Sleep was in short supply last night due to a neighbor hacking up a lung and the symphony of roosters that started at 4:57am. Since the windows only have shutters but no glass and the outside walls do not meet the ceiling, it was the alarm clock from hell. After a fantastic breakfast of fried eggs and toast with strawberry jam, morning announcements started. I can only assume the 20 minute message that blared from loudspeakers throughout the town was some sort of village update.
Our adventure today was Flight of the Gibbon, a zipline through a 1500 year old rain forest. I think I would have been fairly nervous had we not just went rock climbing. We rappelled (although nothing like the rappel into the cave the day before), crossed wood and cable bridges, zipped through the forest, and climbed rope ladders. Our guides were absolutely fantastic, and I felt extremely safe.
We returned to our hotel, the U Chiang Mai. I cannot say enough about this hotel – every time we returned they greeted us by name. I stood in the shower until I was pruny and laid on the king size feather bed and soaked up the air conditioning. I desperately wanted to get a massage at the women’s prison. The women participate in the work release program that gives them skills to succeed after they’re released. I had read it was fantastic and super cheap, but they were closed by the time we got there. So we went to Lila’s Massage (“When you think of massage, think of Lila”) next to our hotel. I talked my husband into a two hour couples’ session. I told him how fantastic my Thai massage was during our home stay in Mae Kompong, so he was willing. I chose a combination of treatments from a menu (30 minute scalp massage, 60 minute hot oil massage) and off we went. They gave us disposable underwear that would fit a 12-year-old American boy or an adult Thai. My masseuse was fantastic, but my husband’s therapist had him on a torture rack. I’m not sure why she thought he needed a firm hand – I haven’t seen moves like that since the WWF came to Vets Auditorium.
After dinner we went to a Muay Thai fight. We’ve been to UFC in Vegas and sumo and Pride MMA in Japan, so we were excited to see Muay Thai in Thailand. Similar to sumo, it seemed like the fighters spent more time dancing around during the pre-fight ceremony than they did actually fighting.
Flight of the Gibbon
Flight of the Gibbon
Flight of the Gibbon