:(

Sigh. We said goodbye to Chiang Mai today. My mom asked me when we first got here if there was a city that I could compare Chiang Mai to. I think I said Florence just because of its energy level/size/accessibility, but I ended up falling for Chiang Mai the same way I fell for ol' Firenze. (And actually, now that I'm typing this, I'm remembering that last night as I was running out to get some last minute bus supplies I ran into a couple from Florence who had also fallen in love with Chiang Mai.) The community was friendly, the cafes and restaurants charming, and the river a hub of activity.

Things I will miss:

1. Libra Guesthouse (clean room, our own bathroom, ridiculous but friendly family running the place, and the "American Breakfast")
2. Tuk-tuk man on the corner (Every day he stood out there and asked "where you want to go?!?" Today we told him we wanted to go to the bus station. On the way there he was very curious about where we'd been walking off to every day for the last 3 weeks without his help.)
3. Kanjana's (Best pumpkin curry and mango sticky rice ever. Friendliest chef/dishwasher wife/husband team ever.)
4. Crazy expats and their wealth of well-intentioned advice
5. Goodview Restaurant (good view)
6. Sunday night market (endless dirt cheap samples of tasty Thai treats and handicrafts galore!)
7. Old City alleyways
8. Well-dressed dogs
9. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Today we hopped on an early AM bus to Chang Khong on the Laotian border. It only broke down once! After the bus driver tried banging on some things (literally) to try and fix it, we got a new bus, where he cranked up the music and didn't even bother putting his unform shirt back on (I wouldn't have either). We succesfully crossed the Mekong River into Laos without much fanfare (what it lacked in fanfare it made up for in visa fees). And now....Sarah and I will work on mastering the dollar/kip conversion rate which is much less fun than the dollar/baht conversion rate. Woo :-P