Staying in Phuket Old Town was actually a happy accident. We arrived by plane to Phuket with hopes to take the ferry to Koh Phi Phi (island) that day but we missed the last ferry so we last minute booked a cute hotel and decided to make the best of it. This little part of the city was very different than other Thai cities we've seen. It's style of building is Sino-Portuguese dating back to the 18th century. We loved the colors and the complete lack of tourists.

We spent a bit of time creeping around the local school. Like other Thai buildings the school was more of a collection of different buildings connected by breezy outdoor spaces. I would have loved to go to school here.

I'm still not sure what the original purpose of this place was (definitely deserves some research). But it was especially great seeing it in contrast with the White Temple. It was filled with tribal artifacts: bones, wicker, wood, skins, and carvings.

This temple is really more of an art piece than a functioning Buddhist space. It was started in 1997 but is stilll being added to now. These complexes take decades with the number of buildings they add. The landscaping and approach to the main temple space was really nice, but really all you notice is just the ridiculous amount of white ornament that is in your face. It has a really quirky side too with skulls, hands popping out of the ground, and colorul murals of modern events. I don't think I even need to say that I loved it.

PS – the gold building is the toilet room. #glamour

The Mae Hong Son loop is a beautiful highway trough the mountains of northern Thailand. Slow, winding roads with amazing overlooks unlike any I've ever seen. You can't really tell from the photos just how enormous this landscape is. The clouds hang low and the fog creates this amazing dreamy quality (when it's not raining). We spent a lot of time watching people work on almost vertical rice paddies with hand tools. And then chased around their chickens, pigs, and cows. I'm sure they loved us.

Finding this wat was just a happy accident. We noticed in the northern parts of Thailand, the temple ornament uses thin applied metal cut outs and intricate wood carvings. Seeing it with the beautiful hills in the background and the dozens or chickens in the foreground just made the place seem even more unreal O, I should also note wats are EVERYWHERE and you just wander in and often don't see anyone besides the occasional monk. It feels very private, yet sneaky.

We are really interested in the differences between Eastern and Western peoples' mindset and to get at the core of the differences, religion is a great place to start. We stayed at this monastery for 3 nights. They welcome anyone and everyone to stay for free as long as they would like. They provide bedding, food, and meditation guidance. So it was pretty great.

The site itself was amazing. The monastery is nestled between two rock faces that have their own caves. The grounds have two koi ponds and dozens of fruit trees: mango, jack fruit, and pineapple. I got my own kuti to stay in. Yes, the bed is a wood platform with a thin piece of padding so not the best night's sleep, but don't worry, there was plenty of “lying meditation” we practiced during the day.

We stopped very briefly in Mae Hong Son at this wat. Not our favorite but you kind of have to love the giant wicker Buddha.

Pai was kind of a joke. A gimmick-y tourist trap. But the scenary was absolutely beautiful so I'm glad we went! There was also a really nice natural hot spring that we went to in the morning rain. I saw sign “80 degree celcius pool” and put my foot in like an idiot. And remember “No Boil Egg”.

Alex is hanging out on the porch or our “villa”. Also nice. Also tourist-y. But if you want to get a cheap tattoo… Pai is your place.

Great views from this temple. Pai is a beautiful city once you get away from the white hipsters and tattoo parlours. The funny thing about Thailand is it's hard to tell what's old and what's new. The Buddha and the stairs up were under construction. I've been really surprised by the sheer number and variety of temples in this country.

A mahout is the person who trains, feeds, watches, and generally takes care of the elephants. At Woody Elephant camp, one mahout has one elephant. They go wherever the elephant goes. Every. Single. Day. You can tell, because there's this quiet bond between them. They grunt at each other all the time like their own language. When we interacted with the elephants, we could tell the elephant had the mindset it was “working”. But when the mahout spoke, the elephants reacted more empathetically.

At the camp we husked corn for the elephants (even though most of the elephants could do this themselves using their trunks). Pictured below are the farmers working on the crops used to feed the elephant's enormous appetites.

We spent two days with the elephants so I think they deserve a few posts! After riding the elephants we took them down to the (dirty) river to bathe them and play in the water. This is the point where the baby elephant, Happy, played with Alex by pushing him down and nearly drowning him. Don't worry, there's a video.

Riding an elephant was the activity I was most looking forward to on this trip, and I was not dissapointed. Those things are not comfortable though. Their hair is like 2″ broom bristles stabbing you in the thigh. Also, they're real slow. But overall, it was awesome.

This might be my favorite wat so far. You enter the wat by underground passageways and emerge above an expansive brick platform to where the old chedi is. This whole complex is burried in the forest at the base of the Chiang Mai hill. We visited when the wat's monks were sweeping the grounds so that made it extra peacefull.

This was the oldest wat we had visited, dating back to the 14th century. The complex housed temples of various ages. Some under construction. It was interesting seeing how they make the curved roof profile by bending the roof purlins. I also liked watching the young novice monks. Many Thai boys train to become monks and can voluntarily leave the service when they choose. Adult monks can also leave at any time.

This wat is high up on a hill overlooking Chiang Mai. I thought the view and expansive viewing terrace was the most impressive feature. O, and the dozens of little stalls set up to sell goods to tourists. We had a well-deserved fruit smoothie.

This was Alex's favorite temple so far on this trip. It is small and modest temple beside the old Chedi Luang. It sports beautiful wood joinery and is one of the few temples we've been in where you actually see the geometry of the underside of the roof.

Here's a miscellaneous collection of photos that show the hectic, controlled, chaos we experienced. I couldn't capture the feeling totally but here goes…

This museum of abnormalities is known for being disturbing but it wasn't for the reasons I expected it to be. The museum itself was very gross. Dirty and not kept up. Mummies slouched against the glass case they were kept in. Fluids melting into a tray below them. The cases themselves were duct taped shut. So yes, definitely worth the visit!