Part 2

At Starbucks, by the way it was the first day they were selling Toffee Nut Lattes which are amazing with vanilla added. Sarah and I decided to have a western day and by that I mean buildings with AC, nice bookstores, movie theaters and food that you don't get sick from. So we hopped on a public bus and off we went to the Paragon Mall. Paragon Mall is huge and has very expensive stores for the rich like Valentino. We made our way to the train station and got on a night train to Chang Mai. We got to CM around 7 am and then we ate at a nearby cafe and headed for the bus station where we got on a public transport bus to Pai a cute little town in the middle of nowhere. There are 762 curves on the road from CM to Pai and it was very fun!!!! On our way there we stopped at a store and in a shack/store that was next to it we happen to see they had the election news on and it was right as Obama was being announced as the winner.as we passed by to get back on the bus(funny way to find out, in my opinion). We had met a girl (Inez) from Amsterdam on the bus and we talked and decided that the 3 of us would travel together cuz she had wanted to go to Laos but didn't want to go across the border alone. Inez is a model who makes about 35$-45$ an hour, She was in her 7th week of travel in Thailand when we met her. She will be going home and working for 3 months and then moving to Dubai where her boyfriend lives. We rented a hut that all three of us stayed in cuz there wasn't many rooms left that were in our price range. We rented motos (small motorcycles) and rode out to the Hot Springs. It was the most beautiful drive I have ever seen. We got to see people working in the rice fields and then it started to rain so we pulled over and dashed under a open hut on the side of the road, we put the motos in as well. We hung out till the rain mostly stopped and then continued on our way,. We passed the elephant camps, and beautiful fields and mountains. The pictures just do not do it justice. I will try to get the ones that I took with Inez's camera cuz they at least look decent. Until then you will have to see these and let your imagination run wild (haha that sounds like a commercial). One thing I forgot to mention earlier is that the Thai people love their King, every day at 6 am & pm they play the national anthem and everyone stands still till it is done. I got to see this while waiting at the train station when suddenly everything stood still and this music was playing over the loud speakers. Also on Mondays people wear yellow and on Tuesday pink, to show their support for the King. This was also played on the bus and before every movie that is played in theaters.
First of all let me say that this whole next day was very interesting and I was constantly praying. I don't think I have ever prayed nonstop for so long before.
On our second night in Pai, Sarah and Inez got sick and Sarah wanted to go home to the states but I told her she had to get her suitcase from Siem Reap home before she could do that (I knew she would change her mind when she felt well again). So I went to the pharmacy and got some Anti-cookie tossing pills. Off we went, starting the 26 hour journey home which worked cuz the pills knocked her out. We got a bus to CM and let me tell you I felt everyone of those curves on the way back with every muscle in my body as I was keeping Sarah and her backpack somewhat still as she slept in my lap. The aisle filled with people and things and people fell on us and the challenge was keeping us safe from falling things and keep us on the right side of the bus as all of us were thrown around. I think back on this and laugh at the memory of how sore I was. Remember what I said about a video game? This would be a level, it would be great. Then as I was standing at a window getting ticket prices from one of the window in the train station in CM I was just really praying really hard asking for wisdom and guidance cuz I really didn't want another bus ride like the one from the border to Bangkok again. As I looked up in English it said in little letters Government buses. I was so happy and bought the tickets and then we went to a coffee shop I had seen around the corner(I have a coffee shop sensor) and chilled out till our bus left at 6pm. We got to Bangkok at 4:15 am and then we got a bus to the border and got across the boarder by 10:30 am and then we shared a Taxi with a Swiss couple who preferred speaking French. We arrived in town around 1 in the afternoon. We dropped some stuff off at the Naritas and then headed to Common Ground for some much needed caffeine and catching up on Internet. We were there about 5 min before our friend Jon walked in. I hadn't seen Jon in like a month because he was in Phnom Penh and so we caught up while Sarah updated her Facebook . We started talking about how much we love this one Indian food restaurant in town and so we all decided to go there for dinner and we were still having too much fun so we went for more coffee at a cheap place called Coffee and Tea World. We had a grand time deciding if Jon's drink tasted like Honey Nut Cheerios or not (it did taste like milk that had H-N-C in it) and if you could only pick one cereal to eat what would it be?? I think it is a toss up between Lucky Charms (the marshmallows are so addicting) and Frosted Shredded Wheat (you can pretend it is kinda good for you) .Lucky Charms won and Sarah felt it could only be Captain Crunch or Berry Blast, Jon said Lucky Charms cuz I am right about the marshmallows and Reese's Puffs. That is only part of the madness that went on. I found out that everything is funny when you have been up for more than 35 hours, and have meaningless conversations about cereal. It is called sleepmadness and you can tell if you have when you see a piece of paper fall to the ground and sadly find humor in it. That is where the trip story ends and where I will leave off for the night, I am rubbing my eyes cuz I am sleepy. Thank you so much for all your prayers, we so needed them and I can't wait to see you all and give you details of the trip :). Keep praying for things here and I will give you an updated prayer list soon!!