My First Trekking Adventure!

This is me climbing my first mountain!

Hi Everybody!

I am back from my first trekking trip to the mountains. 'Trekking' is a term I use to talk about going to hard to reach places. We climbed mountains, hiked trails and even rode a zip line over a river to see some people. The roads were very bumpy and the rides were several hours. But it was where we were supposed to go and we saw people that need to hear the Good News!

These are some pictures from my trip. It some areas it was so cold there was snow! But when we got to a village about 3 hours away, it was so hot I took off my hoodie! There were places where chickens were everywhere (do you see the one behind me?) There were beautiful rivers, tall mountains and friendly people. We did not stay in hotels. People asked us into their homes to eat and sleep. We told them about the Good News and even left Books and movies for them - they were in a language the people could understand. I can't wait to go back and tell them more!

This is at a pass on the mountain. The sign says it is 4,238 meters tall. That's almost 14,000 feet tall! There was snow and ice everywhere. We had to help puch the van for a whcause it was so icy. The big white thing is called a 'Stupa'. Tibetans put these on high places. It is how they worship. But they don't worship the Truth. Read 2 Kings 17:29, it talks about high places and how people worshipped idols. Can you find more verses about false worship?

Some fun pictures

There are so many things that are different over here, I just can't even think of them all. I thought I'd show you some pictures.

We use chopsticks to eat food here. The plate is potatoes, their version of french fries and the bowl is eggplant - I like both of them very much!

Sometimes finding a good place to sit and rest is very hard! China has more people than any other country in the world.

Vacation in Chiang Mai

While there are many parts of Thailand near the ocean, we went to Chiang Mai for a break and stayed in the mountains. Chiang Mai is a very old city. It has a moat around the city. A long time ago they used the moat to hep protect themselves from enemies. They also had a big wall around the city. Lots of it is still around.

While we were there, we went to the night market. It is a place where they sell all kinds of things. We also ate a restaurant called 'Mike's'. It is near the moat and they have great cheeseburgers. Many famous people have eaten there. Chiang Mai also has many bookstores. Since we all love to read, we went and bought some books. One day the boys (me, Mike and Kenan) got motorbikes and rode all over town. Mike had a special seatbelt for me to keep me safe. I am too small to drive, but I did practice on a video game with Kenan.

Fun Food in Thailand

Wow, Thailand has some great food. Because Thailand is on the ocean, there is a lot of seafood. In most places, you can walk down the street and someone is cooking something to sell. They love to eat rice and corn-on-the-cob, especially if the corn is grilled.


This is a fisherman. He stands in the river and throws his net to catch the fish.

You can buy seafood fresh from the ocean or rivers. They pack it in ice and sell it on the street.

This man works near the beach. He cooks food for people who are spending their day at the beach. While you are on the beach, many people will walk up and down wanting you to buy from them. They have lots of fruit - especially pineapple and watermelon - seafood, nuts and many other things.

This man is taking rice and shaping it into a heart. he might do this all the time, but I took this picture on Valentine's day, so maybe he was doing it for his wife.

This is at the Japanese restaurant where they cook your food at the table.

Do you recognize this restaurant? Because many foreigners come to Thailand, they have places where they can eat familiar foods.

He hands are clasped together because this is how people greet each other in Thailand.

My New Thailand Friends

While we were in Thailand, I made many new friends. Some of them were from America but most were from Thailand. Thailand is known as the "Land of Smiles" and it seemed like everybody liked to smile. I had so many new friends, I decided to write about some of the food in my next report.

Until then, happy trekking! Blaze

One of my new friends is not from Thailand, do you know which one?

Fun time on the beach!

Thailand is very famous for its beaches. We went to the beach many times. I had to wear sunglasses because it was so bright. We played with a frisbee, Kenan rode a jet-ski and we played with bubbles. Luke is my friend, he is 2 years old. We ate lunch at a restaurant where they cook the food right at your table - it was lots of fun.

There are lots of palm trees in Thailand!

There were many statues on the beach, I like this one because I love to read.

Next time I will show you some of my friends I made and some different food, see you then!

Blaze

Riding around in Thailand

When we left home it had been snowing. But Thailand is very hot! There are many islands and beaches here. Thailand is in southeast Asia and is between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The capital is Bangkok.


This is Thailand's flag.

While we were there, I rode many different things. The plane ride to Bangkok was three hours, then we rode a bus for 2 hours to a beach. To get around in Thailand, we rode tuk-tuks and songtaws. Songtaws are little trucks with seats in the back and tuk-tuks are three wheeled motorcycles. I even rode on the skytrain - it is like a subway, but it goes

This is me on the skytrain. above the roads. Many people here also ride elephants! The elephants I saw were very hairy and tall, but they were nice. The people who drive them are called 'mahouts'.

This is a sangtaw. This is me in a tuk-tuk.

Thailand has a king. He has ruled for over 60 years! That is the longest any king has ever ruled. The people love him very much. They always stand to honor him, even before a movie starts, the people will stand up. There are over 65 million people in Thailand. Thailand used to have a different name - do you know what it was? Let me know if you do, okay?

My next adventure will be about all the fun times I had on the beaches in Thailand!

See you then!