The Greatest Adventure Yet!

Well, needless to say it's been a long time since I last posted. My travels have taken me near and far but it's time to have an even more exciting adventure than riding elephants in Thailand or snorkeling in the Philippines. I know everyone is going to ask about how this all happened, so I decided I would blog about it, and refer everyone here when they ask. It's just easier that way. haha.
In January my cousin Jake and I decided to plan another Southern Utah trip and this time we recruited Paul. I became good friends with Paul after our trip (especially since he saved my life). After talking with Paul about what all guys talk about when camping (women) he brought up a girl that he knows named Maren. He told me all about how Maren was in his ward and she was really into the outdoors. Immediately my interests were peaked but... she had a boyfriend. Oh well, I thought. She should still come around if she wanted to. Our crew of friends is always down for hanging out with new people and sharing our ideals. I kept bugging Paul about inviting Maren to come to stuff that we did but she always had stuff going on. Eventually, we had a Cowboy Poetry Campfire Sing-A-Long Extravaganza. A couple times a year my friends and I gather a group together around a fire pit and sing classic songs (lots of Neil Diamond) and read cowboy poetry (provided by Noel). This time Paul broke out his dutch ovens for some peach cobbler too. And best of all... Maren came! It was a quick meeting, lots going on around the fire. ( I was taking care of the firewood and getting coals for the dutch oven). Maren didn't stay too long but it was really cool to at least say that we met. It wasn't long thereafter that Paul and I organized a clean-up service project in Farmington Canyon. Maren, being the outdoors lover that she is, came to to our service project. Again, not a great chance to talk to her but I did a little bit. We had another such project the  next week and I was getting more and more brave to talk to her. The problem still remained, she had a boyfriend. After a few weeks we found out the boundaries for our ward were going to change and I would have to go to a new ward in Farmington. This turned out to be a great thing because Maren was in my ward! Paul had also been a great friend and told me that she broke up with her boyfriend around the same time. It was a perfect set-up. The ward changes were truly inspired! After a ward prayer I did the thing that guys fear most... I asked her out. In person. It was a bit scary but she said yes! That week we went on our first date to Koko's Kitchen. She was amazing! I had such an easy time talking to her and she was even game for trying vegetarian sushi! Did I know then where things would go? No. But I knew I was willing to find out. The following weekend Paul, Jake and I went on another trip to Southern Utah. We made it back in time for me to go to a fireside that Maren was at. I tried talking to her after the fireside but she was surrounded by five guys! I guess word spreads quickly when the best girl around become single. I wasn't too daunted though, I knew we had a connection on our first date and it wasn't only one-sided. We went out a few more times, I introduced her to the rest of my friends. One night, while a bunch of us were at dinner at Setabellos, I got a text from a friend sitting across the table from me that read "Jeff, you should date her!" Dayton and his wife Emily also said the same thing after meeting her. I really wanted to but... I knew I'd be leaving for China in a short time. I wasn't exactly in an ideal situation. I knew I wanted to date Maren but I also knew I'd be leaving. How unfair it would be for me to make things official with Maren then take off to go to school 7000 miles away in China for 7 weeks. I left things undefined but knew if our connection was real (which I knew it was) it would transcend the time difference and the ocean that sat between us. Before leaving, I gave her my favorite book "The Alchemist". The main character in the book is traveling through the Sahara Desert in search of his "Personal Legend" that he had a dream about. He dreamt that he would find a treasure buried in the sand near the pyramids. After much hardship and learning he was getting close to the pyramids when his caravan stopped at an oasis. There, he met a girl that he fell in love with. He decided he would give up on finding the treasure and stay with her. She told him no. She wanted him to complete his Personal Legend. She knew she was already a part of him and wouldn't allow him to give up because of her. (By now the parallelism should be quite clear) I considered sticking around for the summer to see what happened with Maren, but I knew she wouldn't want me to. She read the book in three days and we talked while I was in China. I asked "So, do you get it?" She said "Yea, I get it". And from there things just kept progressing. We talked nearly everyday. I then read a book called "Aspire". Each chapter of this book is about a single word, it's power and meaning. Each word also describes a characteristics of certain people. At the end of each chapter the reader is asked to think of a person in their life that exemplifies those characteristics and tell them about it. For each chapter, the first name that came to my mind was "Maren". I knew things were getting serious. I began to pray about it. I felt so calm and at peace. I knew she would be my wife one day. Not long before I came home I stopped by the shop of an old Chinese man I had met in Beijing in 2008. I had him make a scroll for me that read "家庭是永恒的“. This translates to "Families are forever". I got home, and the next morning got in a van with Maren and a bunch of strangers and headed to Wyoming, the first stop on our way to Outdoor Nation in Denver. While in Wyoming Maren and I spent some quality time kayaking on a lake, hiking to a waterfall and watching the sunset. After the sun had set and the rest of our group decided to head back to camp Maren and I decided to stay up on the high rock that we had all been sitting on. Once we were finally alone I reached in my pocket and said "Maren, the Vibrams aren't the only thing I got you in China" (I had gotten her a pair while I was there) she gasped softly and said "Oh, Jeff...". I pulled out a small jewelry pouch that had a necklace and bracelet. I couldn't tell if Maren was relieved or disappointed. ;) I said to her "I really really like you" and kissed her. She kind of laughed and we talked about how great it was to be back together again after my 7 weeks abroad. The next night, in Denver, I asked Maren to go for a walk with me down to the beach of the state park we were at. There, we sat and talked about life. I told her, for the first time, that I love her. She said it back and I said "well, I think we both know where this is going". As we were walking along the beach back to camp I got on one knee, looked up at her and said "Maren, will you wait for me while I tie my shoe?" It was absolutely hilarious! I laughed all the way back to camp! Maren was laughing too... haha.
So I knew I was in. The only problem was, I didn't have a job, a car or any money. How was I to buy a ring? How would I get a place to live? Rationally, getting married wasn't making much sense. So I prayed and prayed. I knew things would work out eventually. On the 25th of July, Maren came to my house for a family party. She met Mike, Becky, Adam and their kids. They absolutely loved her. That night, by what I think is pure inspiration, she told me that I didn't need to take her ring shopping because she wanted to use her grandmother's ring. I was sold. My prayers were being answered and I knew that it was going to happen soon.

Her mom talked to me the next evening while we were watching Maren play in her softball game. She gave me her number and said I could call her whenever I wanted to go get the ring. I went the next day and picked it up. We talked for a few hours and I knew I was going to be so happy to be a part of her family. I planned a proposal for the next week. Maren and I had been geocaching on the 25th and had a great time doing it. So I decided to set up a geocache and propose there. The trick would be surprising Maren. She was very inquisitive and investigated whether or not I had the ring. The week after I got the ring we were planning to go to King's Peak. So I told Maren that I needed to talk to her dad and meet her sister before we left. I let her believe that it was going to happen while we were backpacking. It was a pretty good plan, but it only got better. Maren went to look for the ring and noticed it was gone. She asked her mom where it was and her mom said "Maren, I'm sorry but I thought Jeff would be getting it soon so I went to have in cleaned. It should be back in a couple weeks". It was perfect! Maren laughed because she thought my plan to propose at King's had been thwarted. Wednesday night that week I asked Maren if she wanted to go to bbq at a friend's house. The plan was to meet with Katherine and get some supplies for our trip before going to the bbq. So I went to SLC with Katherine where we met Maren. While shopping I told Maren that I'd rather just take her out on a date instead of going to the bbq. She loved the idea. We went to Setabellos together. She brought up the story about the ring being cleaned and I acted completely shocked. I told her that I had planned to get it the next day and propose at King's. She totally bought it. Meanwhile, I had my friend Sean setting up some flowers, the box with the chinese scroll, and ring at Farmington Pond (where we first met) I asked Maren if she wanted to go find some Geocaches and I took us to Lagoon Trail. It was getting near dusk so we had to hurry but we found one cache and I told her the next would be at Farmington Pond. As we were nearing the pond Maren said "Hey, this is where we first met!" I said "Maren, there's some places in the world where events happened in my life that had a huge impact on me, this is one of them." She looked over at the table and said "Are those flowers?" I skirted the question and kept walking towards them. Then she said "Is that Sean's car?!" I said "No, Sean is off doing something else tonight" (quick side note. I had to call Sean from the car on our way back from SLC because I forgot to let him know when we finished dinner) She opened the box and pulled out the scroll with a note I had written. She looked at the bottom of the box and didn't see the ring box there! So I slipped it out and as she was looking at the scroll on the table I got down on one knee. She started to walk away and said "Don't tie your shoe!" I grabbed her hand and said "No, seriously! Maren, will you marry me?" As I held the open ring box up. And obviously, she said yes! It WAS Sean's car. He came out of his car where he had been hiding, taking pictures of us. It was the perfect surprise. Maren had no idea I had the ring and she was totally shocked with the proposal. It couldn't have gone any better. Especially because I get to marry the most amazing woman I have ever met. She will always push me to pursue my Personal Legend and I couldn't be more lucky to have her as my wife. I love you Maren. 

Proposing

Us right after I proposed, with the scroll.

My First Geocache!

The day before I left for China a friend of mine stopped by to see me and we took a friend of his to a park in Farmington to find a geocache. What is geocaching? It's a wold wide treasure hunt! By using any device with GPS and having the proper program loaded on (in his case it was an iPhone app) a person can find a hidden box or small container with things inside, a log book to sign and sometimes an item that needs to be taken to another cache. Watching this guy look for the cache was pretty entertaining and the thought came to my mind "This is something I want to get into." So now I've got an iPad with GPS and an app that will allow me to find geocaches worldwide. I told my girlfriend Maren about this game and she was totally stoked about doing it too. This last Monday night before a family BBQ we looked up a cache less than 1/4 mile from my house. We headed in that direction and spent 10 or 15 minutes trying to find it. The description wasn't very detailed but we knew what we were looking for was very small. I'm sure we looked pretty ridiculous to everyone passing by in their cars but we were having a great time being outside! We eventually found it in a very tricky spot. It was really small and the logbook was pretty hammered and I forgot to bring a pen to sign it but our first experience Geocaching together was a complete success! I can't wait to get out there and find another!

Another 7 Weeks in China

This blog has been stagnant for quite a while. I was never able to finish up posting about my last Asian Adventure last year and I've since been on some incredible journeys. Most recently I went back to China to study Mandarin for 6 weeks at Nankai University in Tianjin. This was a great experience for me and fulfilled a dream of mine to study Chinese in China. While I was there I saw two different sections of the Great Wall of China. For those traveling to the Great Wall I would highly recommend visiting JinShanLing as opposed to any other section of the wall. This section has had very little restoration and is much quieter than the restored, popular section BaDaLing. We also spent time on the wall in Tianjin by long boarding one section. I can now say that I've longboarded on the Great Wall of China! I'll do my best to keep posting some more of the adventures I'm having which will include backpacking trips, hikes, or even just geocaching around Farmington. To steal the words from one of my favorite movies...
ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!

China: KTV

A big part of Chinese culture is KTV or karaoke. One night after I was feeling better we got together with Ana and Jason (a fellow American) and went to a KTV at the university. We sung our hearts out to tunes from various American pop artists. They even had some Michael Jackson. We got our groove on and sang until our lungs burned. Great night.

China: Beijing

Dayton and I scored some first class tickets to Beijing on an overnight train. Compared the trains in Thailand, we were in heaven. We were assigned a compartment with 4 beds that had a closing door. This was a luxury because on other trains it's usually open compartments with 6 beds (3 to a bunk) and you can hear everyone in the same car as you. We sat comfy in our compartment and we got two businessmen for bunk-mates. After a long night on the train we arrived in Beijing early in the morning. Our hostel that was recommended to us by Ana was located on the opposite end of the city. Beijing has an incredible metro system that is super cheap to use. One trip costs 2 yuan or about 30 cents USD. We bought a ticket for our station and made our way to the platform to await our train. The trains arrive every 2 minutes or so in Beijing so you never have to wait long. The problem however was cramming onto a train. We happened to arrive right in the middle of rush hour so every train was packed with people. There are workers on the platform who's soul job is to push people onto the train and make sure the doors shut all the way. They were literally shoving each other to get on the train. Dayton and I decided to wait for a train without so many people, especially since we had our packs with us. So there we waited, on the platform, for another hour. We really enjoyed watching people try and squeeze onto the trains and the look on their faces when they made it on was as though they had accomplished something great! Sheer disappointment came over them if they didn't make it on. We finally got tired of waiting and decided to just go for it. We found a car at the end of the train with fewer people and we pushed and shoved our way through the doors onto the train. After making a transfer we soon got to our stop at the Llama Temple. Our hostel was somewhere in the back alleys behind the temple so we did the only thing we could do, we just started walking around looking for it. We finally happened upon it and got our room. I was so happy to finally have somewhere quiet to lay my head down for a little bit. This hostel became our home for the next few days. We first started out in a private room with two beds and our own bath but we decided to save some money and go into the shared room. There is a hostel organization throughout China that a traveler can become a member of and with their membership card saves a lot of money on rooms. I got the card so to stay there was really cheap. In Beijing we went to Tian An Men Square and to the Forbidden City. These are both places I had been to before but it was really cool to go back and see them again. Everywhere we went Dayton would be asked by local Chinese if they could take a picture with him. His light hair and light colored eyes melted hearts of the young and old everywhere we went. One evening while making our way to the McDonald's downtown for some soft-serve we ran into some girls that started talking with Dayton. They wanted to "practice English" with us. I was pretty skeptical and tried to shake them off but they were persistent and asked us if we would have some tea with them. Dayton was pretty stoked about the idea and I decided to follow. We sat down in a fancy tea house and the girls ordered the tea. We watched as the waitress performed a small tea ceremony and then we sat together and talked while sipping the tea. After some good conversation the waitress brought the bill which totaled (if I remember correctly) about $300. It was as thought he veil had been lifted from my eyes and I saw exactly what had taken place. These girls had coerced us to this tea shop to give them business. I looked at Dayton who obviously felt horrible, as did I. I started thinking of solutions. Option A: We could make a run for it. Option B: We could just fork over the money and be done with it. Option C: We all pool money together. I told the girls that Dayton and I didn't have enough money to pay for it and we would not be paying for all of it. It was their fault for ordering such expensive tea. They looked just as upset as we were but part of me believes it's all part of the show. The girls took the better part of the bill with whatever cash they had on them. Dayton and I pooled about $50 or so between the two of us but the girls weren't satisfied. They said there was an ATM around the corner where I could get more cash. I looked at Dayton and Option A was sounding pretty good. The way were were seated at the table though, Dayton would have had to crawl over a girl to get to the door. Then I was afraid we'd become wanted as criminals so Option A was no longer an option. I went with one of the girls to the ATM. As soon as we walked out the door I let her have it. In Chinese I told her that what her and her friend were doing is evil, disrespectful to her and to her country. That foreigners come to China expecting hospitality and warmth and she is giving a bad face to the entire country by doing what she does. (These are all things that really matter to the Chinese)It worked. She was on the verge of tears and hopefully that conversation helped her decide to quit taking advantage of foreigners. I got the extra cash, paid the bill and we left. On the train ride back to the hostel I felt so angry, I felt like I could never trust anyone again but then this strange feeling came over me. I realized that not everyone is that way, that I needed this experience to learn forgiveness and tolerance. Even when people deliberately take advantage of us we ought to forgive them. Moral cultivation isn't a part of worldly society anymore. People are often at eachother's throats trying to get ahead. Those of us who know that taking advantage of others is wrong out to change the world through example. The anger left me by the time we got to our stop for out hostel and now Dayton and I only laugh about the situation because we learned a valuable lesson that day. Next stop: The Great Wall

China: Xiangtan

Dayton and I left Guangzhou for an extremely long and slow train ride to Changsha where we planned to transfer to Xiangtan where I had taught English for 5 months in 2008. On the train we sort of huddled together because it was really cold, especially coming from hot weather in Thailand. After a few hours on the train some people got curious about who we were and started talking to us. Some college girls practiced a bit of English with us and asked us what our plans were. We started discussing things in Chinese and they said that the train station that we were headed to had been closed down and suggested that we get off a station earlier and get a taxi instead. So with their help we found a taxi and were soon on our way to Xiangtan. Once we arrived at the university we had to wait a while before my friend Sara would be done teaching classes. I met Sara while I was teaching there and she was still there and offered us her extra bedroom. She had a roommate Ana and they both welcomed us to their apartment and were super kind to us. We had a great time staying with them but after a few days when we had planned to leave I became very ill. For the next week I was in bed battling a cough and fever which seemed to never want to go away. After about a week though I was feeling quite a bit better and Dayton and I went roller skating together. As soon as we walked in a guy on roller skates about our age came up to us and asked Dayton (in chinese) if he wanted to roller skate with him. Dayton agreed, thinking they would just hang out on the rink and was surprised when this guy grabbed his hand! I wish I had my camera so I could have gotten a photo.
The week in Xiangtan was a very humbling experience for me. I was really stoked to follow our plan and see a lot of China but 1 week in bed taught me to be patient and reminded me that I'm human. After I felt a little better we got our packs and went to the train station to buy tickets to Jiang Jia Jie, a national park. When I was almost to the window I had a distinct feeling that we should board a train to Beijing instead. I talked to Dayton and he agreed, the next thing we knew we were on a first-class overnight train to one of the largest cities in the world. Next stop: Beijing.

Almost forgot this...

Dayton took this photo at our hostel in Bangkok. The picture says it all. HAHAHA!

China: Guangzhou

After another night in Bangkok we boarded yet another flight to Guangzhou, China. Guangzhou is a hub for international trade and business. It's main purpose is to serve as port for mainland China. There isn't much to do in Guangzhou but flying there then taking trains in China was our cheapest option. We arrived pretty late at night without any idea where we would spend the night. We were stopped by a guy offering hotel rooms and the cost was decent so we decided to take it. He put us in a van and we soon arrived at a hotel. (By now my sense of direction was so thrown off, I wasn't really sure where we were exactly) I was really looking forward to a bed to sleep in. One thing about Guangzhou that we noticed quickly was the temperature change. We went from 95 in Bangkok to much much colder in Guangzhou. This came as quite a shock to me but I didn't mind too much. Our hotel was the nicest place we stayed in during our whole vacation. (Besides the Bobzien's) The next morning we woke up early for a van ride back to the airport where we caught a bus into the main part of the city. It was now Sunday morning and we were looking for a place to go to church. I knew of a small foreigner's only branch in Guangzhou but I wasn't sure where it was. I had an address but nobody knew where that road was. Our bus dropped us off somewhere amidst tall buildings. I was completely at a loss of where we were. Trying to keep my cool, we went to a convenience store to ask for directions but that wasn't much help either. The next best thing was to get in a taxi and tell the driver where we were heading. Luckily, after stopping a couple taxis, we found one that seemed to know the area. We got it and started moving. I was completely turned around and it seemed like we were driving in circles. I knew we were looking for a bridge and the place we were headed was right next to it. I showed our driver the map that I had but he decided to cross the bridge when we didn't need to. After feeling a bit frustrated he finally dropped us off in the general vicinity of where we wanted to be. Not really knowing what to look for (the church wasn't an actual church but a rented floor of a high-rise) we just started walking. For whatever reason we found ourselves inside a building and we realized that we were in the right place. When the elevator doors opened up and I looked down the hall to see a bunch of white people in Sunday dress I couldn't help but be amazed that we had actually found it. We threw down our huge packs in the back and everyone was super curious about who we were. They were as surprised as we were that we had actually found it. After talking to a few people I asked a guy if he knew a place where we could stay and he offered his own place. It was perfect, great people and a free place to stay. China was really treating us well. That night the YSA of that branch had planned a dinner and invited Dayton and I to come along. They guy that was hosting it works for the U.S. State Department so we went to his house inside the old embassy. We had a great time hanging out with our new friends. David (the guy that offered us a place to stay) even took us to the train station to get our train tickets for our next destination. We were so stoked to have met such great people and have a free place to stay. It's incredible that having the same faith as someone else automatically creates friendship and trust. We woke up really early Monday morning and boarded a train bound for Changsha.

One Night In Bangkok... again.

After our most excellent adventures in Chiang Mai we boarded a train that would take us back to Bangkok for our flight out. The train quite small but it did well. We each had a seat facing one another with a table between us then when it started to get late a guy came around and folded up everyone's seat and it created a bed. Then the overhead compartment was let down and there was another bed. Dayton took the top which he later explained was like sleeping in a coffin. I slept so great that night except I woke up with bug bites all over my legs. They itched incredibly bad and would for days. It was a good thing that all the 7-11's in Thailand carry a great product called Tiger Balm. This stuff works miracles although it only lasts a short time until the itching comes back. We got back to Bangkok after nearly 20 hours on the train and I couldn't wait to leave again for the airport. Bangkok didn't really leave a good taste in my mouth the last time we were there. I don't really even remember much of what happened that second time back there, I seemed to have blocked it from my memory. One thing I must mention though is at the night market we were strolling around and we heard a guy playing Johnny Cash on the guitar. A Thai guy was all dressed up like a cowboy and was busting out some old school country. We were so stoked that we stopped to tap our toes and slap our knees. He eventually invited us to actually sit down at one of the tables that was set up and we were immediately asked to order our drinks. We each got a Coke and drank it slowly. After a few more songs we were told we had to order more drinks (specifically alcohol) or else move along. So we got up and left but not before hearing our Thai Cowboy friend singing "you got me on my knees rayra!" Not sure if he knew we were laughing at him or not. The night ended well but I was really excited to move along on our journey and start exploring China! Next Stop: Guang Zhou

Who Reads This?

I've spent quite a bit of time writing about some of my adventures for this blog and I know a few people out there have been loyal readers. First off, thanks to those of you who have talked to me about the blog and have said positive things about it. These compliments motivate me to keep posting. I'd like all those who do read it, or have read it, to post a comment here so I can get an idea of how many people are reading it. I'm sure I'll keep posting regardless, but I'm just curious. Thanks everyone! Posts about the final month of my trip will be coming soon. Train rides, illness, mountain climbing, the great wall and much much more!

Thailand: The Jungle

Many hostels in Chiang Mai offer guided jungle trekking. Naturally, this was right up our alley so Dayton and I signed up. We met with our guide at our hostel to discuss logistics so he could be sure we had all the right gear. Much of the gear was provided and all we really needed was the essentials. Having planned our trip so that we would be back for Sunday church meetings, we were informed that not enough people had singed up yet so our trip would be postponed. This came as somewhat of a disappointment to us so I called our guide. I told him that we preferred to be back Saturday night so that we could go to church on Sunday and he said he would try his best. When it came down to it, going with the original plan just wasn't possible. So we decided to go ahead with the postponed trip and it turned out to be a fantastic experience. We met up with a bunch of Europeans from another hostel and after a long drive we all started to make our way into the jungle with out guide who we lovingly called "Rambo". Our guide was a short, middle-aged, Thai man who was as nice as they come. We trusted him with our lives as we ventured into what, for us, was a new world. February is the dry season in Thailand so the jungle wasn't as green as I imagined it would be but it was still so refreshing to get away from the city and all the people. The Europeans we were with were also super friendly. When we made our first stop for lunch, Dayton busted out the Frisbee and it served as a great icebreaker for the group. Pretty soon we were all laughing and having a great time together. Our lunch break was taken in a small "village" with no people around, just animals. It was like we had stumbled upon George Orwell's Animal Farm. The large pig seemed to be in charge while all the other animals tried to beg for food. After a long break we started off again to find the next village where we could stop for the night. During our hike Rambo kept pointing out interesting plants. There was one type of fern that when touched, it would close up on itself. We trekked and enjoyed the company when finally we reached a waterfall. It was gorgeous and refreshing but the night was getting on and we were almost to our destination so we didn't stay long. Exhausted, we finally arrived to a village of bamboo huts and we were greeted by the people that live there. This was also our guide's home. His nephew quickly took to us foreigners and he was soon named "jungle boy". An amazing dinner was served, made by the locals. There were even special dishes made just for Dayton and I because we are vegetarian. After dinner we got the Frisbee out again and one of the local women wanted to play with us. It was so much fun to hang out in this village in the middle of the jungle with amazing people. We made a fire and jungle boy had a guitar so we all sat around and listened to him and Dayton play music while we sang the words that we all knew. It was a fantastic way to wind down after a long day of hiking. The other Euros asked Dayton and I if we were interested in getting high with them and jungle boy. We respectfully declined but they insisted and said "but we are gonna smoke opium!" Dayton and I went to bed while 4 of the Euros stayed up with jungle boy in his hut to smoke opium. We found out later that they were soon joined by jungle boy's mom and uncle. What a different culture. In the morning I found out that the entire village was Christian. Our guide was a little curious about our religious beliefs since I had told him we wanted to be back in time for church on Sunday. We talked about it a little bit but the conversation stayed pretty vague. I also made a new puppy friend. We named him jungle dog and he followed me all over the place. 4 of the 8 Euros left after breakfast to go back to Chiang Mai while Dayton and myself stayed with 4 guys to continue trekking another day. We walked and walked through the jungle, learning about local plants from our guide and avoiding poop along the trail. We had worked out a pretty good system so that the person in the lead would announce poop on the trail by shouting "poop!". It was best when our friend from Holland, Gido, would say it. His accent was hilarious! At one point I was in the lead and walking up a slope covered by leaves when I took a step on a leaf and slid a little bit. There was fresh poop right under that leaf. For the rest of the trip, I never heard the end of it. I was now known as the guy that "likes to step in poop!" Despite being made fun of, I had a really enjoyable time. Our next stop was at an abandoned rice field. Being the dry season, the workers had all gone home and we stayed in their bamboo huts that were right next to a small waterfall. It was so peaceful and serene. After the long hike the cold clean water from the waterfall felt so good to swim in. Dinner was made for us again and it was delicious! We had another fire this night with our European friends and we all just chatted and had a great time. Sleeping in the bamboo huts was great, I was lulled to sleep by the sound of the waterfall. I woke up early and took photos of the fall and enjoyed the quiet morning while watching the sun rise. Rambo pulled me aside and started asking me questions about my religion. I had the chance to talk to him about his beliefs as well and he mentioned having seen missionaries in Chiang Mai before. He asked if there was any way that I could have them come teach his village. I didn't know exactly how that would work but I took his number anyways and was able to contact the mission office and get the cell number of the missionaries in Chiang Mai and I told them about what happened. They seemed pretty stoked. After breakfast we packed up again to make our way out of the jungle. A little ways down the trail we ran into another waterfall by a small village where people tried to sell us things. There were also a bunch of cute little puppies everywhere. They would crawl in our shoes and chew on the laces. I was so entertained by them. We also got our swim suits on and played around in the waterfall for a while. There was a way that we could actually walk behind the waterfall then walk straight out through it. It was so powerful that I could barely stay on my feet while walking through it. We had so much fun there but the time came to move on. We trekked out the rest of the way and made it to a truck where we all piled in the back and were taken to have some lunch in a town that was close by. I was so hungry that I definitely ate my fair share of the meal. After a big lunch we met up with some girls that we had seen in the jungle and we were all taken to an elephant camp to go on an elephant ride. The elephants in this camp seemed extremely depressed. They were trained to know that along the trail there are stand where the riders can buy bananas to feed them. The elephants won't move unless they are fed bananas. It's definitely a tourist trap and wasn't that great of an experience. The elephants were cool to photograph though. We were then taken back to Chiang Mai and that night, after a shower, we met up with our European friends and the girls that they had met in the jungle. We all enjoyed some food and drinks (coke for Dayton and I). One of the best parts about traveling is meeting new people and being able to learn about different thoughts and ideas. Next Stop: Bangkok Again?!

Thailand: Chiang Mai

Having really enjoyed Sukhothai we boarded yet another bus to Chiang Mai. We got dropped off at a backpacker's hostel just outside the main part of the city. This city was my favorite CITY in Thailand. The main part of the city is surrounded by a giant wall with a moat. There are many different hostels to stay in and great food. We even found am great vegetarian place that had amazing curry with brown rice. We quickly became regulars there. The tables were short and we sat on the floor on pillows while enjoying the warm breeze from the open balcony. Chiang Mai also features a decent night market where tourists can go to get amazing deals on all sorts of products. The city has been very westernized but it keeps the strong Thai culture intact. There are many active Thai-Buddhism temples around the city which are very open to visitors. All the people are super friendly and everywhere you go there's people offering to take you to the tiger temple. We ran into the girls we met on the floating hostel again. This time we actually got to chat with them and found out they were from Canada. We decided to hang out with a couple of them one night and they wanted to go to a bar on top of a building in the main part of town. They probably thought it was kind of odd that Dayton and I didn't drink beer with them and that we weren't interested in getting them drunk and taking them back to the hostel. We had a good laugh about it later. I never thought I'd see so many white people in Thailand as I did in Chiang Mai but at the same time I think it was pretty advantageous. Lots of people around the city spoke passable English and it was easy to find good food and good places to stay. One afternoon we spent wandering around the city finding different temples to explore. On the grounds of one temple there were many trees with sign posts attached to them with different philosophical thoughts in Thai and English. One sign that impacted me a lot stated "The most valuable service is one rendered to our fellow humans." All the great religions teach this simple yet profound principle. I feel like we are all just travelers in this life and we ought to render service to others along the way and tell them about the amazing experiences we've had so they can enjoy them too. The best part about Chiang Mai is it's a starting point for some great jungle trekking. Next Stop: The JUNGLE!

Thailand: Sukhothai

In Ayutthaya we lugged our stuff over to another hostel where we were told to meet some other people for a ride to the bus station. We still didn't really know what was going on, but we were handed our bus tickets without paying for them. Part of me thinks that is what the stickers were for but by this time we didn't have those anymore. Somehow, someone there knew we had already paid for our transportation at the TAT office. So we loaded onto the bus and found that the girls that had showed up on the floating house were there too. As we made our way on the charter bus the sun began to set and it seemed to me that were going the wrong direction. I sat there trying to get my bearings for a while when I said something to Dayton. He didn't really seem to care but I started to flip out. I was so afraid that we'd be going back to Bangkok, my least favorite city. I finally asked one of the girls on the bus where they were going and sure enough, we were all going to Sukhothai. We got to Sukhothai and all loaded up in the back of a truck to get a ride into the city. There was one girl in our truck that got dropped off in the country side, she was traveling alone. We never saw her again. The rest of us went to the center of Sukhothai. We found our hostel and settled in for our stay. We spent a couple days in Sukhothai, we rented bikes and rode around more ruined temples. It is very similar to Ayutthaya but in my opinion, Sukhothai is better. The entrance fees are cheaper, it's much quieter and there are fewer people. We had a relaxing time there. In one of the sections of Wats, we parked our bikes and played frisbee on the grass. Some of the tourists driving by seemed to be more interested in us than in their surroundings. We also ran into the girls again. We found out they are Canadian and we took a group photo for them on their bikes. It was inspiring to wander the ruins of Sukhothai and breathtaking to behold stone Buddha's that stand taller than my house. I wondered how they would have made such massive figures so many hundreds of years ago. Some of these statues still had incense burning in front of them. People still flocked their to perform religious rites. I also met a photographer from China there. We walked around together for a while and had a good conversation about our travels. One of the greatest things about traveling is not the things you see but the people you meet. This complete stranger and I became instant friends simply because I knew his language. Another great thing about Sukhothai is the variety to the architecture and designs of the Wats. We found one that had an elephant theme and others with many figures of the Buddha. The only way to really experience this awe inspiring place is to go there yourself. Spend a couple days wandering the clear open spaces and admire the beautiful architecture. It's worth every penny.

Thailand: Ayutthaya

After a long van ride we arrived at our hostel in Ayutthaya late at night. We got our room, found some food and went straight to bed. The next day we rented some bikes and rode around the city checking out different ruined temples. I had a really hard time remembering to ride on the left side of the road. The Burmese had come in and destroyed these temples and defaced the stone idols. Only some remain fully intact and many of the buildings have been reconstructed. These temples were all over the city. Each had an entrance fee so we only visited a couple since they are all pretty similar. It was pretty amazing to walk around these ancient temples that had been there for hundreds of years. The photos give the best description.
For lunch we found a little cafe called At Coffee that offered vegetarian food. The girl that was running the cafe was really nice and friendly. She also spoke English really well. She made some delicious food. Follow the At Coffee link to Dayton's website, WasatchVeg for some more info on the restaurant and food. To take a break from the afternoon heat we decided to head back to our room and have a nap. Our room was as cheap as they come, fan only. We were both just lying there sweating. I was working on a plan for China and experiencing a lot of anxiety about where we should go and what we should do. I took a break and read The Alchemist. Then I read this line "If he pushed forward impulsively, he would fail to see the signs and omens left by God along his path." These words hit me like a freight train. It was at this moment that I decided to abandon my plans and let the flow of adventure guide our path. We spent Saturday night at the night market, walking around checking out the Ayutthaya nightlife. We found an outdoor cafe with live cowboy music which was awesome. We enjoyed a nice meal and listened to some country rock as we passed the evening before calling it a night. On Sunday we rented some bikes and rode to the outer part of the city to find the church. On our way there we were passed by a small pickup truck with a bunch of kids in white shirts in the back. We knew we were on the right path and we were led straight there. If it weren't for seeing those kids I'm sure we would have ridden right past the church which was in a rented building. The sign was so small and in Thai, we never would have seen it. It was amazing how welcoming everyone was. It was easy to feel at home in a place that was so far away from our real home. One of the missionaries translated the meetings for us and they gave us some good suggestions for places to eat and which Wats we should see. After church we had another sweltering nap. Dayton woke up in a sour mood which got even worse when he went to fill up his water bottle outside our hostel. There are water bottle filling stations all over Thailand. This one happened to be baking in the sun all day and when Dayton filled his bottle it was with hot water. Doesn't he just look so angry? The center of Ayutthaya is surrounded by a huge moat. We peddled our bikes to the outer part of the moat and came across the Wat that was described to us by the missionaries. This Wat was active and still in use. We spent our Sunday afternoon walking around the temple and admiring the craftsmanship and demeanor of the worshipers. Everyone was so open to us being in their holy places and welcomed us with smiles everywhere we went. Just outside the temple we sat under a tree in the shade for a snack and had a great discussion about religion and the significance of the experiences we were having. Dayton was then bombarded by a bunch of middle-aged Thai women who wanted to have a picture with him. Once one was brave enough to ask for one everybody in the group wanted one as well. He sat there as each took their turn. I told them we should be charging for these photos. We all had a good laugh and then we headed out. After returning our bikes we went to a park on the edge of the inner city and did some reading and relaxing in the shade. We swung by At Coffee again for some dinner then we walked around the city checking out more Wats. It was even better at night, the weather was perfect and all the Wats were lit up against the night sky. This was a great way to spend our last night in Ayutthaya. Next stop: Sukhothai