Asia Part 5: Thailand
We landed in the north of Thailand in a city called Chiang Mai. This is a well known area filled with temples and many fun activities.
We were starving due to a longer than expected flight, so we dropped our bags off at the notorious Bodega Party Hostel and went looking for food. While quickly unpacking, we had a knock at the door and heard “free shots,” so of course we let them enter. We then got a quick bite before returning to partake in the bar crawl. There were 60 tourists from all over the world in this giant party room, drinking buckets, jamming out to music, playing drinking games, and of course all wearing the neon orange tank top.
It wouldn’t have been a night if it wasn’t for a massive game of flip cup with some special rules spanning the 4 rounds:
- Round 1: one finger
- Round 2: elbows touching
- Round 3: no hands
- Round 4: your choice
Big E and I were on the same team faced against Michelle. E’ of course was a frat star and was super competitive… but I’m just competitive. We won the first 3 but lost the final round. I had to use E’s drink to fill my cup because mine was too damn strong. I had befriended the bartender earlier on named T, so he hooked me up (a little too well). We continued to bounce around between the bars and danced and drank all night. “Zoe in Yellow,” still not sure what that means, was this awesome open street surrounded by bars and DJ’s. They carded us and stamped us for the first time in South East Asia, so that was funny. The clock struck midnight and the bars all close down. A friend I made showed me to a hidden back alley bar, so I thought, that would remain open into the late night. You have to buy a drink to enter, and I thought it’d be a small bar, but it was called Spicy and turned out to be a huge nightclub! I had a blast and danced all night and even bumped into one of the Israelis I had met in Vietnam! Talk about coincidence.
B had met a lady friend on the plane and disappeared for a day or so. I thought he was going to fly with her and her free spirit. Larissa from Germany was interesting, but typical, another traveler that was teaching English, but was cute so good work B.
Stop Monk’n around
The next day we signed up for a cooking class, but it wasn’t till evening, so we went temple hopping to kill some time. We were just about to leave our last temple to head back for the cooking class when we spotted a sign for “Monk Chat.” We walked on over and chatted with one for over an hour. His name was Son, pronounced “Soan” and he was extremely interesting. He taught us about Buddhism and what it’s like being a monk. He was such a genuine human being and was very curious of us and our cultures too. This was such a great learning experience and I’m glad we did it. We even asked about why Buddha was so chubby in America and told us it was more so gimmicky and he explained about the image of Buddha instead.
Let’s get cookin!
After we said good bye we headed back to grab the bus to the cooking class. On the way there I was overheard the Canadian behind me talking about the current NBA finals. I explained to him that for the last few weeks I was constantly behind and avoiding social media in order to watch the games on my own without spoilers. One of the guys, Mark, asked me if I was watching fame 6 live, before I had known the result of game 5, implicitly giving away that result. He felt super bad, but we ended up becoming good friends. The shame here is that I had been able to avoid it for a few days, but he meant well.
On our way the instructor first took us to a market to check out where they get a lot of their fresh ingredients. We then went to the cooking school which had a beautiful garden in the back, also filled with fresh herbs and vegetables. The lady thought I was funny because she said “can you eat everything” and I responded “of course, is that a challenge?” So because of this rapport she challenged me to try the spicy green pepper pointing to the sky, with a name using some of those words. On an exponential curve the spice picked up and my mouth was on fire, but I was able to stay strong, despite my coughing and sweat.
We then went inside and began the class, thankfully because we were starving. We were given options for each course, and here’s what I chose:
- Appetizer: Thai chicken salad
- Soup: Thai Noodle SOup
- Stir fry: Chicken with Basil Leaves
- Curry + paste: Massaman
- Dessert: black sticky rice pudding
For each dish we were neatly provided the ingredients on a tray and everything looked so fresh! We proceeded to cook each meal, and ate them accordingly, sitting with our big group who were all super nice and funny. We headed back to town and stopped at the night bazaar to check out some cool souvenirs before I hit the bars later that evening and got tequila rose shots; a strawberry cream liqueur mixed with tequila and it was delightful, so I got a few, and then hit the hay to prepare for our next adventure!
Elephants in their natural Element
We woke up early to head to the Elephant Sanctuary. This excursion was broken up into 3 phases where we would partake in the daily activities needed to care for the elephants:
- Feed
- Clean
- Rinse
So we spent 45 minutes with the 7 elephants at this location feeding them corn and bananas. Weighing a few tons, they consume around 100+ kilograms of food per day, so spend a significant amount of time during the day just eating. The banana consumption was super amusing, because they could roll bananas up their trunk, peel it, and then consume it. They would sway their trunk around sucking in bananas like a vacuum. We were able to also hand it to them such that they would grab it out of our hands with their mouth, which was a little frightening at first. These things were HUGE! Their feet bigger than my head, their trunk was taller than me, their tusks were super rock hard, and their ears and tails would wave around aimlessly. I never understood the character design of Eor from Winnie the Pooh, but now I do!
Phase 2 called for a mud bath. The elephants would walk around and shake as we covered them all over in mud, and after a while they would lay and roll over in the mud like pigs do, just far larger. They seemed like little kids playing around and was adorable. I even got some amazing elephant body art done in the mud by one of the trainers.
It was time for phase 3 where we washed off all the mud. So once again the elephants would dance around the water as we splash them crazily. They would roll over and wait for us to come rub their bellies, enjoying every second of it.
In the midst of all these phases some of the guys in the group were watching and tracking game 6 of the NBA and I was paranoid they’d ruin it for me, but they were super cool and didn’t have any facial expressions during the events that happened even through the end of the game, which I don’t think I would have been able to do given the result, so I’m thankful for that.
Once all the fun was done we had ice cold outdoor showers with the view of the sanctuary, ate some lunch, bought some bracelets, and headed to the airport to go to Krabi in the south!
Party Bender
We’ve found that it’s important to balance going out with relaxing days and developed a good rhythm overall. That night we hung out at the hostel with some people, playing some pong and pool. We went to the night market and had some good good spanning a few different stalls.
I had my new favorite chicken with basil and peppers dish, which I have since made at home a few times and become an expert with it.
The next morning we went to visit hot springs and the Emerald pool. This was super refreshing and relaxing.
The Tiger Temple
Eddie had been scouting this temple for us to check out on top of a mountain, literally. It makes sense why it was called tiger, because that’s the energy needed to conquer it. It was 1260 steps up, and these were not normal steps, quite large and difficult for shorter people.
There was a challenge at the hostel for the first one to the top. Eddie was a sprint swimmer his entire life and we had talked about racing each other, so we did. We came out the gate together, and as the steps got larger I trailed behind more and more, until I couldn’t even see him beyond all the twists and turns into the mountain. I tried to push on at least at a constant pace, and I did for some time until I got to him panting, sitting on a bench. He was done, so I pushed on in first, until I got passed at the 600 and 700 step mark. I finished in 3rd, but it was still fun! A classic tale of the hare and the tortoise, and a lesson learned!
The views were incredible and I’d say worth it once the sun poked out and rainbow appeared. Until then, with the slight rain drizzle and clouds, it was kind of a let down, but the giant golden Buddha was pretty cool! We headed back down, which took similar time coming up, and went back to the hostel. I got Eddie all wound up and convinced him to do a rooftop workout with me where they had some equipment, so we felt great after that. We showered, ate, and headed out!
Ao Nang
B had heard about this place called City Centre over in another district of the southern region. It was revered as the party capital in the local region so we decided to check it out.
We walked under the sign displaying “City Centre” and came into a lit up and loud courtyard surrounded by bars, restaurants, and clubs. We were bombarded by 20 vendors from different bars yelling, handing us flyers, trying to get us to come to their bar, all making different offers. We felt like VIP celebrities surrounded by paparazzi. I decided we should go upstairs, naturally because I’m a rooftop guy, so we took the escalator up and they followed us too. We had 20 people crammed in 10 square feet on this escalator, it was pretty overwhelming. One guy said free first round of shots so I grabbed him and said, “tequila?” He said yes, so I grabbed his flyer and yelled “Sold!” Eventually the others took the hint and backed off, slowly.
We hung out there for a while, played some connect-4 and pool before heading up to the next level. We drank a little there and hit the dance floor, which was the first time all 4 of us were dancing together and the first time I got to see Eddie dance. This kid was having the time of his life. We took a break to get more drinks and I gave the bartender a nice tip and said make these stronger. Eddie took one sip and smiled from ear to ear and ran back to the dance floor. Not gunna lie, kid had some moves! We danced the night way and eventually returned to our hostel, after some late night essential burger king which right next door.
Back to beachin
We got up the next morning and headed over to Railay beach was supposed to be pretty cool. We grabbed a bite to eat because our hotel wasn’t ready and hung out this adorable kitty sitting under our small table overlooking the water.
We then checked into a real resort, which was still extremely affordable and hard to believe. I got Eddie on the grind so he and I ran around the island to explore and get some exercise in before relaxing. We grabbed some coconuts after before heading to the cave.
We made our way over to the beach and Phrangan Cave. I still don’t fully understand the legacy, but essentially the princess of the lake or something offered her protection to the sailors and fisherman and I exchange they offered her, well, offerings, but what they chose is quite interesting to say the least.
We maneuvered through the cave, which was anti-climactic, and then we returned to the beach where we hung out in the water and fell asleep on the sand. We returned to the hotel, grabbed the laundry, and got dinner on “Walking Street.” We called it an early night because we had a 6 am long boat + bus + speed boat combo to Koh Phangan on the opposite coast of Thailand.
A Full Moon in Thailand
We got off the boat and taxi’d over to our slightly jank I think is the word hostel, that would suffice for the night. We shared a 12 person dorm with rickety beds and ladders few and far between with a single bathroom, but it would suffice for the night.
It was a full moon in Thailand which meant one thing: a full moon party. It begins whenever people show up to the beach at Haad Rin, partying until the sunrise. Our pre-game didn’t start till 8, so I got E to come for a jog with me. We didn’t get very far before coming up to a soccer field where a pick up game was going on. We joined up and played for quite a bit which was a ton of fun.
We went back to the hostel for some games, a pre game, and our personal favorite, the paint. There were black-lights everywhere and we took advantage of it, dowsing ourselves in all colors and patterns. We eventually went off to the party, and on the way I scooped up an awesome that I magically held onto the entire evening. We danced the night away until eventually returning to the hose at various times throughout the night.
We got up the next day and went to Koh Tao with the goal of diving. We stayed at the Taco Shack, which not so shockingly, sold bomb Mexican food we all enjoyed. It was quite a chill day, just recovering from everything previously. We stayed up late in the hammocks talking about philosophy, religion, Life, and so much more. Travelers are wiser than you think and really have interesting perspectives!
The next day we went snorkeling because I didn’t have enough time to go do diving unfortunately, but I really hope to some day. I met some cool kids that tagged along. One was a CS student, so we had plenty to discuss and probably will stay in touch. After snorkeling it was time for me to say goodbye to E. I already said goodbye to B before the party 3 days earlier, so this stunk because we definitely got close really quick. I hopped back on a ferry to Koh Samui to relax and plan my Bangkok to journey to hopefully avoid happenings from “The Hangover.”
Koh Sumai is considered the honeymoon island because it’s super quite and peaceful, with not a ton to do there. I showed up to my hostel called Ubox which was really cool because all the rooms were made out of shipping cargo containers. I walked into my room where I was the only guy of 5 welsh girls. We chatted for a bit and then I went for a jog. I came back to get some water thinking I’d be done, but I caught a second wind and am glad I did. I decided to go back out and do another run and was passed by a Brazilian marathon runner, so I asked to join her. I was already pretty tired and to sprint to catch up to her, but she still had quite a distance remaining at a fast pace.. but I couldn’t say no, despite the fact that her ending destination was at the top of a large hill. I survived and we parted ways, then I had to jog back, but it was good exercise and great conversation so it was worth it. I also later found out she’s pretty famous Instagram and it’s obvious why.
I got back to the hostel and all the girls were getting dressed and invited me to join them. Some other guys they knew joined as well and we went to a few bars, played some pool, and just chilled and talked late night.
I probably fell asleep after 330 and woke up at 6 to head to the airport and off to Bangkok!
Bangkok
I arrived and wanted to hit the ground running, so I dropped off my bags and headed off to the grand palace a bit outside of the city center. Here lies the Emerald Buddha; it was really peaceful to walk around the entire area for a while just taking in the magnificent art and architecture.
I then proceeded to the Reclining Buddha, which is replica of the original in Angkor Wat, Cambodia. This was incredible, and really makes me want to check out the real one.
This Buddha was in an area called Wat Pho. It is home to original school for Health and Thai massages… and at this point I was so exhausted I had to get my first one on this trip. It was great and I felt sorry refreshed, I was ready to continue on my temple hopping journey.
Tourist Operation
I left Wat Pho and was gathering my bearings when a guy approached me and was asking me all these logistical questions. He seemed nice but I didn’t know what he was getting at, until he was able to explain that for a small price a Tuk-Tuk driver would take me around to a 3 special Thai-known-only places that tourists wouldn’t know, and he was right. He said because I purchased the earlier ticket I was eligible for free entry to the other locations… which seemed a bit too coincidental because he also said “today only.”
I still thought this was a little sketchy, but went along for the ride; it was broad daylight so I wasn’t worried. We first went to Lucky Buddha where I lit the sticks for good luck. I then sat in the temple with a local father and talked for a while about life and sacrifice. He spoke fluent English and had spent some time in the states. This was enjoyable because it was among the first times I had relaxed, unprecedented, organic conversation with a local Thai person.
The next place was supposed to be some other statue or temple, but ended up being a suit factory where supposedly I could get a tailored suit made of international designer quality. I walked around and genuinely considered given the price, but really wasn’t in the market for a suit. They offered me a drink, probably top shelf, but I turned it down because I knew I wasn’t going to be making a purchase.
I took my leave to reconvene with the Tuk-Tuk driver, and when he saw me so soon and empty-handed, his jaw dropped. He was very very angry, but I didn’t feel unjust because I never agreed to buy anything. I told him I was ready to go to the third location and he said “No no no it’s too late now it’s closed.” I said it couldn’t be and I had a ticket and explained to him the deal I was originally told, and he said “no no too late.. you need to buy ticket and you can’t and I need to go home to wife…” He was pissed off and I prepared to originally give him a tip, but I ended up not paying him at all. He dropped me back off where we started and pointed where to go and drove off.
I continued my walk to a small river where I took a short ferry ride to Wat Arun. I hung out here for a bit to take in the sites, but was exhausted from a long day of heat and walking. I returned over the water and got coconut ice cream… in a coconut. I sat on the dock, eating my ice cream and enjoying the sunset.
I finally headed back to the hostel, Bodega Party Hostel that is, and was greeted by my good buddy Max with free shots! Max worked there and was in a gap year traveling and working with his girlfriend Celly. They and the hostel plan social events for everyone there, which is why people stay there!
It was like when I started in Chiang Mai, but people partied harder in Bangkok. I met people from around the world, including a few from the US which was super cool. There was Gerald, a guy from NJ, so clearly we hit it off and led the pack at the club. We dance battled and sang all night on Khaoson road.
I started off the next day with my morning jog, trying to find some good gems along the way. I found some great street food I picked up later on. Max invited me to join him, Celly, and their friend Hattie. We went to a floating market and had some soup. The floating market wasn’t really a thing, so we left after feeding the giant monkfish !
We went to a small café down the block to escape the heat. A thing to note was that we were no longer in “Tourist Bangkok.” No one spoke English, and these people were so extremely happy to see us. We used translators and had some laughs while they wanted to take pictures with us, given that many of them had never seen tourists. It was fun and I had a coconut milkshake — tried to take advantage of the freshness while I could!
After this we went to Chinatown and explored the shops and good street food. We picked up some gyoza and a bunch of fresh fruit juices. I ran with Andrew my new buddy from Louisana and then showered before packing up for the last time. I checked out and went to Chatuak — the HUMUNGOUS open mall. I bought a bunch of tourist frocket t-shirts I still wear today. I then went to terminal 21 which was a super cool and giant (indoor) mall, where each floor had a different nationality theme. I took one last glance into the distance of Thailand, South East Asia, and my summer, before heading off to the airport.
My trip started the same way it ended, with the same original bag of granola from the day I left and a big smile on my face, initially for the start of an exciting adventure and now for the safe and successful culmination of the trip if a lifetime.
