Thoughts from Thailand...

I'm a big fan of all the rain we've been having here in Thailand. After a hot and muggy day of shoveling elephant poop and planting trees at the Elephant Nature Park, we were all sweaty, muddy, and exhausted. To wind down at the end of the day we went tubing in the river and were greeted with a sudden, powerful downpour. The rain smelled amazing and I felt immediately refreshed. Since we were already so wet and the rain was so strong, my hut-mates and I decided to skip our usual outhouse showers and let the thunderstorm rinse us off. It's definitely a shower I'll never forget! -Malaika

We just returned to Chaing Mai from our two day caving adventure. We spent the first day learning how to climb up steep cliffs, belay our partners and repel. For someone who has never actually rock climbed before, I was feeling pretty nervous as well as exctied. Climbing for the first time up an 80 foot cliff was intense. Once I looked down and saw how high I was, my whole body began shaking and I wanted to repel down, but after a few encouraging words I decided to keep going. Once I reached the top I had an amazing view of all the mountains around me... it was totally worth it! That night we learned how to speak Thai, danced around the fire, cooked Thai style marshmellows, and set off huge lanterns into the night sky.

Day two was spent in 'Anxiety State Crisis' cave. After spending a few hours there, I completely understood why it was named this. We repelled great heights into pitch dark caves, walked through muddy water with bats flying over our heads, and climbed up slippery cliffs with only our head lamps to help us see. At times I felt scared and on the verge of tears and at others full of adrenaline, and excited. We all got put into situations where we felt uncomfotable, scared and pushed beyond our limit, but getting through them made us feel stronger and gave us a great sense of accomplishment. GET RADD CHANNNNNGGGG! -Chelsea

Thank you Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures for getting us all safely down into (and out of) the cave. You are all so professional and amazing. We loved getting to know you and appreciate that you are always there with a smile! -Hillary [gallery]