the best vacation ever

wow, it's been over a month since i last posted. and what a month it has been!
i just got back from the vacation i have dreamed of for years.....THAILAND!!!!!!
in college i had friends who told me stories about either visiting or living in thailand and i was captivated by their tales. thailand became my #1 dream vacation destination. (ok, it was actually tied for #1 with paris. hehe) i began compiling a list of all the things i wanted to experience in thailand, and i was able to do almost all of those things on this trip. riding an elephant will have to wait until next time though!
as inigo says in "the princess bride" -'let me explain. no, there is too much. let me sum up.' here are a few pictures and stories to give you a glimpse of my dream vacation.

it all started with a few days in korea visiting my dear friends from college, virginia and sally. these two girls treated me like a princess and were so good to listen to my stories about my first semester in mongolia. they shared their lives with me as well. i think that if i didn't know i'm supposed to be here in mongolia, i would seriously consider applying for a job at the school where they work. :)


after spending a few days in korea, i went to bangkok where i stayed with another good friend from college. louisa and i did some sightseeing in bangkok and then went to the beach for two nights. the #1 experience on my bangkok dream list had been a visit to "the oriental" hotel since i've read about it in travel+leisure magazine for years. i wanted to be able to say that i had sat on the hotel's terrace overlooking the chao praya river while the sun was setting. louisa was kind enough to indulge me in my fantasy, and we enjoyed delicious fruit smoothies there one evening.


louisa and i also spent two fabulous days at the beach south of bangkok. we pretty much had the beach to ourselves as we weren't in a major tourist spot. it was the most peaceful part of my vacation, and i could have stayed there for several more days.


after bangkok i made my way to chiang mai for about a week and a half before our teacher's conference. the highlight of my time there was a visit from my sweet friend and former roommate crissy. we explored parts of chiang mai on foot and rented a motorbike to explore the mountains outside the city with more speed. :) one day we went to a monastery on top of the mountain and then went on further to a hmong village. another day we got up in time to see the sunrise and then found a coffee plantation in time for a morning cup just when we needed a boost for the rest of the day. some of the places we discovered on the motorbike were dreamier than any that i could have imagined. this is a monk's retreat we found in the hills above the hmong village.


crissy and me in our helmets. pretty sweet, huh? haha


crissy and i said goodbye on the day the conference started, and i spent the next week enjoying the company of over 500 other teachers who are serving with elic. it was awesome to sing together and hear from the Word. we heard reports of what the Father is doing in countries across asia, and it was encouraging to be reminded of Who called me to mongolia. He used the time spent at the conference to show me some surprising things about myself. most importantly he brought healing to brokenness i had been holding on to for a long time. i have returned to mongolia feeling more like myself and closer in my relationship with him than i have in years. HE IS GOOD!

so i guess that seems like a lot of explaining when i meant to just sum up. hehe. i hope you enjoyed the brief glimpse at my vacation. if you want to see more pictures you can check out some albums i have on facebook. :)
~amanda