July 30, 2017

Today waking up was quite difficult given due to our exhaustion from the day before and waking up in my version of paradise. I took a moment this morning to lay my towel down on our lawn that over looked a river met on the edge by jungle and do a little bit of yoga to feel presence in that space. I have made a point at each place to take a moment, whether it be a few second or a few minutes, to take a few belly breaths and allow myself to feel present in that moment in order to remember how that space made me feel in that moment. With the excitement of my day ahead and the days that had just past I called home so I could see some of my most beloved faces and to assure them that I was in fact still alive and loving every moment. They have been good sports in being supportive and always lending an ear to hear about what each adventure has held. With the excitement of waking up in paradise and hearing my families voice, we head up for hasty breakfast so that we could be on our way to the next adventure. We made our first stop at a temple nest atop a hill. This temple was worldy different than what we had been to before. At the base, it was filled with books, Buddha statues, and wax sculptures of widely revered monks for the good that they have done. We made our way to the top of a the sprialing dragon style ramp where the relis of deceased monks were house in a elaborate glass casing. People prayed before this infrastructure as a opposed to the common Buddha state we have seen in most other temples. After we payed out respects we made our way down the hill and were one the road to Chiangmai Mai. As we made way down the winding road underneath the lush tree tops we were lulled in a sleep, only waking to have a peak the jungle that surrounded us and then promptly falling back intoa blissful slumber. After and hour of this we arrive ate traditional Hmong market where we walked around looking at local fruits and veggies. Our guide then disappeared for a second and then arrived again bearing seekers of meat in his hands. He hand us one informing us that it was chicken lung and Kacey so braving dared the first bite. I followed in suited and were surprised to find it was freaking delicious. We then went to the Homong restaurant that over looked a lake for lunch. With full bellies we hopped in the car eager to get to next adventures...Tiger Kingdom. Upon arriving we firstly entered room wearing lab coats to play with the 2 month old baby white tiger. As we watched the awarkward kitten fumble around and play my heart absolutely melted. He was insistent that he was going to crawl onto my lap and playfully bite my belongs and of course who am I to say no to that. He could have asked for all my belongs and I would have humbly obliged.  We then made our way to big the tigers where we approached them and proceeded to sit behind them and love on them. With knees weak from excitement from the sheer immensity, I engrained each feature vividly in hope to never forget. Next up we entered the small lion enclosure and approached the girl that was taking a cat nap on the branch. In the midst of loving on her, her trainer told us that her name was Bella. My eye immediately started to well with tears as I thought fondly of my dad as he has called me this since I was a little girl. Her precious little face and cat demeanour made it easy to just love on her. Also went to sit with the other young male lion, who was just starting to grow his mane. You could actively see his vivid young boy personaality and sass. We then spoke with each trainer about they're cats and watched them play with them. The distinct bond they had with each cats was apparent as they have been with them since the cat was born. While is experience could never be long aenough, it was a life long dream that had been full filled. We then proceed to Chiang Mai to check into our hotel. The remainder of our night was spent at the night market to get dinner and of course spent our money because let's be real were shopaholics.. Hehe. Next day are the tours of Chiang Mai temples.