Arrival in Chiang Mai

Isn't travel an amazing thing? You sit down in a chair, wait a while, and two days later you on on the other side of the globe!

Well, we made it. After 4 flights, many hours in the airport, and a neck ache from carrying our heavy luggage, we are finally in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We both feel much better after a good night's sleep in a real bed, and are ready to settle in and get ready for training (it starts tomorrow).

Chiang Mai is situated in Northern Thailand. It is really beautiful here, tropical and green. We landed yesterday, stepped off the plane, and immediately started sweating, although the lady that picked us up said that it was cool and comfortable compared to normal! We settled into the hotel room that will be our home for the next 3 weeks, and spent the afternoon exploring the area around here. The main street is littered with food carts and tiny restaurants, and although we don't speak Thai (or read the alphabet), through a combination of pointing and grunting, we were able to order or first Thai meal. Here are some pictures:

More street food. Yum!
Our first Thai meal. We were so proud of ourselves for ordering food for the first time, especially since we don't speak any Thai, the vendor doesn't speak English, and the menu was all in the Thai alphabet.
Our first breakfast in Bangkok
Exhaustion in Shanghai.
My best friend Nikki has been teaching in South Korea for a year. We got to see her in the LA airport for about 10 minutes. She was going back to Denver, and we were coming from Denver. Nice God moment.
John and all our heavy luggage...