First Full Day in Chaing Mai...

After being pleasantly woken up by some friend who got into town this morning, I had my first (of three) juice shakes of the day at an adorable little restaurant. I had one of their detox juices (carrot, apple, and celery) and felt pretty great afterwards. We took a walk to the area of town where I'll be staying after my elephant adventure and decided to indulge and get a massage...for 150 baht (approximately 5 USD) an hour.

The massage was at this place that is run by a community of blind men and women. They do all of the logistics of running the place and also all the massages. The man working on me cracked my back harder but less painfully than it ever has before. He also made me aware of parts of my body that I didn't even know were in pain. I was told that it wasn't true Thai massage, but more a hybrid of pressure-point acupuncture and Thai massage. Whatever it was, it was a fabulous hour and my body felt very renewed afterward.

On top of the great massage, it was an incredible experience. When we walked in, they immediately felt our presence and jumped up to help us. As they worked on the three of us, they chatted and laughed. There was another woman in the corner doing intricate beaded sculptures. There were some examples of her work for sale and it was phenomenal work.

After two more juice, much more exploring, and a night market that could have easily made me clear my bank account had I not resisted, I'm off to bed to get some quality sleep before leaving for the elephant park in the morning.

I'm ecstatic, to say the least. I love this place, despite its oddities, which I'll discus later.

B(ee)