Hi all, posting from Bangkok this evening...

After our 2 day trekking tour, the next day, we were back in Chiang Mai, taking a full day traditional thai massage course. Traditional thai massages are not your normal kind of oil massages you get at spas...they are basically a work out for both the client and the masseuse! Lots of bending body parts, hitting the body (yes we pay ppl to beat us- it's the stimulate the muscle) and rough elbows. It's awesome- we really like getting them done. We only learned how to massage the legs, as the course is a full week. It honestly takes 7 days to learn all the body parts...so I'm sure I'll be practicing when I get home, if anyone wants to be a free massage! hehe.

That evening, Dan and I took a 14 hour overnight bus to Pattaya to meet a cousin of Dan's. His name is Tim and he works at an orphanage. Tim is about 60 years old, and it was our first time meeting him. We arrived at the orphange early in the morning, and Tim greeted us at the admin office doors. He didn't know what we looked like, but he was expecting us. The orphanage was alot bigger and nicer than we expected! There were many children of all ages (preschool and up) there, some healthy, some deaf, and some handicapped physically. Tim introduced us to the staff in the admin, and then he took us around to the different buildings to play with the kids. OmG! They were so amazingly cute!!!!!!!! Their faces lite up when they saw us (they love foreigners) and by the way they were so trustworthy with us (adult strangers), we knew that they were treated well by the staff there. We were impressed by the services they provided to these children.

The absolute cutest moment was when we went to visit the deaf children, who seemed the most happy out of all the kids we met, when we arrived. Dan started to pick them up and swing them in the air one by one, and they all were amazed at how muscly and hairy his arms were. One boy took us hand and tried to wrap it around Dan's biceps, to measure the size of his muscle. He then took his measurement and flexed his own biceps and compared Dan's measurement to his own. It was TOO CUTE - I wish I got a picture of that!!!! The kids kept lining up to get a ride from Dan. Dan thought it was funny that the girl that was the heaviest out of all the kids, wanted a ride from Dan the most. That was so cute too!!!

Tim then took us to his beautiful huge home in a private residential wealthy area. He introduced us to his Thai wife, Taiole and her Thai friend who was visiting from Australia, Tipwana. They also introduced us to their maid, who happens to be Taiole's aunt.

We went to the beach with Taiole and Tip for most of the day. It's very very touristy in Pataya. We didn't like it that much, as there really isn't much to do there unless you're looking for Thai prostitutes. We were disgusted at how many white (old) men had a Thai girl with him...ew ew ew!

Later that evening, we went back to Tim's home and met his daugher, Kate (16 years old). The ladies cooked up a yummy simple Thai dinner and we chatted about the family and life for awhile. The family was so hospitable, they had us stay there for the night.

We left early (5:15am) for the airport to Bangkok, where we shopped all day at the Chatuchak market. IT was so overwhelmingly big, and all the "stores" are jammed packed together in the hot humidity. We spent about $100 US today on: wooden funky dinner plates (for sushi or salad); 2 watches for me (knock offs DKNY) - one is sophisticated and the other one has a barcode for a face (SO COOL!!!!); a funky lamp for our new home; and a shirt for D.

Now we're just hanging out in Bangkok, taking advantage of all the street vendors and food stalls. Last night in Thailand!!!! We're both very excited to go to Hong Kong though! Tomorrow, we will shop at MBK mall for knock off Diesel jeans, and then head to the airport.

Until then...