On the way to Morioka, we went to Koiwai Farm, one of Japan’s oldest and most famous dairy farms. It’s a huge farm filled with tons of activities and fresh ice cream and milk.
One of the things we did in Morioka was to see castle ruins. Unfortunately there really wasn’t much left to see.
We took Forrest to the zoo!
At our amazing onset hotel, they had nightly performances. This one was about the famous festival that takes place in Morioka every year. They loved playing with Forrest.
Our hotel in Chiang Rai was so fun, with a really beautiful outdoor display for the season.
Today we went to the White Temple, which like the Blue Temple has intricate and ornate design, with the exception that nearly everything here is all white.
Outside the White Temple were some neat things to explore, including a walk through cave.
The Blue Temple in Chiang Rai was honestly my favorite temple in Thailand. Unbelievably intricate, stunning details, and very, very beautiful.
Today we temple hopped around Chiang Mai. First we had a nice big breakfast of mainly the seasonal fruits (passion fruits, watermelon, cantaloupe) but we have been perpetually full since the food tour on 2/1. Then we got coffee and of course thai tea at a local café. The thai tea was perfect, and the coffee was sweetened with coconut milk and coconut pulp fresh from a coconut!
The temples were so grand and opulent, with massive buddhas in all sorts of positions, including one that was laying on his side relaxing. There were many monks too. One asked for Forrest. We thought he was going to give him blessings as he did for me and many other people, but it turned out he just wanted to hold Forrest. Forrest loved being held by the monk and the monk loved holding Forrest. He literally sat being held by the monk for about 10 minutes, playing with the prayer beads, and giving the monk smiles. Leanne asked to take a picture of Forrest and the monk, and afterwards the monk asked for Leanne to take a picture also, with his iPhone! Then the monk whipped out his iPhone for the picture.
The night ended with the night market that seemed endless. The night markets start at 5pm and go until midnight, with endless rows of little shops and street foods. I got chicken satay with peanut sauce, Tom Kha Gai soup (made right in front of me!), basil stir fry with shrimp, and washed it all down with coconut water fresh from the coconut (with the pulp as well). To finish off, of course I got mango sticky rice.
Today we did a tour. It started with a sticky waterfall in the middle of the jungle. The waterfall had rocks that were both smooth yet grippy so it was easy to climb. Forrest loved the water.
Afterwards we went to a long neck village. Refugees from Myanmar populated the small village and the women had very long necks for beauty. Every 3 years they add a ring. Next to the village was the elephant sanctuary. Elephants there are rescued and saved from the hard and cruel labor of circuses. They were so well taken care of. We fed them sugarcane, bananas, and pumpkin squash. What was amazing was how much the elephants took to Forrest. The older female elephants especially loved giving Forrest kisses and playing with him. We also got to go in the river with the elephants and play with them there.
