PAI, THAILAND

New Year's Eve we stayed in town, and enjoyed the countdown and wishing festivities like the true locals we are. The real celebration, however, was the following couple days, when we headed to the mountains for cold weather, hot springs and everything in between.

We packed up on a Friday afternoon, bought a tent and drove to Pai. We stopped for lunch and a lookout, but otherwise drove straight to our campsite, paying a couple of policemen to drive us up the mountain because Katelyn's car would never have been able to make the trek. And really it was just that, a trek. I've never been on a car ride so bumpy, and we were in the bed of the truck. 

This beauty is Steph. She lives in Poland. She came to Thailand to visit a mutual friend, and stuck around with us to go to Pai. The girl is a true adventurer. In a future update on this blog I will post her GoPro footage from her Thailand vacation. It's incredible. A lot of the adventuring we did over the holidays was in part so she could see the beauty that is Thailand, but, who's complaining?

We had heard tell of some amazing Cherry Blossom trees blooming in the mountains near Pai, and the only evidence I got was a couple dark photographs that look reminiscent of something vaguely Cherry Blossom-ish. The wilderness, in it's stead, was breathtaking, and it was truly wonderful to get to witness a light-pollution-less night and a heart-stopping sunrise (without a camera).

When the light finally died, we started a pretty impressive fire for a few girls, and ate our "dinner," consisting of some bread, Fig Newtons, Milanos and other random things, all toasted on Rollaroasters, a pretty neat contraption invented by Katelyn's dad. Campfires are among my favorite things, and my clothes smelled like smoke for the rest of the weekend. Heavenly. We sang to the tune of an iPhone, made up songs about water buffalo, and learned from a man camping nearby that we were some of the first foreigners to ever camp there, if not the first. Good recommendations, then!

Pai (the town) is cute. That's the first word I'll use. It's also jam packed. The roads are small and there are shops and little booth type houses everywhere. It's colorful and kitschy and everything in between.

We drove through some beautiful yellow fields (don't worry, there are pictures) on the way to a hot spring between where we camped the night before and the little town, a place called Huai Nam Dang National Park. There were a number of pools, some cool, some scalding. While Katie, Steph and Katelyn went on an elephant adventure, Nuna and I stayed at the spring to relax.

This place is incredible. This country, these people. I've never seen such joy as I have in the faces of the Thai people. These kids and their families were having the time of their lives splashing and swimming and making fun of the farang taking photos in a hammock. My favorite part of this trip was the time I spent laying in that hammock, talking across to Nuna in her hammock about how she became a follower of Christ and practicing (and failing to speak correctly) Thai. That girl has got a heart like no other.

Still so amazed that I live in such a beautiful place. What an amazing creator God.

"As he was drawing near the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" And some in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out." Luke 19.37-40

MAE SA VALLEY, THAILAND

When living in Thailand, it's imperative that one takes some time to play the tourist. And that is what I did when my friends Alex and Liz came to town. We spent a beautiful Sunday morning in Mae Sa Valley riding and playing with elephants, tigers and touring a beautiful orchid and butterfly farm. There's really not too much more I can harp about without giving up my local card, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

And it wouldn't be a true blog if I didn't post the wrap-up coffee we had after getting back to Chiang Mai. Touristing is pretty fun, and that's saying something from a girl who avoids as much kitsch as possible.

CHIANG MAI, THAILAND • LOY KRATHONG

In the past year I began making a bucket list. A friend asked me why (on Earth!) I hadn't already made one, and encouraged me to come up with a few things. Well, after a little while the list grew, and at this point I feel that I have a pretty hefty set of goals ahead of me. I have only been able to cross a few things off, but each one has been an accomplishment or something I will never forget. For example: Loy Krathong.

To be honest, I didn't know it was called Loy Krathong. I had no clue that this happened in Thailand, actually. Yes. I will admit it. I watched Tangled and was smitten with the pretty lights and knew I wanted to do something like it or at least watch. Low and behold, I move to the city with the grandest celebrations of this beautiful lantern festival.

On the full moon day of the 12th month (according to the Thai lunar calendar), Thais float a krathong (a lotus-ish-shaped boat) down the river or pond to pay respect to Buddha, and to seek forgiveness from the goddess of water for any misdeeds against her. Several Thais today send the floats as wishes or to bring good luck. Loy Krathong coincides with another Northern Thai festival called Yi Peng, where thousands of sky lanterns are launched into the air in hopes of earning merit to repay karma. These two traditions are celebrated together at Loy Krathong festivals in Southeast Asia.

Our home here is close to one of the best spots to see and send off these lanterns. We walked about two miles to get to the Iron Bridge, where we were able to see hundreds of folks getting ready to set off their lights. I also discovered (I'd heard it before) that Thais love fireworks. I feel like I musta jumped outta my skin at least twenty times because someone standing right next to me set off a firework. The bridge was crawling with tourists, locals, vendors, you name it. Nonetheless, cars were still crossing, hot on the heels of those eager to get out of the way. We'd been hearing fireworks near our house for days, but this is a whole other story. In the video below you can see one of the displays at the bridge, which is the closest to a display like this I've ever been. Ash in my hair, the camera is pointed directly skyward we were so close. We are still hearing fireworks in our neighbor's backyard two days later, and those aren't just little sparklers.

On the way back to our place, we stopped at a smaller celebration near one of the army bases. There were crepes and smoothies to be had, but what really caught my attention were the groups of people kneeling and offering gifts of incense and prayer to Buddha, another way to earn merit. It's interesting to see something so beautiful as this festival and the intricacies of Buddhist tradition celebrated so fervently, when the purpose of it all is so empty. On the other hand, it's obvious to me that the lanterns and beautiful displays of light are perfect examples of the Lord's beauty in the midst of all the world's dark. 

This festival was not the largest group of lanterns sent up. A couple weekends before was a festival where thousands of lanterns were sent off at once. I can't begin to imagine how that looked, whether you were on the ground with the launchers or watching from farther off. Well, there's always next year.

Checking this off the list. What a beautiful way to open the portion of the year where most of the world opens their hearts, their eyes and their mouths to be thankful (It doesn't help that I'm listening to Christmas music at the moment). Praising the Lord for his incredible gifts, impeccable timing and indescribable grace.