Thailand - from ella

Hey famalam,
I will probably be fairly bad about updating this blog but since i'm not quite tired i'll have a go.  Also, goodbye to lilly's dedicated family followers, it was a pleasure having you "follow" our trip.  Please feel free to continue reading if you're so inclined (though it'll probably bore you to death reading about a stranger).   I arrived in Bangkok very late at night and took the airport shuttle bus to Koh (kho, khoa? i don't think it matters) san road, the backpacker strip if you will.   At first, i struggled to find the backpackers i'd booked into which for a moment was rather terrifying because a big fatty old fat rat ran across my foot (luckily the last one i've seen).  Bangkok ended up being far more fun than anyone or any blog has ever said.  I spent my first day going to the Grand Palace, a fabulous temple and palace with some of the most remarkable architecture i've seen.  There's something very intriguing about a culture that is so enamored and in love with their king that these outrageous sparkly gold palaces are built for them (and the thai REALLLLLLLY do love their king, even though they're overthrown every 15 someodd years and then everyone hates them or something like that).  After the grand palace i enjoyed some pad thai street food and spent some time walking up and down khosan road meandering in and out of market vendors selling everything from fake ids to buddha statues.  It was there i met Benji, a friend i travelled with for a few days and headed out the next day with him and his friends from australia to Kachanburi where we went to a floating market (pretty neat), the bridge over the river kwai (wish i knew more about WW2), and a tiger temple where you could pet realllllllly big tigers.  The temple is supposedly a buddhist temple where infant tigers are rescued from the wild for one reason or another and brought to the monks to be taken care of.  In reality, i would never recommend the activity to anyone.  While i very much enjoyed being that close to a tiger and being able to touch them, the whole process i feel has moved away from tiger rescue and buddhist tradition and is a money making business where the tigers are treated terribly.  I would have much preferred a sanctuary where i could observe them in a natural environment or something.  Anyway, the next day i bummed around Bangkok until I took the night bus up to Chiang Mai where i am currently hanging out.  Tonight i took a thai cooking class and learned how to cook proper pad thai, thai green curry, spring rolls, and hot and sour soup.  the class was absolutely amazing, hopefully i can remember all i learned and do some cooking when i'm back home.  Tomorrow i'm going to an elephant sanctuary, the reviews online have said the elephants are treated very well and their caretakers clearly care about them, let's hope.  Anyway, that's all for now!  Love ya'll!!
<3<3<3
Ella