The hustle and bustle of Old Chiang Mai has become a familiar homestead for me. It's the constant place we come back to after new experiences with home-stays, farms, long treks and elephants. Void of my family it has me feeling a bit homesick. Dodging the cars, motorcycles and tuk tuks has become second nature to me, and I surely am going to miss this city. The long alleyways that lead to our new hostel reveal the hidden beauty that this city had to offer. Our hostel is..interesting. While I am grateful for the hot shower and a toilet with both toilet paper AND a trashcan, (a huge luxury) I was given a giant terrycloth towel as a blanket. So that was weird. Not that we needed it though. Today is fairly hot as the city gets covered in a good layer of smoke and pollution from the hill burning. But apparently people from Chiang Mai go to Bangkok to find clean air. Tomorrow we jump on a train to Ayutthaya and stay there for two nights, followed by the clean (?) air of Bangkok. After that we have a meditation retreat for a whole week to learn the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. It's hard to believe we're almost halfway through this trip. Can't wait to get out there!
Pop gan mai!
