Thailand
I think the best way to describe Thailand that it is an interesting country. There is some beautiful scenery and some very unique things to do but you definitely need to get out of the cities to find the beauty and adventures. I arrived in Bangkok from Indonesia late on a Sunday night but the first thing I noticed was how they have a lot of the chain stores/products that the Western world does. There are signs for Netflix, McDonald's, 7-11s are literally on every corner, Tesco and Boots stores (main UK chains). Aside from these things, there's almost no similarities to the Western world. Bangkok, of which I will be happy to never turn to, was one of the most polluted, smelly, dirty, congested places I've ever been. All the buildings were super run down. There didn't seem to be much new construction going on and the main river was worse than Lake Erie back when it caught on fire from being so trashed. My ankles and lower legs were black from walking around all day. The main attractions here are temples and the Royal palace. The temples are pretty cool but once you've seen one, you've seen them all. And they're all over the city, probably one every couple blocks. If the country had half the amount of garbage cans as it did temples, they might be able to make some progress on their environment. Needless to say, though it was interesting and new to be in an Asian city, all I could think about was how damaged my lungs were just from one day in Bangkok. I now understand why Asians wear those silly facemasks everywhere. I'm not trying to be dramatic but the amount of litter and filth actually irritated me how poorly the Earth was being treated over here.
Typical Bangkok congestion and chaos.
Nastily large lizard/dragon things chilling in the middle of Bangkok.
One of the many temples in the city.
Another Temple
Some interesting facts/observations about life in Thailand:
-They don't really do supermarkets, it's all about street markets for everything and anything. Street food is all the rage.
-You’re not allowed to wear shoes in homes or hostels or temples or even a lot of stores and restaurants. You have to leave them outside before entering.
-It is hot. And humid. All the time. Thank God for AC. The day I walked around Bangkok I drank 6L of water and didn't have to go to the bathroom once.
-Motorbikes are the way to get around. And normal traffic rules do not apply. Want to ride it down the middle of a market or on the sidewalk? Suuure go for it. The wrong way on the side of a main highway? Why not.
-The food is amazing. #padthaifordays
-They are not a very athletic bunch. (They even think this about themselves.)
-They have really good WiFi here. Australia needs to step up their game.
-They have very little green spaces. I found one park in all of Bangkok.
-The noises they make, good Lord. Between how they say hello and how they clear their congestion, I'm baffled.
-They don't believe in waking their hands apparently because there was never any soap in the bathrooms. Which only makes me cringe when thinking about what I've actually consumed in my meals, and then I decide it's better to just not think about it.
After braving the street food stands for lunch and then dinner that night in Bangkok and having walked over 20 miles around the city, I set the AC to my room to 60 degrees and passed out.
The next day, happy to wake up without food poisoning or lung failure, I took a flight to Chiang Mai in the north up by the Myanmar border. I was really hoping Chiang Mai was going to be a different story than Bangkok in terms of the pollution but it was just as bad. I wandered around the city that afternoon, finding more temples and more street food stalls. Two days in Thailand and so far I was not impressed.
One of the few green spaces I found. Chiang Mai
The saving grace about places that have no order to them is that you get to do things that you'd never dream of doing in the US. The following day was amazing. I rented a motor bike and rode it over 130 miles round trip to go see Doi Inthanon NP. The highest point in Thailand is in this park along with a couple of nature walks, waterfalls, and the Royal Pagodas (more temples). I learned that it is the southern tip of the Himalayan Mountain range. The views from the top were very cool, could have done without the haze though. I had a blast driving the motorbike on the steep winding roads to and from the summit! After Doi Inthanon I headed back towards Chiang Mai, weaving through rush hour traffic and made a short trip over to Doi Suthep, a temple up on a hill overlooking Chiang Mai. Another fun winding road led up to the spot. Wanting to maximize my motorbike usage on the day, I then went over to the opposite side of the city to check out the Night Bazaar (market). There was an area that looked quite new and similar to a food truck spot in the US. It had stalls with food from all over the world. I strayed from my usual pad thai order and stayed local trying Koh Soi, which is the typical dish for the northern region of the country. Then I got to motorbike home in the dark which was also exhilarating.
Motorbikes are the best
Royal Pagoda at Doi Inthanon NP
Doi Inthanon NP, southern tip of the Himalayan Mountains
Cloud forest in Doi Inthanon NP
The next day was another great one and I got to check off another bucket list item. After an hour and a half ride out of the city, I arrived at Chai Lai Orchid, an elephant sanctuary. I had a whole day with a private guide walking with, feeding, bathing, and riding elephants. Before I started searching where to go see elephants, I did not realize there is a big controversy on whether or not it is humane to ride the elephants. From what I could tell, there was nothing official saying that it was bad for them. The main things you need to look out for when choosing an elephant reserve is that they don’t use hooks for training the elephants, they don’t train the elephants to do circus tricks, and that they allow only bareback riding, not riding with the platforms attached to the elephants. Using common sense, how damaging could a 15 minute ride by someone who is 150 lbs on top of an animal that is literally 50 times heavier (about 4 tons in weight) be?? Plus, I wanted to ride a dang elephant, so I did it. And it was awesome. The day started out with me feeding one of the elephants bananas while walking along a trail. They mostly eat plants and the trainers use bananas and other fruit as treats. I learned simple commands for “come” and “stop”. Then I hopped on up and rode on it for the rest of the walk. The guide would toss me bananas and the elephant would stick its trunk up over its head to get her snack. Elephants eat ungodly amounts of food. Their skin is super rough and their hair is quite wiry so I can’t say it was the most comfortable thing but it was such a cool experience! After that I took a bamboo raft down the nearby river and ended the day with giving two of the baby elephants a bath. They were absolutely adorable, super playful, and very well trained. They could sit, lay down, shake, roll over (they might have Mica beat there). Then the trainers would tell them to spray and they’d suck up some water and spray it in your face. Then they’d give you trunk kisses (suctioning their trunk on your face), first dry ones, then ones where they would kiss you and blow the water out of the trunk at the same time. It was so adorable. They even gave me hugs. I was just laughing and smiling the whole time. What an awesome experience! My ride back was also great. I was the only one in the car with the driver so we talked about the difference between our countries. He also brought a bit of reality to me when he reminded me how lucky I was to be able to do what I'm doing. When I asked if he did any traveling, he said he couldn't, he can't take off work and has kids and doesn't have enough money anyway.
The next day was just a travel day where I flew to Bangkok, got to the center of the city to hop on an overnight bus that took me to a ferry on the southeast coast which then got me to Koh Tao Island. However, luck would have it that the ferry I was on broke down 30 minutes in so we had to return to our departure location which took triple the amount of time it should have, wait for them to fix the engine, then make the original trip. They were going so fast on the second round to make up time, half the people on the boat were puking. Then I misjudged the distance to my hostel and was drenching in sweat by the time I made it there with all my bags. It was a rough day so naturally I treated myself to a mani-pedi (grand total of $8 and it took an entire hour and was probably the best one I've ever had).
I do like Koh Tao though. It's very touristy but much less polluted than the other places and very beautiful. On my first day I ran for over two hours through trails hoping to find some good view points, but there weren't that many. I was so soaked in sweat at the end of it that I was actually repulsed by myself. Which is hard to do, as I have had some pretty intense sweat levels previously in life. After having a scenic breakfast I headed to get a Thai massage. It was one of the most fantastic things I have ever done! It was an entire hour, only $10, and felt amazing. During the massage I was already planning when I would return for round two. The rest of the day I just relaxed on the beach and sorted out some administrative things, managing to mistime the sunset in the process.
Even though I was only there for a few days, I managed to develop a bit of a routine and some go-to places. First, for breakfast I'd go to a spot that had vegan breakfast sandwiches. In the afternoon, I'd get a fruit smoothie from a stand on the street and it is for sure the best smoothie I have ever had (and $2). Then I'd get pad thai somewhere along the main pedestrian street for about $3.
The next day I ran for 2 hours again and profusely sweat, again. Hit a bunch of beautiful viewpoints on the south half of the island this time. After my usual breakfast, I headed out to Nang Yuan Island via a 10 min boat ride. This is two small islands right off the coast of Koh Tao that are connected by a sand bar. Big tourist trap but it was still worth it's stunning views. After that I got my smoothie and then another Thai massage. Round two was just as amazing as the first 😊 After dinner, I switched it up and got Thai red curry fried rice instead of pad thai this time, I prepped my backpack for the following day's early departure for some scuba diving.
Coincidentally my group for scuba diving was 3 other civil engineers from from Norway and Sweden so we were all on the same wavelength! We went out to the sail rock dive site which is known for seeing the usually very rare whale sharks. However, the visibility of the water was so terrible that my only goal was to not lose my group. You could maybe see 5 feet in front of yourself. Although we saw very little wildlife, it was kind of a cool experience and good in case it ever happens again, I know how quickly you can lose sight of the group. The second dive was supposed to be at the same location but we switched to the Southwest Pinnacle dive site so we could actually see something. The second dive was great. We saw massive schools of fish, one school being barracudas.
After diving I made a bit of an impromptu decision and got a tattoo 😊 it is a bamboo tattoo which is the method that the Thai monks invented. Essentially they sharpen a stick of bamboo very finely and poke you hundreds of times with the ink. It turns out the outside of your foot is quite sensitive so thank goodness it didn't take long. It is "achieve the unthinkable" in Italian and written in my mom's handwriting. And I love it 😊 (we will see if any of my family actually read the blog now because I didn't tell them I got it).
Post-tattoo I got my final pad thai meal and waited for the departure of my night ferry to the mainland. When I got on this ferry and saw what my night would entail, I minorly freaked out. It was literally just a massive room of bunk beds and I had the fortune of being in a middle bottom bunk, stuck between two Asians. One of which was an old lady that was coughing. And these"beds" were tiny. Doug would not have for length or width-wise, I barely did. I literally prayed that I would catch no diseases that night and that the ferry would actually make it to our destination. After popping 2 South American, aka high strength, sleeping pills I actually slept decently and it was over before I knew it. We arrived at 4am though which meant a lot of waiting around for my 11:30am flight. Eventually, I made it to my hostel in Hanoi, Vietnam at 11pm. Not the longest travel day I've had but a rough one nonetheless.
My sleeping allotment (not sure I can call it a bed) on the ferry
Although I really enjoyed certain days of my Thailand adventure very much, I'm not sure I understand all the hype with traveling there right now. I'm glad I went so I could see it my own eyes and I did some sweet things but I can't say I'm dying to go back. So on that note, let's give communism a go!
Typical Bangkok congestion and chaos.
Nastily large lizard/dragon things chilling in the middle of Bangkok.
One of the many temples in the city.
Buddhas to the max
Another Temple
Some interesting facts/observations about life in Thailand:
-They don't really do supermarkets, it's all about street markets for everything and anything. Street food is all the rage.
-You’re not allowed to wear shoes in homes or hostels or temples or even a lot of stores and restaurants. You have to leave them outside before entering.
-It is hot. And humid. All the time. Thank God for AC. The day I walked around Bangkok I drank 6L of water and didn't have to go to the bathroom once.
-Motorbikes are the way to get around. And normal traffic rules do not apply. Want to ride it down the middle of a market or on the sidewalk? Suuure go for it. The wrong way on the side of a main highway? Why not.
-The food is amazing. #padthaifordays
-They are not a very athletic bunch. (They even think this about themselves.)
-They have really good WiFi here. Australia needs to step up their game.
-They have very little green spaces. I found one park in all of Bangkok.
-The noises they make, good Lord. Between how they say hello and how they clear their congestion, I'm baffled.
-They don't believe in waking their hands apparently because there was never any soap in the bathrooms. Which only makes me cringe when thinking about what I've actually consumed in my meals, and then I decide it's better to just not think about it.
After braving the street food stands for lunch and then dinner that night in Bangkok and having walked over 20 miles around the city, I set the AC to my room to 60 degrees and passed out.
The next day, happy to wake up without food poisoning or lung failure, I took a flight to Chiang Mai in the north up by the Myanmar border. I was really hoping Chiang Mai was going to be a different story than Bangkok in terms of the pollution but it was just as bad. I wandered around the city that afternoon, finding more temples and more street food stalls. Two days in Thailand and so far I was not impressed.
One of the few green spaces I found. Chiang Mai
The saving grace about places that have no order to them is that you get to do things that you'd never dream of doing in the US. The following day was amazing. I rented a motor bike and rode it over 130 miles round trip to go see Doi Inthanon NP. The highest point in Thailand is in this park along with a couple of nature walks, waterfalls, and the Royal Pagodas (more temples). I learned that it is the southern tip of the Himalayan Mountain range. The views from the top were very cool, could have done without the haze though. I had a blast driving the motorbike on the steep winding roads to and from the summit! After Doi Inthanon I headed back towards Chiang Mai, weaving through rush hour traffic and made a short trip over to Doi Suthep, a temple up on a hill overlooking Chiang Mai. Another fun winding road led up to the spot. Wanting to maximize my motorbike usage on the day, I then went over to the opposite side of the city to check out the Night Bazaar (market). There was an area that looked quite new and similar to a food truck spot in the US. It had stalls with food from all over the world. I strayed from my usual pad thai order and stayed local trying Koh Soi, which is the typical dish for the northern region of the country. Then I got to motorbike home in the dark which was also exhilarating.
Motorbikes are the best
Royal Pagoda at Doi Inthanon NP
Doi Inthanon NP, southern tip of the Himalayan Mountains
Cloud forest in Doi Inthanon NP
The next day was another great one and I got to check off another bucket list item. After an hour and a half ride out of the city, I arrived at Chai Lai Orchid, an elephant sanctuary. I had a whole day with a private guide walking with, feeding, bathing, and riding elephants. Before I started searching where to go see elephants, I did not realize there is a big controversy on whether or not it is humane to ride the elephants. From what I could tell, there was nothing official saying that it was bad for them. The main things you need to look out for when choosing an elephant reserve is that they don’t use hooks for training the elephants, they don’t train the elephants to do circus tricks, and that they allow only bareback riding, not riding with the platforms attached to the elephants. Using common sense, how damaging could a 15 minute ride by someone who is 150 lbs on top of an animal that is literally 50 times heavier (about 4 tons in weight) be?? Plus, I wanted to ride a dang elephant, so I did it. And it was awesome. The day started out with me feeding one of the elephants bananas while walking along a trail. They mostly eat plants and the trainers use bananas and other fruit as treats. I learned simple commands for “come” and “stop”. Then I hopped on up and rode on it for the rest of the walk. The guide would toss me bananas and the elephant would stick its trunk up over its head to get her snack. Elephants eat ungodly amounts of food. Their skin is super rough and their hair is quite wiry so I can’t say it was the most comfortable thing but it was such a cool experience! After that I took a bamboo raft down the nearby river and ended the day with giving two of the baby elephants a bath. They were absolutely adorable, super playful, and very well trained. They could sit, lay down, shake, roll over (they might have Mica beat there). Then the trainers would tell them to spray and they’d suck up some water and spray it in your face. Then they’d give you trunk kisses (suctioning their trunk on your face), first dry ones, then ones where they would kiss you and blow the water out of the trunk at the same time. It was so adorable. They even gave me hugs. I was just laughing and smiling the whole time. What an awesome experience! My ride back was also great. I was the only one in the car with the driver so we talked about the difference between our countries. He also brought a bit of reality to me when he reminded me how lucky I was to be able to do what I'm doing. When I asked if he did any traveling, he said he couldn't, he can't take off work and has kids and doesn't have enough money anyway.
Feeding the elephant bananas
Bucket list item completed
Wet, slobbery trunk kisses from the babies
Elephant love ❤️ and all smiles
The next day was just a travel day where I flew to Bangkok, got to the center of the city to hop on an overnight bus that took me to a ferry on the southeast coast which then got me to Koh Tao Island. However, luck would have it that the ferry I was on broke down 30 minutes in so we had to return to our departure location which took triple the amount of time it should have, wait for them to fix the engine, then make the original trip. They were going so fast on the second round to make up time, half the people on the boat were puking. Then I misjudged the distance to my hostel and was drenching in sweat by the time I made it there with all my bags. It was a rough day so naturally I treated myself to a mani-pedi (grand total of $8 and it took an entire hour and was probably the best one I've ever had).
Even though I was only there for a few days, I managed to develop a bit of a routine and some go-to places. First, for breakfast I'd go to a spot that had vegan breakfast sandwiches. In the afternoon, I'd get a fruit smoothie from a stand on the street and it is for sure the best smoothie I have ever had (and $2). Then I'd get pad thai somewhere along the main pedestrian street for about $3.
The next day I ran for 2 hours again and profusely sweat, again. Hit a bunch of beautiful viewpoints on the south half of the island this time. After my usual breakfast, I headed out to Nang Yuan Island via a 10 min boat ride. This is two small islands right off the coast of Koh Tao that are connected by a sand bar. Big tourist trap but it was still worth it's stunning views. After that I got my smoothie and then another Thai massage. Round two was just as amazing as the first 😊 After dinner, I switched it up and got Thai red curry fried rice instead of pad thai this time, I prepped my backpack for the following day's early departure for some scuba diving.
Coincidentally my group for scuba diving was 3 other civil engineers from from Norway and Sweden so we were all on the same wavelength! We went out to the sail rock dive site which is known for seeing the usually very rare whale sharks. However, the visibility of the water was so terrible that my only goal was to not lose my group. You could maybe see 5 feet in front of yourself. Although we saw very little wildlife, it was kind of a cool experience and good in case it ever happens again, I know how quickly you can lose sight of the group. The second dive was supposed to be at the same location but we switched to the Southwest Pinnacle dive site so we could actually see something. The second dive was great. We saw massive schools of fish, one school being barracudas.
After diving I made a bit of an impromptu decision and got a tattoo 😊 it is a bamboo tattoo which is the method that the Thai monks invented. Essentially they sharpen a stick of bamboo very finely and poke you hundreds of times with the ink. It turns out the outside of your foot is quite sensitive so thank goodness it didn't take long. It is "achieve the unthinkable" in Italian and written in my mom's handwriting. And I love it 😊 (we will see if any of my family actually read the blog now because I didn't tell them I got it).
Post-tattoo I got my final pad thai meal and waited for the departure of my night ferry to the mainland. When I got on this ferry and saw what my night would entail, I minorly freaked out. It was literally just a massive room of bunk beds and I had the fortune of being in a middle bottom bunk, stuck between two Asians. One of which was an old lady that was coughing. And these"beds" were tiny. Doug would not have for length or width-wise, I barely did. I literally prayed that I would catch no diseases that night and that the ferry would actually make it to our destination. After popping 2 South American, aka high strength, sleeping pills I actually slept decently and it was over before I knew it. We arrived at 4am though which meant a lot of waiting around for my 11:30am flight. Eventually, I made it to my hostel in Hanoi, Vietnam at 11pm. Not the longest travel day I've had but a rough one nonetheless.
My sleeping allotment (not sure I can call it a bed) on the ferry
Although I really enjoyed certain days of my Thailand adventure very much, I'm not sure I understand all the hype with traveling there right now. I'm glad I went so I could see it my own eyes and I did some sweet things but I can't say I'm dying to go back. So on that note, let's give communism a go!
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