Learn the Art of Thai Massage...Check!

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By the time our third day in Chiang Mai rolled around, we were exhausted. Between the 36 hour trek to get here, the all-day classes, and the late night market, we had been going nonstop since we left the islands. We had also gone 3 straight days without a massage which was unacceptable! So we slept in as long as possible, had a leisurely brunch on the sunny front porch of our hostel, and then headed straight to get a thai massage. Our hostel owner recommended a place down the road, and even though it was a bit weird to be escorted through a family's living room, kitchen, and up 2 flights of stairs to the massage room, it was totally worth it. We were REALLY sore from a day of scrambling all over elephants, plus we got to wear super comfy thai fisherman pants during the massage and one hour cost only 150 baht ($5)!

In our lovely post-massage daze, we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around central Chiang Mai. This is the first chance we've had to see the city on foot, so it was super fun to stumble upon glittering Buddhist temples around every corner and stroll along the moat that surrounds the old town.

The first temple we came across was a giant stone ruin called Wot Chedi Luang and was situated in a very impressive square surrounded by smaller temples, statues, and prayer halls. There was also a Monk Chat Club that invited people to drop in and chat with the monks about Buddhism, monk life, Thai culture, or anything else you're interested in. They love to practice their English so any conversation topic is welcomed.

We continued strolling and came across a smaller temple called Wot Phan On which was over 700 years old and somehow seemed to still be in perfect condition. It was completely covered in solid gold and had the biggest gong I've ever seen, just begging to be rung! I respectfully restrained myself, but it wasn't easy.

As we were on our way back to the hostel, we happened to pass a big wall that lots of people were driving through, so we ducked our heads inside and what was on the other side? Oh, only the biggest temple in all of Chiang Mai! We felt a little dumb for not noticing Wot Pha Singh sooner, but we happily covered up with shawls and sat inside for a bit of a monk ceremony. The sing-song Thai chanting of 100 monks in unison was mesmerizing, especially combined with the ornate golden decor of the temple. The most interesting tale about this temple is that back in the 1400s the chariot carrying the Buddha broke down, so they just decided to give up and build the temple in that exact spot. Good on ya Thailand.

We finished the night off by watching the sunset from our hostel rooftop, Chang beer in hand. It was a pretty awesome way to finish a relaxing day.

The next day was our last day in lovely Chiang Mai, so we had considered booking a hiking trip in the mountains or a tour around the region to see some more temples. But then our hostel owner told us that our bus to Laos would be stopping at the famous White Temple for a toilet break on the way, so we decided "Good enough!" and booked a Thai Massage class for our last day instead!

We're pretty much obsessed with Thai massage, so it only seemed right to learn a few techniques on our last day in Thailand.

The class was about 6 hours long and we learned somewhere around 100 moves! It totally exceeded my expectations as I figured they wouldn't trust spazs like us to do anything more than toe rubs. Not gonna lie, we started out giving each other very mediocre massages, but after just a few hours, we were using our palms, fingers, forearms, knees, legs and feet to squeeze, twist, lock, stretch and crack like a pro. There was only one other girl in our class so it was very personal, and our teacher Ah was adorable and an excellent instructor. She wants us to come say hello next time we're in Thailand!

Performing the moves was surprisingly hard work and we'll definitely have to build up our core strength if we're ever going to give a decent massage - we were both shaking and sweating while trying to do a few of moves! I have a new-found respect for Thai masseuses and loved learning a bit of the trade. Even the butt and groin rubs were less awkward than I thought they'd be...although it does take our friendship to a whole new level of closeness!

After the massage class, we headed to the famous Sunday night market to spend our last night in Thailand indulging in lots and lots of street food. They close down one of the biggest streets in town for this market every Sunday, and it is HUGE. We walked through the market at a steady shuffle for 3 HOURS and there were still side streets and temple courtyards filled with food stalls that we didn't have time to explore. We managed to stuff ourselves beyond belief on popsicles, pork buns, won ton eggs on a stick, sweet potato, corn on the cob, ice cream, fish balls, strawberries, and noodles. This market had the most innovative and unique collection of street food I've ever seen, and as per usual, everything we tried was delicious (oh except the durian fruit I tried...those are really gross). There were lots of great clothes and souvenirs as well, and if we weren't confined to one 15kg backpack, we would've loved to bring the whole market home with us!

Thailand has treated us well and we've added some sweet new skills to our resume in Chiang Mai - Thai cooking, elephant riding, and now Thai massage. I don't mean to brag but...we're pretty awesome!