D9: Our journey today was intensive but good so settle in for the long read. We began by journeying more than an hour up the mountain on an unpaved (very rocky) dirt road to visit two different indigenous villages, Kamous and Hmong. The road was so bumpy my iPhone thought I was exercising and I got a notification that I achieved my 30-minute exercise goal just by sitting in the car. Which means I burned off so many calories I can have dessert later. Who am ...

The morning began at 5:30 when we were picked up by Siphone* to watch and participate in giving alms to the monks. The town of Luang Prabang is known for having many temples and Monasteries. For the name Luang Prabang translates literally into Royal Buddha Image. Siphone took us to the locals spot. He was a monk for 10 years in this area and said the monastery** has 300 monks and when he was there food was often sparse, especially during rainy season (we are in d...

D7: Today we woke early, packed up, and headed into Chiang Mai to visit a beautiful park. Yoga and tai chi taking place in the grassy knolls, with beautiful fragrant flowers and water features about. Smack dab in the middle of this gorgeous park was a AA meeting with at least 30 people of all ages and from all over the world (but most were Poms, Greenbacks, and Aussies) living in Chiang Mai. I really enjoyed meeting such interesting people.After the meeting w...