Chiang Mai

There is a train that goes to Chiang Mai from Bangkok, but by the time we got there it was too late to catch it. So we got on yet another plane! An hour later, we arrived in Chiang Mai. We got caught up on some sleep and then left to have a look around. The first place we went was the food market. There was a section for fruits, flowers etc.

From the market, we got a funny little open air taxi and started off for a place that my aunt Jane had recommended we visit. It is called Oriental Mandarin Resort, but to call it a resort just doesn't give the right idea of what this place was like. It's like a small walled city that feels ancient but is comfortable and new at the same time. First of all though, they have a great restaurant with incredible service (they do things like bring you a cold towel if it's hot or push in your chair for you and put your napkin on your lap!) The waiters are very nice and let me practice my thai with them. Then we took a tour on a little horse driven buggy thing. Our guide took us all around the resort and, of course, my camera ran out of battery. to give you an idea, here is the lobby.

not my picture

It's modeled to look like an ancient Thai city. If you're like me, you have a kind of disdain for resorts, but really, you must see this place. It is perfect in every way possible. Nothing looks artificial or forced. It is all peaceful and serene. The gardens are stunning as well. I really can't think of anything to say to describe how beautiful this place is. Lunch prices are surprisingly affordable, so go!
For the rest of the day, we decided to visit a famous temple up on one of the mountains surrounding Chiang Mai. Taxis in Chiang Mai are very cool. It's like a truck, but with a covered back and benches. I found them very comfortable and nice because you can see more things than if you're shut up in a car.

veiw of chiang mai

Doi Suthep

outside doi suthep

the stairs out of doi suthep. There were these cute kids wit traditional thai outfits...

Mom insisted she get a picture with each of them...:)

After Doi Suthep, we visited a nearby Hmong village. They had very neat handicrafts for sale. I was so amazed that the people do everything by hand and so beautifully! After that, we went back to Oriental Mandarin (Yes, it is that amazing!) to eat dinner because they had a traditional thai dancing presentation that was free along with dinner.

Last of all we went to the night bazaar for a few minutes. I wish we could have stayed longer because that place was huge!!! They sold everything you can think of. If you ever go to Chiang Mai, you really must go at least once.

Pattaya

         From Bangkok, we took a 11/2 hour taxi ride to Pattaya. We thought we would eventually go further south but never did. Pattaya is the most tourist place I've seen so far, except all the tourists were russian. The city is spread out along a big crescent moon shaped bay. The water is quite warm, but unfortunately not very clean. There is alot of pollution  both there and in Bangkok. We decided to stay at a place called natural park resort, because it had these cool Thai style bungalows.

The bungalows....not my picture

         If you ever stay in Pattaya, I suggest staying at the "Rabbit Resort", where we ate lunch once. Its owned by Thai people so its not annoyingly "Americanized". It has a nice pool and very beautiful Thai style rooms. Also a note about Thai style beds. Thai beds are much harder that American beds. I've heard its better for your back, but it took me some getting used to.
         An interesting part of Pattaya is the night life. The daytime is too hot for people to be outside very much, but after sundown the whole city is loud and busy. While in Pattaya, we decided not to go to Vietnam for a few days as we had planned because we couldn't work out how to get there :(. We only stayed in Pattaya for two days as we were anxious to see Chiang Mai and go to Home of Blessing

Bangkok

The flight to Bangkok was 11 hours, which is even longer than it took to get to Germany. Thankfully I was able to sleep for most of it. The best part of staying awake for so many hours the day before was that I seem to have skipped over the worst of jet lag. The time difference is something like 14 hours from Portland, but I didn't have any trouble adjusting. Bangkok is hot hot hot and humid humid humid! I don't really like it all that much. We stayed at an "American" hotel for the first night to figure out where we would go next. I had no idea how big bangkok is. Everywhere you look, the city goes on and on. The traffic is insane. It takes forever to get anywhere. We had a few days before we had to go north, so we decided to go south a little ways the next day.

More Pics of Switzerland

Train ride

The Never Ending Day

The day I left Portland went on and on and on. We had to stay awake so we wouldn't miss anything. In all, I stayed awake 35 hours. Add that to all the crazy stuff we did, and anyone would be exhausted. How did I manage it? Sugar and espresso! Anyway, here's what happened.

We left Portland for Seattle on the sixth at 9:30. After a short layover, we got on a lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, Germany. I should have slept then, but I just wasn't tired at all and couldn't. We hardly had the chance to get used to being on the ground again before we got on another (thankfully shorter) flight to Zurich, Switzerland. It was such an amazing blessing that we got to have a twelve hour layover in Switzerland, where my Great Grandfather was from. Anyway I was getting tired by now and not inclined to be too impressed with Zurich. It was just another city after all, not exactly Heidi's mountain. Mom had been to Switzerland before, so she lost no time in getting us train tickets out of the city. 10 minutes on the train, and Switzerland became the land of majestic mountains that I had pictured it as. The people were fascinating. Lots of old people would get on the train with their backpacks and walking sticks. I assume they were all walking together on some mountain or another because they all got off at the same stop and were chattering merrily in Schweitzer Deutsch.

We finally stopped moving at Brunnen. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera so I'll just describe it. Brunnen is very charming and quaint. There are lots of cobbled streets and funny little shops and bakeries. It is at an end of lake lucerne. We had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the water and a spectacular view. It reminded me a little of the Gorge where I worked last summer, so it was very familiar and comfortable. Supposedly, it was for this same reason that my great great grandparents decided to move to Oregon instead of somewhere else in the US. Overall, Brunnen strikes me as a drowsy, quiet place. it started raining while we ate, but somehow this just added to the sleepy atmosphere (or maybe I was just imagining all this because I was so sleep deprived).

The view  from the restaurant (not my picture)

After we left Brunnen, we went to Arth and finally got a hold of my camera. Arth is where my Great Grandfather's family was from. My mom had found our relative there last time she visited so we decided to go see them and the house where he was born. Unfortunately  she had forgotten the way, so we started asking around on the bus. Its funny, but in Switzerland, people recognize last names so that even though we they couldn't speak English, an old couple on the bus recognized the name "Hospenthal" (my great- great grandmother's last name) and even offered to give us a ride! They were so friendly I couldn't believe it! We got to the house and our relatives were also extremely friendly. I felt crazy for just showing up at their house, but they remembered mom and let us inside the house where we shared stories and looked at old pictures.

The house where my Great Grandpa, Josef Dober, was born (built in 1750!!!!!!)

We couldn't stay long because it was starting to get late, so we said goodbye and got a train to Zug, and then on to Zurich to catch our flight to Bangkok. Switzerland is completely charming. There is a strange but wonderful contrast of the majestic mountains and timeless, quaint towns. I love how friendly everyone is and how their lives are so intertwined with the land. I hope to visit again someday in a more conscious state :).

Ten Days Left!

Its crazy to think that I'm leaving Portland in just over a week! I still have so much planning and packing to do! Here is the travel plan so far...

On June sixth,my mom and me will take a United airlines plane to Seattle at 9 am. After lunch, we'll leave Seattle on a direct flight to Frankfurt, Germany. It will be morning in Frankfurt when we get there and we'll have a whole day to spend looking around. The next plane will take us to Bangkok, Thailand. We'll spend at least one day in Bangkok and then take a train to Chiang Mai, and then to Chiang Rai (which are both in northern Thailand).

Email

This is the email I sent out to some friends from church and family members about my trip:

Hello!

As most of you already know, I have some very exciting plans for the summer!  I thought I would write just to let you know some of the the details.

Pastor Prachan and Twanjai Rodruan of New Life International Baptist Church have introduced me to a ministry in Thailand called Home of Blessing.  This ministry is led by friends of the Rodruans, and is located outside of the northern Thai city of Chiang Rai. Home of Blessing provides a safe place to live and learn for young girls who are at risk for homelessness and prostitution. I will be living with these girls this summer, teaching ESL. I will be there most of the summer and I am leaving in several weeks time!  I am very excited about this opportunity, and I would really appreciate your prayers for me as the time draws near, and while I am away.  I have been studying the Thai language this year in independent study at Riverdale High School, and have been learning a lot about teaching English as a second language from several friends of mine that have experience in that area.  I'm very excited for this trip, and also a little nervous about my ability to effectively teach English. Will you please pray for me about this?

Thank you,

Hannah Grace Garrett