Markets, Sleep Deprivation, and Rats: Oh My!

So I don't have my journal in front of me, making this a recap by memory, which we all know could be iffy even without sleep deprivation. I'll start at the beginning and work up to now.
We left at the crack of dawn from Northfield and went to MSP, where we flew to Chicago O'hare and waited for our Tokyo flight. After boarding, I realized that I did the right thing picking the seat behind the mysterious line because it ended up that there wasn't a row ahead of me and I got ample leg room to completely stretch out :D I felt a bit guilty about it though...not really. We watched tons of movies on the flight and had 1 semi okay meal and another really crappy meal. My favorite food was the instant ramen we got as a snack though. I have a feeling there will be lots of that this trip. After landing in Tokyo, we got out and wandered the airport, which wasn't that bad at all. I think the worst airport we had was actually MSP or O'Hare. We had a short layover and then flew to Bangkok where Roy and the rest of the professors were waiting for us with our tour guide and bus. We loaded up and then went to the hotel for the night to have a short meeting and rooms. I stayed with Molly, who is super nice and I'm glad that I met her. We were 2 per room, which was also a change from the 4 person debate hotel stays in high school. Our room was on the third floor and a lot nicer than I expected.
The next day, we went to the Royal Palace and the Temple to see the Emerald Buddah. The architecture was fantastic and so intricate. I felt a little werid taking pictures and being touristy in a place of worship, but they fund the repairs through our fees, so it works out in the end I guess. After coming back for lunch in the hotel, Shilpa, Emily, Liv, Brooke, and I set out on our dinner adventure. Roy had us using a bus, sky train, and express boats to get to the river where we met for our dinner cruise. The ship was a little cheesy with the disco ball table on the end, but we got to eat on the top level and floated up and down the river, taking in the sights and enjoying being in Thailand.
On the second day in Thailand, I woke up at 430 am (I think I'm still on the 6 hour Carleton schedule and not actually sleep deprived though) and decided to take Barry's advice, a Carl alum leading on the treks, to make the most of it, so I went out walking with my camera, ipod for a watch, and some baht (thai currency). I ended up at this huge local markety around 10 minutes down the street from our hotel. It was such a different experience to take in local Thai markets without having someone shove stuff in my face. There was a ton of fruit and meat stands with hundreds of people and cats/dogs roaming about. I'm kind of getting leery of meat already after seeing it laying out in buckets with no ice in the sun or hanging on hooks. I also saw a few more shrines that people create and have all over Bangkok. I was on my way back and also saw a rat run across the sidewalk. I thought of following it and taking a picture and then realized that was kind of gross. We headed out as a group that morning to go to the Jim Thompson house after our group meeting/lesson. We wandered around the garden, did the tour, looked at silk for sale, and I had an incredible lime soda drink concoction on the veranda. We had free time at the hotel then to wander around after lunch and packing. Molly and I took a tuk tuk (this 3 wheeled taxi thing) back to the hotel after wandering off.
Later, we had a bus tour and went to the train station for our overnight ride to Chiang Mai. It was uncomfortable and I was scared I was going to fall off of my bed where the only safety was two seatbelt straps hooked from the bed to the ceiling. I also made use of the eye mask thing Anh gave me because the curtain did not keep the light out of the bed which was on ALL NIGHT.
Today, we got to our hotel, the Yaang Come Village. It is even better than our first hotel and absolutely what I imagine when I think of Thailand. Liv and I are staying in hut 6 in a fantastic room that I want to come back and stay in later. We did walking tours too today with a guide and university student where we went to the day market and a senior citizen home. Tonight we're going to the night market and supper, so I probably should end this now (and you're probably bored of reading this now). We head out tomorrow for our treks. It will be fantastic. Elephant riding, cave spelunking, hot springs, villages. I'm excited. It will be fantastic. Miss you all and will be thinking of you when I'm on the elephant.