Lepers and tigers and Buddhas... Oh my!

Look, unless you spent some time in a leper colony today... Well, you weren't with us. (Adding that to my list of things I never imagined saying.)

Today was our free day in Chiang Mai... Picture it... Sleeping in, having a leisurely breakfast poolside, finally getting to really enjoy that Kung pao chicken breakfast, maybe a nice big glass of watermelon juice... Then picture what REALLY went down.

"THERE'S A BIKE TOUR AT 8! IT'S 7:15!"

We managed to get our acts together pronto and headed for the bike tour headquarters. Our cab driver to get us there woke up on the right side of the bed this morning. "Bike ride? HAHA. You like bikes? HAHA. Look, mangoes. HAHA. Mangoes. HAHA. That will be 20 baht. HAHA."

We said goodbye to the cheery fellow at the bike shop and got ourselves situated with our bikes and our helmets. Helmets. HAHA. As if there were helmets. There practically weren't handlebars. Our tour consisted of the three of us, one solo traveller from New Jersey, and our tour guide, Mr... Wait for it... Tom. I'm not making that up this time. Scout's honor.

Tom was amazing. It took him exactly ten minutes and one temple excursion to start calling Shandon "The Director". This came with a bow and some Kung fu moves. I'm not sure the connection between those, but if you can figure it out, two Thai points for you. Tom also liked to shout "TEAM USA!' At random while riding down the street. I've never felt like such an Olympian.

Tom took us off the beaten path into the countryside for all kinds of fun and adventure. By now, faithful reader, you should know "fun and adventure" equals... You guessed it... TEMPLES! I was going to keep count for you of exactly how many temples we visited today, but I get a little confused with counting once I get into quadruple digits. After a temple or two, we headed straight into A LEPER COLONY. You read that correctly, no need to go back and reread. Don't you worry your pretty little head though, it hasn't been a leper colony since 1908. Or maybe 2008, I wasn't really listening... I was too busy reading the placards about the history of leprosy and trying to calculate my odds of survival. Odds are high, in case you were concerned.

I don't know about you, but nothing goes hand-in-hand like ex-leper colony and fresh baked bread. So it's no surprise that was next on the agenda. The bakery consisted of three local Thai women who demonstrated their pastry making for the tourists... And one of them was ME! I got to try my hand at bakery work, and let me tell you, it was soothing work... Kinda like cutting out students' work out of lamination... You know what I'm talking about.

We hit up a couple dozen more temples, followed by lunch at a noodle shop in the middle of the countryside. These folks love their humidity with a side of hot noodle soup! It was SO good, though... As usual.

My favorite stop came right after lunch to a school! We showed up at the best time (RECESS) and got to play. The kids were running amok, there was not a yard duty to be seen, let alone signed release paperwork for the photos we took with them. Madness! More than one child was running up to greet us while brushing their teeth. Nothing says proper dental hygiene like the word "recess". We visited one classroom and we immediately heard a chorus of "My name is!" "My name is!" "My name is!" Keep in mind no one finished this sentence... But it was cute that they were trying to practice the English phrase they knew.

We saw it all today... A pottery workshop, local fisherman casting nets and letting us "help" (help = crouch somewhat nearby for a photo), some rice fields, a larger than life gong that you hit three times for good luck, a kid at a cafe that only barks at humans, etc. etc. etc.

That gong thing must have worked because, as you know, torrential downpours are on Chiang Mai's daily to-do list. Today's happened exactly 4 seconds after we finished the tour and we jumped right in our red jalopy taxi truck and patted ourselves on the back for having the best timing ever.

We spent the rest of the day wandering Chiang Mai's old city and getting caught in another downpour (the good luck gong only applies for an hour, apparently). We had the best dinner in town. I really love these people. They know what is best for you in regards to nutrition. The other day Tracy ordered a large soup and the lady said no (large would be too much food for Tracy). Tonight I ordered my soup "Thai style" (super spicy) and again... Nope. They said it would be too spicy for me. Thank goodness I don't have to make important life decisions around here. They will do it for you! After our amazing dinner, we called it a night.

We are off to Phuket in the morning... Indian Ocean, here we come. We will miss Chiang Mai! You know who will miss me? The mosquitoes. I'm not sure what they are going to eat once I leave this town.

Until tomorrow....