Sunburnt. AGAIN.

I'm still in Chiang Mai but here's some Google Earth coordiates to help you fire at me from space. I'm staying at Mr. Whisky's Guest House (18°47'0.63"N 98°59'23.53"E) inside of the walled city, and today I rented a 110cc scooter and rode it out to Doi Suthep & Doi Pui National Parks. I got a little burnt on my shoulders but that's par for the course I suppose. I'm using SPF 60 sunblock but I think constantly readjusting my backpack rubbed it off in certain places. That sucks. Not as bad as having a cage with two starving rats in it placed on your head, but pretty close. And I simply can't leave my backpack at home. Who knows when I'll need my copy of The Brothers Karamazov and two giant bags of tea? Essentials.

I rode up to the top of Doi Suthep (1676m) and visited a temple built there, the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (18°48'18.50"N 98°55'17.72"E). According to the plaques and brochure that was handed to me, the location for the temple was chosen by an elephant. Or rather, the elephant was given something to carry, got as far as the top of the mountain, died, and this was viewed as a good sign. My Lonely Planet says that its 16km from Chiang Mai to Doi Suthep peak. 4km past the temple is some sort of palace but it was closed when I got there. After the palace it says its 'a couple of kilometers' to the point where I finally turned around and headed back. There were two paths and neither of them looked like they would accomodate my bike. One led down to a Hmong village (I had already seen Hmong people in Sa Pa, Viet Nam so I wasn't really interested) and the other was an overgrown hiking trail to the top of Doi Pui mountain. The sun was already going down so I decided to call it a day and head back. I also followed a lot of trails off the main road, hiking and biking where I could. I visited a few waterfalls and for the most part had a fantastic day. The scooter was 200 baht but I paid 50 baht to insure it as well. 60 baht for gas, so I spent say... 8 and a half bucks for the whole thing. Not too bad.

I even managed to ride an elephant up part of the mountain before it grew wings and took me to the moon. In the shadow of one of the craters we had some wine and things got out of hand. I demanded to be taken home. It asked me not to call its parents and I agreed on the condition that it give me all of its Magic Cards that use red mana. I'm going to the interstellar Magic: the Gathering championships and I need to strengthen my red deck. I spilled nacho cheese dip on my pants but dropped them off at the cleaners in MOROCCO on the way back.

I hope everyone back home is enjoying themselves as much as I am. I love and miss you all.