i never been to chiang mai or gateway connection (where we're staying) before relocating here a few days ago. i've heard so many different things from people who have been to chiang mai and stayed at gateway connection.

here's a few first impressions since arriving:

chiang mai is smaller and quieter than i imagined

i was told chiang mai is the second biggest city in thailand, so i thought, ok its not as big as bangkok but it still must be pretty big since bangkok has over 14 million people. turns out, chiang mai has just over a million people. this is smaller than perth and seattle (the two places i've lived) - a lot smaller than what i was expecting. there's also no 'downtown' or 'CDB' or 'city' area with high rises, everything is flat and spread out. finally it's a lot quieter and chilled than i imagined any "large" thailand city would be. i've been to bangkok a lot, and always found it very fast paced and overwhelming at times. chiang mai is more like a country town compared to bangkok. i'm actually glad it is a lot more chilled & laid back than i expected - since part of the reason why we're here is to just rest and be still.

you need your own car or scooter to get around

it didn't take long to realize that there's no public buses or trains to get you around the city. the closest things are songtaew's - which are red "utes" that are like public buses but there are no set routes or stops. Instead you simply tell the driver where you want to go and the driver will decide if that works for him and the other passengers already on the songtaew. this is hard because we can't speak thai yet. this is very different to bangkok where you can just learn the bus numbers that take you to where you want to go and how much to give the bus operator when you jump on. we're looking to buy a scooter to zip us around the city otherwise we'll go crazy having to rely on others to take us to buy milk.

gateway connection is truly a special place

when i left perth, a good friend of mine called gateway 'truly a special place'. and in being here only a few days, i totally get it. firstly - gateway is a 'residential program provides under-privileged and chronically deprived Thai teenage girls-at-risk the opportunity of growing up in a stable loving healthy home environment with the chance to pursue an education in the mainstream Thai schools and tertiary institutions'. while we're not officially working with this ministry, we're staying at their residential buildng for the time being - it's given us a chance to get to know the 20 or so teenagers here. it's amazing the amount of love and grace that flows in this place. this is becoming even more significant as i'm slowly beginning to learn about where they come from and what they were like when they first arrived at gateway. it's hard to believe how far they've come and how much their lives have been transformed & redeemed since joining the gateway program.

meal servings are tiny here!

meal servings are minature compared to what i've been use to in america and even australia. this is both because thai's eat less and thai's eat more meals a day or snack more. at each meal i have to resist giving into ordering 2 meals, but this is extra challenging since the food is so good here.

i have never been a person who really put a high priority on service.  sure its nice to have all the bells and whistles but alas i have always been too price sensitive to be willing to pay higher premium for someone to kiss my...saved money.  i am quite happy to research around for the cheapest option and do away with the extras to keep the cost low.  i am quite happy to carry my own bags to my room at a hotel, get my own cutlery and water at a restaurant, do without an offer of a drink at the hairdresser and open my own doors if that means that i can save a little here and there on myself. 

but recently, i have had a moment of reconsideration.  as we have been getting ready to leave perth, i have been taking my car for her much needed tune up.  usually anywhere would do that is cheap but i decided to go somewhere i dont usually go to even though it was a little bit more.  and i am impressed! unlimited free drinks, free car wash, free vacuum, shuttle service not only drop off but pick up aswell, and polite staff who remember who you are and are very informative without the sales pressure.  i am impressed.  next time i might consider it a little longer paying a little extra for a little bit more of a service experience.  

either i am easily impressed or maybe i am starting to appreciate hearing a little bit more of a tinkle from the bells and whistles.  

thanks for everyone that came by to floreat beach on the weekend. we had an awesome time hanging out, eating some aussie classics and soaking in the beautiful weather.

a big thanks to deb & steph for organising everything and making it extra special.

here are a few snaps from the day. cheers derree for snapping these for us.

for full album - click here

We've finally booked our one-way ticket for Chang Mai, Thailand. Departing early morning 6th of march.

Excited to get going, but lots to wrap up here and many friends to say goodbye to.

Will be a very busy 2 weeks or so.

its official, we are back. after a four years sabatical since the last update on our site, we are back.

fours years is a long time and a lot can happen in four years.  four years sees an extra day in the leap year, a second chance for an athelete at an olympic gold medal, the campaign for the presidential election, the predicted cycle of stock returns and a whole lota stuff in our four years.  it would be hard to put it all down to bring you all up to speed with the journey thus far.  so instead we decided to start afresh with a whole new revamp of our blog.  its a fresh new start, new outlook, new direction.  along the way we will bring in parts of the journey over the four years.  but for now its time to move forward with version two.  so we're really looking forward to getting back into sharing bits and pieces of our lives. the small things, the BIG things.

it is generally said, sequels are never as good as the original.  fingers crossed this one would be better than the first.