1 flight from Bangkok to Chaing Mai, $70. Time in Chaing Mai with Carol Chewla, priceless! We literally have to turn and pinch each other some days, because the 'fairy tale' days are so multiplied on this trip. Today was another one of those days. Carol took us for the ultimate tour of Chaing Mai, the same lovely lady who picked us up from the airport with an Í heart AB Beef'sign in her hands. She swept us off to brunch (we were pumped to take our first ride in a Songtaew- a red open-backed truck with 2 long benches inside- the way to ride in Chaing Mai), and brought us to a gorgeous open-aired bakery! We skipped the great looking breakfast/brunch options for the even greater authentic Thai cuisine. Carol ordered an amazing spread of special Thai dishes for us- and we loved them all! We haven't come accross cocroaches yet, so it's still safe to say we haven't found a food we dislike in Thailand yet! One of our favorites are the fresh fruit shakes- today we tried Mango and Banana Blueberry, yummy! We shared our stories over brunch, and it was a very special time with this amazing woman. It was cool to hear her story: of a girl from Claresholm, AB ending up living and raising a family in Thailand for the last 20 years! What a great conversationalist & encourager! We were fascinated as she told us stories about the history of Thailand, it's people, and the current state of politics. Thailand has a bright future, I really believe this. 
Our first stop after brunch was Thaksin's Silk Factory. We were mesmerized as we watched the step-by-step process of silk worms growing & feeding off of the mulberry leaves to removing the silk from the silk worms, and lessons on how to spot 'real silk' from immitation silk (hint- you burn the fabric sample, real silk smells organic). The masters behind the beautiful silk sheets are the women who weave @ 4000 thread count behind their wooden foot-controlled machines. It's a fine art. Britt and I both purchased scarves from the discount store upstairs- made us feel like divas, now we just need to find the men with the convertibles! (I'm a big fan of '69 corvettes in case you do stumble upon a good-looking chap :-). Stop #2 was the Umbrella Factory & handpainters! I have a love for Asian umbrellas- and was thrilled to be spoiled with the factory tour on our second day in Thailand! Stop #3 was a brilliant silver factory/workshop/retail store. I think the artists were busy making products for Pandora as we toured through- the pieces were intricate & beautiful! Having our very own friend along as our tour guide proved to be a neccessity while purchasing items here! The ladies working the shop told us the only reason they were giving us such a good price was because our friend spoke Thai- thank you Carol! Valena is now the proud owner of a custom-made starfish pendant (again, we have Carol to thank for negotiating this one), and I am glowing with my new silver ring. I absolutely love it- it has a Citrine stone in it, which is famous for it's healing properties & for being the King's colour! Random fact: Thai people associate a colour with each day of the week. The King was born on the yellow day, hence yellow is his colour! Speaking of royalty- we felt like princesses ALL DAY LONG! Most of the places we visited also had photos up from when Princess Dianna herself visited these places. Some of the employees were eager to tell about their experiences 'the day the princess was here'- especially our chatty friend at the umbrella factory. He really liked to talk.
We got to quickly meet Carol's husband, and see his Tailor Shop business. Hard to believe- but Carol had even more up her sleeve- and swept us away to get pedicures soon after! Hands down, the best pedicures we've ever recieved. The Thai girls that gave us our pedis did them with such precision, care & artistry- I don't think anything will ever compare. We now have little flowers & artwork on our big toes- gotta look flash when you're backpacking! Carol took the time to run down the street for us, and returned with cold drinks as we got spoiled- and introduced us to Oishi Green Tea! Not only was she the greatest tour guide, she also playe social convenor & arranged for us to meet back up with Grant later that evening.
We got to the mall in time to see the Strawberry Festival, and models walking up & down the runway representing different countries around the world. We shared a great meal with Daniel & Carol, and they helped us scout out memory cards, and other supplies for our upcoming travels. We simply cannot thank these beautiful people enough.
We headed to the night markets & indulged in $4 full-body Thai massages. Heavenly. All 4 of us took the 1.5 hr massage after about 20 minutes in. I swear they put you in a trance- and you can't see life past getting the best massage you've ever had. Easiest decision i've ever made. They pulled moves on us- cracking toes, cracking our backs, twisting our spines, stretching our torsos....the list goes on and on. It was incredible! We ended our evening with a little more shopping at the night markets (because we're girls, and we have energizer-bunny built-in stamina for shopping all day long). Poor Grant, it was obvious how painful our shopping habits are- and he was only with us for 2 hours! I think he was quickly re-thinking travelling SE Asia with 3 girls. I couldn't even sleep that night, my mind was whirling in overdrive from the excitement of the day. Peace. d.
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