I just got off the phone with my pops. He asked when I was going to post my next blog and because I have some time to stop and think for a bit, I decided it would be a perfect time now.

Wow. Where to begin.

I landed in Bangkok on March 11th where I met up with Aow (pronounced Al), my group leader and 2 others, Faye and Rob. I was very nervous and out of my comfort zone. First I was nervous about my bags making it, then I was nervous they were going to cheat me out when I went to exchange my US dollars for Thai Baht, then I was nervous about not acting appropriately according to their culture or something... I was just waiting for someone to say that something I was doing was disrespectful (this is what happens when you don't research before you travel.)

Anyway, it's taken a good week or so for me to settle into the culture and realize it's not nearly as difficult to work with as some may think. The only time it is different is when we are visiting temples. They require your knees and your shoulders to be covered. The first temples we visited, a few of the Brits showed up ready to leave in pants and crop tops with their stomachs showing ?? I'm not sure they were catching the gist about being respectful to the culture. That was one of those "just worry about yourself, Rachel" moments.

So we had our first few days in Bangkok. We visited 3 different temples which were very interesting. They were beautiful and so magnificently built. It was very eye opening to see the amount of people worshiping and bowing to all different statues and whatnot; lots of incense and chanting. Things I don't see everyday. After Bangkok, we took a bus ride north to right outside of Chang Mai where we stayed at a very nice little guest house. I think I put this on Facebook, but it was similar to a bed and breakfast. I was in a "house" with 5 rooms. Some people had their own little bungalow type places. There was no AC, but it got cool enough in the evenings where we didn't need it. They served us breakfast, lunch, and dinner. All of which were delicious.

When we weren't at the guest house, we were out with the elephants. As most of you saw, I was SO in my element at the elephant park. The first day, we learned the commands for go (pa pa hoy), back up (toy), stop (how), how to turn (coy and use the opposite leg to push their head in the right direction), and how to tell them to lay down so we could get off (mellow-they will put their bottom down first or jello-they put their head down first so you can slide off the front). I don't even know if these are close to being correct, but it's how I heard the teacher (Chi) explain them! They did listen to me though so I was saying something right. The elephants were amazing animals. I rode Moo Koo the first day. She was 39. Then the second day I rode Papa Joe and he was 14 and ginormous. The first day we took them down to the river and "bathed" them. That just consisted of them giving us a brush and we scrubbed them a little. I had a few scary moments. The sand in the river was very easy to sink into and the elephants didn't care if you were in their way. So if an elephant was coming at you, you needed to move! We had two baby elephants with us as well. They were just precious and loved playing with each other.

The infamous picture of the elephant picking me up with his trunk... We just returned from our trek on the 2nd day. After each trek, the elephants get to eat. I don't think that guy had his snack yet so after about 5 people did the trunk deal, I said I wanted to do it. So I walked up to the elephant and he leaned over, picked up a huge bath of these stalks of food and started hitting me with it. It was pretty funny. The trainer guy told me to let him eat for a few minutes and then we would try again in which I did and that picture was snapped. The strength these animals have.... It's amazing.

After the elephants was the trek. Oh the trek into the beautiful foothills of northern Thailand. The "trek for beginners" according to the website. The easy 3-4 hour trek. Ummmmmm negative. According to my Fitbit, we trekked for 6 hours, 16,500 steps, 7 miles, 80% uphill, 200 flights of stairs, 95 degree heat, and about a 15 lb backpack on my back. There is nothing beginner about that. As most of you saw though, it was a big day for this girl. There's no way I could have been successful at that part of this journey without my gym family back at home in Dallas that I have been working with for 2 years. When you are in a situation like that with 22 others, you have a lot of time to think and and observe others reactions to the challenge we were facing. Some people were very fit and didn't have many issues. And then there were a few that would have rather just gone ahead and died than do that. I'm not saying I was at the front of the pack the entire time, but I do think I had one of the strongest mind sets in the group. The amount of negative comments I heard coming from the fit and the unfit... My mental reaction and literal reaction was to say something positive. I think the last few months at the gym, I really started getting to where I was constantly telling myself to keep going. To keep pushing. To push through the pain and "uncomfortableness." Just that mental habit that I formed was a game changer for this challenge. I never once thought to myself "I wish I never did this" and that's opposite the Rachel I'm used to. The other part that caught me off guard that goes along with this (like I said on Facebook) was my confidence. I had zero hesitancy to the physical challenges which is not the norm for me. I didn't recognize the girl that was climbing up steep rocks, jumping off of edges, and not having to sit on her bum when going down steep hills. But I liked her! I had a few moments where I was a little emotional when I realized how far I have come since 2 years ago mentally and physically. And to realize the amount of people that have encouraged me and invested in me to get me to this point... I became overwhelmed. It was definitely my proudest moment yet on this trip.

The day after the trek, we went bamboo rafting which was actually really cool. It's in my top favorite things we've done. I just love being on the water. Then we traveled into the actual city of Chang Mai which is where we are now. Yesterday morning I took a Thai cooking class. That was a load of fun. We went to the market first where they taught us about the different ingredients we were going to use in our dishes. We had little aprons. I loved that these people really cared that we knew what we were cooking. They were continuously teaching us techniques, telling us what things were called, and making sure we knew exactly what we were doing. That was also the first organized activity we've done where we were with other travelers. I sat by a girl that had been teaching English in Korea for 18 months with her boyfriend so it was fun to hear here stories and experiences. I met a few folks from the states there too. The food was delicious and having the fun company made it even better,

Tonight I went to the Chang Mai Night Bazaar. It is basically a Thailand Revel. There were lots of booths with clothes and trinkets, live music, food booths, etc. We are leaving tomorrow to head to the city of Ayutthaya where we will ride bikes around temples. Last time I was on a bike... Y'all just say a little prayer for me ??

I know this was more of an itinerary type blog post, but it took longer than expected and I need to get some shut eye. I plan to write one soon about the Brits and a few realizations I've had since I got here. Thank you for supporting me through this. I know Facebook can have a bad reputation but all the likes, comments, and words of encouragement are truly making a difference. I couldn't do it without you.

Much Love xoxo