McCainiaks in BKK

 For our final day on our vacation, the boys just wanted something fun.  Jamie had heard about this place from some friends at school, so we decided to give it a go. Grand Canyon Water Park Chiang Mai is a former quarry that has been turned into a water park.  On one side is an inflatables obstacle course and the other side had water skiing and jumping. We opted for the inflatables. For the record, Ian and I did try to make it around the obstacle course, but there is no photographic evidence.  Ian made it much farther than I did before giving up.  The little bit I did do was done sitting down and scooching to the edge to get in the water.  However, we were much more successful on the zip line and I am definitely looking forward to doing that again.  The boys on the other hand, spent the entire day running around and had a blast.

 Elephants I have no words to describe how incredible this day was.   Located in the verdant hills of Northern Thailand, Elephant Delight is home to a small group of elephants who live in a beautiful natural setting. The elephants who used to do logging and elephant riding are now enjoying a more natural existence where they can interact as a herd. The elephants spend their days foraging on the hillside and in the forest eating natural vegetation and also like to play in the mud pit and walk downhill to the river to cool off, play, and drink. The elephants also receive some fruit and vegetables including bananas and sugarcane. -  https://www.asianelephantprojects.com/elephant-delight/ We started by preparing some food (sugar cane and bananas) and feeding the elephants to allow them to become more comfortable with being around us. Once they were comfortable, we walked with them through the "jungle" to prepare vitamins for them. We then walked with the elephants down t...

 Chiang Mai Our first full day in Chiang Mai we spent a leisurely morning hanging at our hotel (The Experience Walking Street Hotel). We then spent the afternoon/evening at learning about a traditional Thai family's culture and cooking hosted by the Raunkaew-Yanon Family.  We started with a tour of their home. The Raunkaew-Yanon family has lived in this same compound for 150-180 years.  We learned a little of their history, Lanna culture, Thai tea, and tooth hygiene.  We walked through the "garden", which was really a full farm with so many kinds of vegetables and herbs, I lost count.  They even had a fairly large rice paddy.  After the tour, we had our cooking lesson.  We made 6 different dishes and they were all amazing. We started by making an offering to the spirits of the house. According to tradition, spirits need food. Homeowners place offerings of food, flowers and burn incense daily. All this is designed to please the spirits that live on the ...