Chiang Mai, Thailand

We have spent the last 5 nights in Chiang Mai and it's been relaxing because of the generosity of a couple of people. Esther, who we met through www.couchsurfing.com, and Lou Lou, who is a Serves host. We stayed the first few nights at Esther's guesthouse for free. Now, we don't think this is the typical couch surfing experience and we were a bit overwhelmed by her generosity. She even fed us breakfast and dinner at the restaurant attached to the guesthouse. All was complimentary. It was a very authentic 100 year old teak home she bought a few years ago and turned into a charming guesthouse right on the River Ping, it's called River Ping Palace. We aslo contacted Lou Lou, who's a Servas host and met her for dinner along with her friend Lizzy. Lou Lou is from Australia and Lizzy happens to be from Seattle. In fact, Lizzy worked for a short period of time at Pacific University at the same time Melissa was teaching there. It''s a very small world. Lou Lou was going out of town for the weekend and offered her apartment to us. We've loved having a flat and we've cooked and watched several movies. The flat reminds us of a loft in the Pearl with concrete floors and lots of windows looking out at the city. Along our journey we've met so many people who have been wonderfully generous. Special thanks to Esther and Lou Lou! This afternoon we board a night train to Bangkok and will stay one night there before heading south to the beach.