Chiang Mai

Our last stop of the trip was Chiang Mai, our favorite place in Thailand. It felt so good to get back here to somewhere familiar, to suddenly know where we were and how to get where we wanted! We stayed in this awesome guest house called "Awanahouse," (perfect, I know). It is located right on the Taipae Gate, at the center of everything downtown.

We ate lots of yummy food, went back to some of the places that we discovered last time we were here. We did all of our Christmas shopping at the awesome markets throughout the week. We went to the Saturday walking street the day that we got in and found some great deals there. But the Sunday walking street is our favorite market in Chiang Mai. It is the one of the main roads of the old city: every Sunday, it becomes a pedestrian only street where hundreds of stands set up and seem to go on forever. Here are some pictures of the gate where the market starts. Although it looks big, this plaza is really only the tip of the iceberg to show how big this market really is. Here are some pictures of them setting up:

All around the old city is a moat. Here I am, munching on one of our favorite snacks: sticky rice with mango.

Another interesting market is the Night Bazaar. You can find anything there. Here is John, who is now obsessed with watches. Thailand is famous for its fake Rolexes and other watches. They are incredible replicas. John got a shopkeeper to admit that they get the watches in huge bags from Taiwan, mostly. The guy said that he pays $100 (about 3300 Baht) for 3 Kilos of watches, and we know that they sell each watch for anywhere between 1000-2500 Baht. It's serious business!!

And then, unfortunately, with 4 days left of vacation, I (Dana) got very ill. I had two days of a very high fever; we went to the doctor and he said it might be dengue or malaria, but that you can't tell until the third day. After 2 days, the fever went away, but then other things started, and we went back to the doctor and had tests done. I got some kind of bad bacterial infection, and I'm now on anti-biotics and feeling much better again. Thanks to all who have been praying. And a very special thanks to the Hoppes, for welcoming us into your home and giving us real, home-cooked meals for a few days.

Finally, after a wonderful vacation, we are home. And it feels good.