The Insane Travel Day

December 6th, 2023

 Travel day. That was a whirlwind day that I barely remember at this point, but I’ll do my best to give you a small recap of what it was like.
 Thursday November 30th- a day filled with last minute souvenir shopping, trying to fit all my stuff in my two backpacks and curiously wondering how I could have so much and so little at the same time, and my last plate of fried rice in Cambodia at supper with two dear friends my team made while in this beautiful country. It was also filled with staying up until an unmentionable hour cleaning while knowing full well I had to get up at 3:30am on Friday in order to leave at 4am for Thailand.
 So when I was awakened by my team leader at 3:58am on Friday morning, it surprised me alright. We were most certainly late, and the bus did not leave until 5am, but it’s all in God’s timing.
 After 3 and a half hours on the bus, a muffin, and a much needed stop at Cafe Amazon, we made it to the border. With all of my possessions I’d brought (and bought) on this trip, I prepared to cross over to Thailand, leaving my wonderful time in Cambodia behind me but looking forward to what the Lord would show me in Thailand.
 I have to admit that I was dreading the border crossing, specifically because I had been told that we had to tackle a bunch of stairs and then walk a mile. The stairs? Not bad at all. The mile walk? Well, it basically just consisted of walking through the border, and after standing in customs for about 3 hours, walking to our bus, so not bad at all.
 One of my lovely teammates, whom will remain unnamed, accidentally left her passport back in Siem Reap so we had some time to relax before our 13ish hour bus ride to Chiang Mai.
 It consisted of finding some fresh milk (have to get my daily dose of milk out here), and eating at a chain restaurant for the first time since leaving the US. KFC tasted pretty good after all that, not gonna lie. It also consisted of learning that you have to pay for public bathrooms in some places over here. I’m just gonna stop right there.
 We finally all got back on the bus, and settled in for a long ride. This consisted of devotions, napping, and watching Les Misérables for the first time with one of my teammates, Rebekah.
 After a certain point, we stopped at a 7-11 and were told we had 15 minutes to find ourselves something to eat and use the bathroom because we would not be stopping again. My sustenance from said 7-11 consisted of Oreos, seaweed chips, and you guessed it-milk. This 7-11 stop also consisted of line dancing barefoot in the parking lot. Crazy times.
 Getting back on the bus, I had had about enough of the day and for me, this comes out in the way that everything is funny. So after having a wild time of laughter and hideous .5s, my teammates finally got me to settle down.
 The bus ride was rough, simply because my body was not wanting to sleep. So, I listened to music, did some more devotionals and prayed that we would make it to Chiang Mai sooner than faster.
 And, we did at 4:30(ish)am-finally. I dragged all of my belongings in, and collapsed on the comfy bed in the hostel until we had to leave at 8:30am for our home for the month.
 We said our goodbyes, and off we were to our new home above Bella Goose Coffee in Chiang Mai. And Travel Day was officially over.
 Now you might be wondering why my blog is not up to its usual standard. Well, about 2 hours after arriving on Saturday morning at Bella Goose, I dislocated my knee, and I came down with a cold on Tuesday. Praise God, I’m doing better, but I certainly would appreciate all your prayers! I would also request prayers for my team as they do ministry, and that they would remain healthy!

Blessings in Christ,
Gracie Yoder