Journal Entries

In between Chiang Mai and Pai (a 3 hour drive) is a 60 meter waterfall we wanted to check out. The hike in was nice - here's a pic from along the way. I am so used to California rivers, with their very clear water and granite surroundings, but most rivers I've seen since moving to Thailand are always muddy, especially during rainy season (which is ending soon here). But the water was surprisingly cool. Waterfall pics to come soon.

Santichon Chinese Village was one of our stops on our motorcycle ride up into the hills. It was a perfect day as it had rained a bunch overnight, then dried up and made for misty hills and really clear air with blue skies all day. This spot was a hilltop Chinese restaurant with delicious food and incredible views of the hills above and the valley below. The photo shows a Buddhist spirit house and sunflower fields.

One of our days in Pai was spent hitting hot springs, and this amazing tree was by one of them.

Wish I had better camera. Look closely- 4 large monitor lizards, one carrying some debris from the recent storm. I spotted them on my run through the park I frequent in Bangkok. I have never seen a group of them, and I've never seen such big ones up so close.

A place to forget I live in a second-world country in a smoggy city of over 10 million. This is a pond in the huge park that is 5k from my house. I cycle here and run here every weekend, and get grumpy when I have to skip it ( I missed a few weeks due to health issues and injuries)

I signed my family and myself up for Spartan Sprint a few months back, but due to some physical issues I myself could not participate this past weekend. But I still enjoyed cheering them on! There were 23 obstacles, spectators could only see the last 4. As soon as my peeps took off, we got a typical tropical thunderstorm lasting over an hour - I loved it because it cooled it off a bit, and they loved it because it made the obstacle course that much more fun!

This is the lightning monitoring app (Spark Bug) we use here in Thailand to keep an eye on when to seek shelter. School rules are if it's 10 miles out we clear the fields, etc. At the Spartan race just outside Bangkok this last weekend, the lightning was all around for awhile during an hour or so long thunderstorm. It started just after my family took off to start their race, and the race leaders delayed the next heat for a bit. But they let everyone on the course continue, even with all the metal obstacles, barbed wire crawl, water obstacles, etc. Everyone was safe in the end, no one was struck by lightning! And I enjoyed hanging out under my umbrella refreshed in the cooler temps brought on by the rain.

There was a little hiking that needed to be done in the slum area of Pnom Penh where we were on a short-term mission trip this weekend. Had to hike from the church to the soccer field via some old tracks.

Even though we were in the middle of the Cambodian countryside, many kilometers from the nearest town, an ice cream motorcycle came along. Of course the kids wanted us to buy them ice cream, and we obliged. It was hard to eat it before it melted!

American kids (mine and our friends') and Cambodian kids (orphans we went to visit at my colleague's ministry center) hiking around the rice fields in Cambodia this weekend. They don't speak each other's language, but managed to enjoy each other's company all day long.