Sunday Night

Here's a picture from the back of the train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. We arrived safely on the train this morning and met up with the rest of our group. Our group is made up of a father (surgeon) and son (pre-med student) from Spokane, Washington; two friends (both nurses) from Denver; a mother and daughter from Seattle; a husband (Centers for Disease Control) and wife from New Mexico; and a girl our age from Durham, NC.

Today we visited the Doi Suthep temple in the hills of Chiang Mai where remains of Buddha are enshrined in a gold globe. I had to buy long pants. Shorts and sleeveless shirts (basically anything showing skin) are forbidden inside the temple.

We visited a market this afternoon and had Thai foot massages ($2 for 30 minutes). It felt wonderful. We sampled some fruit purchased in the flower and food market and even tried fried grasshopper and silkworm larvae. I didn't go back for seconds. The grasshopper tasted like earthy sand and the larvae was juicy.

Tomorrow we do a 5-mile hike and return to the hotel before trekking out for more rustic accommodations.