the temple right by my hotel. I'll bring my camera next time I go out I promise.

Check out all the cool stamps in my passport! See the wear and tear on the edges? My passport has gotten excellant use and will be able to retire with dignity this September knowing it has lived a full and interesting life.

Well that's all. Check back tomorrow cause I'm going to the Tiger Kingdom. Doesn't that sound awesome? Anything with 'Kingdom' in the name has got to be epic. It reminds me of the lion king. Okay bye!

What's cooler than zip lining through the jungle? Nothing. There is nothing cooler. In  case you didn't catch on...today I spent the day zip lining through the jungle. Yesterday I was looking for something fun to do and I saw an add for something called Jungle Flight and I thought to myself, 'you like jungles, that sounds like fun' and signed up. I didn't really take time to think about it and in my excitement I seemed to overlook a pretty signifigant detail. I'm not the biggest fan of heights. Not sure why but this didn't even occur to me until I was all harnessed up and standing on the first platform looking at the ground 20 feet below me. I instantly felt sick and mentally kicked myself in the head for signing up for the package that included 34 platforms. I didn't have much time to think about the knot in my chest though because the guide grabbed me, said 'ladies first!' and told me to go. So I went. BEST THING EVER. I know. Absolutes. But I think this might have been cooler than the snorkelling. Well. Tied. I made it safely to the next platform and since I was in once piece and I had managed to not pee my pants, I realized there was nothing to be afraid of and couldn't wait for the next platform. Only 33 more to go. Here are a few of the 90000 pictures I took. Not actually. That was just a guestimate. 

What's that? You're going too fast towards that tree? Here, use this piece of bamboo to slow yourself down

It seems like in Thailand there's always a happy ending....

Not sure why, but they insisted I pose with their walkie talkie...