Chiang Mai Birthday Weekend

Hello from Chiang Mai! Jazmyne recovered from her fever, we took the VIP bus from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai, all is good. The VIP bus is where it's at, if you have the option. It's $3 USD more expensive than the bus that looks straight out of an Uncharted video game. Giant reclining seats, massive amounts of leg room, a decent bathroom, and a bus attendant who gives you knockoff Oreos. Always splurge for the VIP bus. Or don't. Shit your pants and sweat to death.

Little note on going to the emergency room in Thailand:

Going to the emergency room in Thailand is.... GREAT! After 48 hours of Jazmyne not being able to keep down food or liquids we walked in, were graciously and efficiently directed to where we needed to be. Shuffled between a few professionals with various expertise. Jazmyne was given two shots full of something helpful and sent on her way with a bag full of helpful drugs and a diagnose of a viral infection in her gastrointestinal tract. The whole transaction took about 30min. AND most importantly it cost $25 USD. Fuck America and it's backwards healthcare system. Jazmyne received better and more efficient care from doctors and nurses who barely spoke English. SO, yeah, if you find yourself in a SE Asia country and have worries about going to the doctor, don't. It's a third world country with a 1st world healthcare system. America is a 1st world country with a 3rd world healthcare system. 

Anyways, we showed up in Chiang Mai at a fancy 5-star hotel for the birthday girl (sweet Agoda deal, $70). It was very nice, there was a rooftop infinity pool, the room was amazing, and the hotel staff still don't speak English unlike the host at our $10 hostel room where I am writing this from. Another weird Thailand quirk. I think people who are entrepreneurial enough to turn their house into a hostel for foreigners are just naturally going to speak better English than a young Thai person who applies for a concierge position at a hotel. Makes sense now that I think about it..

Burgers, man. We found em. And they were good. Really really good. Perhaps it's partly because I haven't had a good burger in a really long time, but both of these stand up to any of the best burgers I've had in the states. 

The first Chiang Mai neighborhood we stayed in was like Thai Portland. Very trendy, tons of coffeeshops and boutiques, sushi restaurants, etc... Not at all what we were expecting. An excellent place to blow your budget.

So many cool storefronts. 

Our fancy pants hotel. Would stay again.

"yeah, I go to the U of Worlds longest name." Seriously, what is this insanity.

Jazmyne says this is "Moana as a teenager." I cannot disagree. Also, if Disney wants to make a movie about a hot teenage Moana who started a burger restaurant, thats cool by me.

Oh hey Portland, you thought you had trendy coffeeshops? You aint got nothing on Chiang Mai. Ristr8o (how's that for a trendy name) was in the world latte championships. Tasted pretty good too.

B-day dinner sushi madness. We splurged, our souls thanked us for it. It was very nice.

Jazmyne doing her best David Bowie impression.

Most buildings in the Nimmanhaemin neighborhood of Chiang Mai are at least this cute. They value good lighting here. It's really lovely to walk around at night.