Finally In Thailand! (4/15-4/17)

Well, after five flights and over 30 hours of traveling, I am finally in Thailand!  I was lucky enough to arrive without having any delays or plane trouble and my suitcase even made it here too.  I checked into the Sinthana Resort on Friday afternoon, unpacked a bit, and then caught up on sleep.  Yesterday I decided to explore the area around the hotel a bit.  The hotel is on the outskirts of Chiang Mai, right across from Chiang Mai University.  The majority of the restaurants and food stalls around the hotel are completely in Thai.  I was a little overwhelmed to try and attempt that on my first day, so I found an ice cream shop and had kiwi ice cream for lunch. 

In the Bangkok airport

I was relaxing back at the hotel when my roommate showed up!  Her name is Ashley and she's from Florida originally.  She arrived with a few other girls from the program, so we all decided to go into town and get some dinner.  We rode into town on a sorng-taa-ou, which is basically a small pick-up truck with two benches in the back.  It cost 20 baht per person, which is less than a dollar, so it's definitely the cheapest way into town.  We ate at a touristy-type restaurant that had English on the menu.  I had the Pad Thai which was very good.  We stayed out for a couple more drinks and then headed back home.
Today, we ate breakfast at the hotel buffet.  I had rice and a chicken and veggie combo that was pretty spicy.  They say that areas with hot climates eat spicy food to help raise their body temperature, so the outside temperature won't seem as hot.  I embraced that theory this morning and powered through my spicy breakfast in hopes of sweating a little less throughout the day.  Ashley and I decided to walk around town a bit after breakfast.  We stumbled upon a small outdoor market with lots of interesting food choices.  Everything from fresh fruit and vegetables to dried fruits to fish and meat.

Ashley at the market