Smog And A Waterfall Visit

Today I went on another motorbike ride with my friends Matt and Jordan.  We haven't done one in a while so it was nice to get out on the road.  We did a short trip to Doi Suthep, which is a temple up the mountain a ways.  I've been there once before, but it's a gorgeous ride and worth doing again.  It was also nice because up in the mountains the air is cleaner, and the temperature is cooler.  It's been in the mid 90's and smoggy lately in the city.

You can see just how much smog there is by comparing these two pics.  The top was taken today, and the bottom about 5 months ago when I first arrived.

I think it's only supposed to get worse in March.  It's not a big deal though, it's always pleasant inside.  We stopped by a waterfall on the way back which I hadn't seen before.  I was able to hike up the side of it a little bit, which was fun.

 View from the top

 As far up as I went

It was hard to get in position for pictures up there.  The "path" wasn't very big and a lot of trees/bushes were in the way.  I actually fell on the way back down, but luckily didn't hurt anything.  Sometimes when Mom and Dad aren't around to say "be careful" you forget to be careful I guess :) .  On top of that I'm terrible at balance, so it's bound to happen from time to time.

Not too much else to report.  I'm considering a short trip soon, but not sure where.  Pai was lovely and close by, so I might go back there a couple days.  They're a few other places I have to read up on and decide if I want to go.  One of the few regions I haven't been to is Isarn (northeast Thailand), which I think might be boring, but possibly going to check it out in April.

February 21st update

It's been a while since my last update so I figured I'd do a quick write up. Since my little trip around Thailand, I've just been relaxing back in Chiang Mai. I rented a motorbike which makes it a lot easier to get around. After 11pm it's hard to get a cheap ride, or any ride. It also gets me places in half the time since you can go right down the middle of lanes thru traffic, or anywhere you can fit basically.

Most of my days are spent going on motorbike rides, playing pool, watching basketball, and just having good times.  I've also found a number of new restaurants I like.  I'm enjoying life and it's hard to imagine going back to the U.S even though I miss a lot of people.  It looks like I'll be here for at least another 3 months.... I know I keep saying that :) .

I don't have any travel plans, although I'm thinking about the possibility of maybe doing something sometime down the road.  I was invited to spend a couple days in Phuket, but I think it's too expensive and seems a little blah to me.  Bangkok seems worth another try, since I've been given some constructive criticism on what to do and see there.  Hanging around Chiang Mai isn't a bad option though, it's probably my favorite city in Thailand (so far) and it's no coincidence why all my friends told me to move here.

Not too much else happening.  I'm going to about 70% of my scheduled Thai classes which is good.  I'm still really terrible at the language, but know enough to get around.  My street was blocked off tonight because the princess was passing through.  I snapped some photos with my phone, but they didn't turn out too good.  Wasn't that exciting, just a lot of police cars escorting a group of 7-8 nice looking cars.  I will update again the next time I think I have something interesting to say.