Although every member of the family had conflicting aims for our adventure in Thailand, there was one that we could agree on. Well, two. Although they are full-pledged Singaporeans, they moved to Chiang Rai 5 months ago to be with the lovely kids of Bethany Home This was the family's 1st time ever to Chiang Rai. Everyone had mixed feelings " This looks way worse than Kampar" " It's sooo cold!" "I need to buy more locks for my car tonight" " OMYGAWWDD!! That's a real life pig!! Can i name it babe ?!?!" But all was changed when Aunty Gim brought us to Sopa Resort, where we were scheduled to stay. Located right next to a petrol station, you wouldn't think it would be more than a dungy, minimal-facilitated hotel, but we stood corrected. As the large gates (and i mean LARGE) of Sopa Resort was opened, we were magically brought to Wisteria Lane (you know, desperate housewives?) They had little bridges and streams. Even a nice sheltered picnic area :) And all the flowers were real ! The whole family got a house of our own which was rather cozy. Couldn't help but act out scenes from Desperate Housewives. Chiang Rai is a rather small town.So, after 3 days there, Aunty Gim and Uncle Ivan brought us all the way north to Chilly Measalong. Measalong is right at the border of Myanmar. In fact, the only thing separating the 2 countries is a big drain. See the boy down there? He has achieved way more than a lot of us ; He swims to and fro 2 countries countless times everyday! :P Measalong has a huge flea market that goes on and on selling EVERYTHING. You have your Crocs and you have your Rocsc It's also COLD. So cold that it had us wearing winter jackets. We came back to Chiang Rai just in time to have a delicious barbecue with the Kids of Bethany Home. This was one of my best Christmas's. Seeing the joy of the Lord on the faces of the kids even though they had so little was a rather humbling experience for me. They brought a whole new meaning to Psalms 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, and ever present help in times of trouble. (NIV) Even though there were communication issues (obviously), everyone was welcoming and we had a great time. Our visit ended after a week (way longer than we expected) but I would say that it was the most fruitful stop of all. Ps: I just reread the whole post and realized it was tres boring. Apologies. Labels: events, family, friends, shopping, travel 0 lovely comments ✿ |