Double Bikes Rule.

I am back in the big city living of Chiang Mai yet again. A grand total of 10 of us left the farm around the same time. Six of us stayed in the same guesthouse, one room for girls and one room for boys (Cause everyone knows, boys have cooties and make bathrooms gross). Tuesday night, all of us were rounded up and went out for a night on the town. There were ten of us, so naturally, we rented 5 double-seated bicycles for the night and took the city by storm via bikes. It was a sight to see, bicycle bells ringing and all.

YES these are awesome. 

First we all went out to dinner, then went for a drink, and wrapped up the night going dancing. Fun was had by all!

Today is Thursday, and most everyone has gone their separate ways. Nearly everyone but me is making their way to do the Laos-Cambodia-Vietnam trek. It's what almost everyone I have met who is traveling is doing or has already done here. I haven't had any kind of desire to go that direction, so here in Thailand I will stay :)

Tonight I have booked a room all to myself, my first private room (not counting my hut at the farm) since Pai! Ahhh, how nice, a little time to myself. There is something to be said for getting to sleep in the nude in your own room when the days almost reach 100 degrees, and the nights are almost unbearably hot and muggy. Did I just say "nude" in my blog? .... moving right along.

Tonight I took myself to the market down the street and let myself buy whatever I wanted for this special occasion of dinner for one! I bought some roasted chicken, a bag of mushrooms and stewed greens, a bag of mixed vegetables and pork, some mango, some banana chips, and OK I am just going to save myself the embarrassment of sounding like a total hog and just stop right there. I will just say, I had a lovely dinner sitting on the floor of my room listening to Fleetwood Mac <3.

I haven't decided yet if I will keep this room for another night or cave and get a cheap dorm room tomorrow. I really would like another night to myself, despite the fact that this upstairs room feels more like a sauna than a guesthouse room. Either way, I think I will be staying in the city for a couple more nights before making my way up to the Tam Wua Forest Monastery. I really would like to be in a good state of mind before I go, so maybe another night to myself would be a good investment...

Today is Dave's birthday!! Happy 26th Koala Bear!! Four more weeks of me hoofing it around Thailand before he joins me here for a three week vacation. I am trying not to think about how excited I am for it, because I am finding myself thinking a lot about his time here and not really being present for my time here in the meantime.

BUT REALLY I AM SO EXCITED.
LIKE REALLY REALLY REALLY EXCITED.

For Dave's birthday I really wanted to give him something that I made, seeing as how a cheesy Thai souvineer will be something he can get when he is here. So I was able to make him a bag of coffee while I was at the farm! I did everything from pick berries, to shelling the beans, to roasting the coffee over a fire. I even had someone take a picture of me roasting the beans I am giving him! Anyone who knows me knows that I am horrible at keeping presents a secret, so I will be showing him via Skype in the morning, hopefully before he reads this post.

Picking!

Smashing!

Roasting!

 I am super excited for him to try it, it's some of the best coffee I've ever had .

Well, I am going to go for a nighttime stroll and try and cool off a little bit. Miss you all <3