#vataytion

Turn Down for Wat I mean, don't get me wrong, it definitely lives up to the hype. It was breathtaking at sunrise, stunning to traipse through and awe-inspiring when I saw the view from the top. But as I was waiting in line to see this magnificent structure, I found myself asking: why am I taking pictures? Is it costing me my time with this beauty? I think I sometimes get wrapped up in the prestige of the sights I'm seeing that I forget to just stop and think about why it's prestigious So I set my camera down. I breathed and looked around. And found myself thinking "...this. Is. Amazing...." Rendered almost speechless. And then 5 minutes later after I found myself thinking "my friends would want to see this view" Sometimes I wish I wasn't so connected to technology. That I could just unplug and not find myself thinking about my friends or how good this moment would look on Tumblr. Just existing in the moment. So I said turn down for Wat as a cautionary tale. Don't get so Turnt up about it that you spend too much time finding the shot to brag to your friends about, and forget to just set the camera down, and turn down, so you can soak in its magic. Even if for only 5 minutes.

Last Day in Chiang Mai. We learned to cook Pad Thai, Curry, and fish cakes. The fish cakes are not pictured on account of my eagerness to try them. It was a beginner's cooking class, many things were prepped for us, but it was still a great thing to do. This may become a habit for me in the future!

New Years Eve We stayed in a nice hostel and met a nice girl. She invited us to dinner with a friend of a friend. Turns out he owns one of the swankiest seafood joints in Bangkok, if not Thailand. He treated us to MAGNIFICENT food. After we were doused in decadence, we set off to go back to the Golden Mountain Temple to see fireworks from the top, hear the Buddhas chant, and maybe get a blessing. What we got was to participate in their New Years ritual, and see the fireworks in THE WHOLE CITY from the top of the mountain. The pictures dot do it justice. Sometimes you get what you ask for, and sometimes you get so much more.

Our Bangkok Temple crawl

It was all interesting, and fun to see, but a long trip.

Chiang Mai Day 1

The Third 24 We casually caught a taxi to take us out to Phang Nga. After, they helped us rent a boat, and driver, to see the sights. Every minute was like something out of a movie. Incredible. Here are a few shots of the scenery and of the famous James Bond Island. We didn't go ashore because it costed more money (and if you look at the last picture, full of people). But driving around it was just great. In hindsight maybe it was a good thing my camera ran out of memory. Then I could only take a reasonable amount of pictures. After epic views, we ate seafood and got massages. A Christmas Miracle indeed. Or at least a success...

Christmas Dinner with the Kohais.