After 4 days in Bangkok, we met up with about 10 others and traveled by train to Chiang Mai. This is where Pop’s (Pop is our Thai friend who arranged our trip for us–) aunts live. The train ride took about 8 hours, and we went through quite rural areas of Thailand. Once we arrived in Chiang Mai, we were all brought to the auntie’s home by a truck. I felt like livestock, because there were about 8 squeezed into the back of each truck. We arrived at their home, where a hostel was located right next door. It was called, Ben’s Hostel. This is where we spent the next 5 days–paying $1.50 per room, divided by two. The aunts and Pop had planned several activities for us, such as the temple of 300 stairs, a hot spring with Thai massage, and an elephant park. 
The temple was amazing, though I had to RENT PANTS that were terrible! The Thai massage was hilarious–I’m just glad I got the young lady instead of the old one!! The elephant park was interesting–I’ve never been so close to elephants before! We also went to a waterfall that afternoon, and we all got to spend some quiet time before dinner. The dinner that night was traditional Chinese food, all with the delicacies of pig ear, fish intestines (I didn’t even know they had any!), and last but not least the swan’s foot. Yes, a swan’s food is food, well, the webbed part at least=)
Train to Chiang Mai
