Chiang Mai Part 3

One of the great things about conference time is that it gives opportunities to see and visit with people that work and live in different areas of the world. It was great to catch up with some of our new friends that we made at orientation in July.

The last day before our conference began, we and our teammates met up with two of our friends from China and went to the zoo. Just a bunch of crazy party animals checking out the exotic wildlife. It may not have been the best zoo that we have ever been to, but many of the different animals put on quite a show for us. We had a great time!

One of the Chiang Mai Zoo's biggest attractions is their Panda Bears. Pandas are incredibly cute as it is, but this guy was just waking up from a nap when we visited him. On the other hand, he may have just thought we were all a bit boring.

Yawning seemed to be a catching habit while we were there. Perhaps we were boring.

This guy is not yawning, he is roaring. Wow! Talk about a frightening experience. I am glad there was a huge ditch between us and him. However, I think he was just trying to impress the lady lion, but she seemed to think he was a bit of a showoff and wouldn't give him the time of day.
This zoo showcased many endangered species including the Northern American 7 Eleven. Yes, this picture was taken in the zoo. While the North America variety of this species is rare to see in the wild, its Thailand relative of the same name and logo is thriving. We did not do the calculations, but I believe that in Bangkok a person is never farther than 50 yards from the closest 7 Eleven.

While at the zoo, Josh made a few new friends! Just in case you couldn't tell, Josh is the one in the middle with the goofy grin.

Now this one beats all. This little guy got so board with us that he went to sleep. Actually, he was asleep before we got there, but he didn't even have the decency to wake up for us. Oh well, he was cute enough he could get away with it.

After chilling at the Koala cage for a while, we stopped by these guys for a little grooming before heading back to our hotel.

After getting back from the zoo, we took a dip in the pool and then went to dinner with a nice Australian family that we met at our hotel. For desert we got a tub of ice-cream from 7 Eleven and played a game of cards with our teammates. The time of rest during our first week was priceless. After the stress of last semester, some time to relax and reflect was just what we needed.