The first few weeks in Thailand. Bangkok and the north

Tuesday 29^th October 2013

I slept in this morning and then chilled out at the hostel for a bit getting some personal admin done before wondering about and exploring the neighbourhood. Back at the hostel I got chatting with a Dutch girl and in the afternoon we went on a sightseeing adventure of Bangkok. We took a rickshaw around enjoying the drive before stopping by the river and taking a cruise on a longboat. After that we went to the golden mount which is a Buddhist temple atop a hill the view from there is quite cool unfortunately y camera battery was dead so I didn’t get any photos. That evening we got dinner at a local restaurant which was pretty tasty before getting in an early night.

Wednesday 30^th October 2013

I mucked about this morning feeling pretty unmotivated to do much. Late morning I hired a rickshaw for the day and did some more sightseeing first stop was the golden Buddha then I went to the amulet market where I lost the rickshaw driver for ages and was considering leaving and walking back to the hostel when he appeared out of nowhere. We drove about some more and went past the palace etc. so I could see them from the outside. Back at the hostel I got my bags from the luggage room and waited for my bus to Chaing Mai after a while it appeared it wasn’t coming there were a group of us who had been left behind as the mini bus driver that was to take us to the bus station didn’t take everyone just the people for the south which was weird. We got a taxi to the mini bus station which was stressful as we left an age after everyone else and there was so much traffic. Eventually we stopped at a petrol station ad were ushered into the minibus along with a bunch of locals we got to the main  bus station and turns out we had over an hour to kill before the bus left! Eventually we boarded the double decker we had great seats right at the front with a ton of leg room and they provided us with neck pillows and blankets it was by far the most comfortable night bus I have been on. We reclined and went to sleep stopping once for a food break and to stretch our legs at about 1am and then we were on the road again.

Thursday 31^st October 2013

The night bus last night was so comfortable that I was still fast asleep when it pulled into Chaing Mai. I didn’t have a place to stay so went with the two girls Olivia and Katie who were on my bus to the place they had booked when we got there it was closed but had a cell phone taped to a bit of string tied to the door and a note that said to call a number from that phone if you were locked out. We called and the woman kept asking “do you see the pig?” there was about 10 pig statues about so yes we did she kept saying the key was under one but there was no key. After a while someone came and let us in but we couldn’t check in yet when someone eventually arrived we went upstairs the hostel itself was not the worst I’ve stayed in and I would have been happy there but the girls wanted to move and the location was a bit far out so we all jumped on the local bus/taxi thing and went to a hostel in the old town which was much better. The place lacked a real atmosphere but there were loads of travellers staying there so it was easy to meet people. We checked in and showered and then I went and got food with Brian a guy I met In Bangkok. That afternoon I joined him and his friends at tiger kingdom I was somewhat reluctant to go as I have heard really bad things about the place but the tigers were all happy and healthy and had a really good bond with their trainers. I went in with the babies which was cool they were the size of a smallish dog but had so much character it was just like playing with a big kitten.  That night we made a half arsed attempt to dress up for Halloween and went out for dinner and drinks ending up at some weird lock in at a lady boy bar.

Friday 1^st November 2013

Today I visited all the temples in town it was a real spiritual day out I stopped for a juice late afternoon and after one more temple got a massage from an inmate at the Chaing Mai woman’s prison it’s all part of their rehab into society I had reflexology on my feet and it was by far the best I have had I walked out feeling like I was walking on air. That night after we had some dinner we hit up the night Bazar and I got a t-shirt with a panda on it to wear to the zoo in a few days’ time.

Saturday 2^nd November 2013

This morning I got picked up around 10am to head off trekking in the jungle for two days. Compared with the trek up Rinjani this one was a walk in the park we drove for about 30mins then stopped at a market to pick up all the food and supplies for our trek before getting back in the truck and driving  a few hours to stop for lunch by some rice fields we ate and then got back in the car and drove some more we didn’t actually start walking until quite late in the day. Our guide knew everything about the bush and kept stopping to show us different plants and explain their uses. We stopped by a waterfall and had the option to swim but by this stage it was late in the day and feeling a bit cool so no one was up for it. We continued on to camp where we were staying in a hut on stilts the camp was just a few building our hut another one that seemed to have no purpose (but there was a dog with tiny puppies underneath) and the kitchen which was where the guide slept. We put our bags in and changed into warmer clothes and sat round the fire chatting while dinner was cooked. The food was amazing and there was so much of it no one went hungry. After food we hung about for a while before heading to bed. I was the only one without a mozcito net which I wasn’t too pleased with but there didn’t seem to be many mozzies and the only interruption to my sleep was when I woke up with a huge spider on my face!

Sunday 3^rd November 2013

We woke up this morning and had breakfast before heading to the waterfall for a swim he water was freezing so we didn’t stay in long and headed back to camp where we packed up our things and continued on.  We stopped at a village and met the locals who showed us their homes before moving onto another waterfall with a natural water slide we swam again but the water was icy so only a few of us went in and it was only briefly.  From the waterfall we trekked down to the lunch spot where food was waiting for us. From there we walked along the road for a while learning about and tasting all the fruits that grew beside the road then we veered off and walked through the rice paddies to the end of our trip at and elephant farm we met one elephant and got to feed her before getting on the truck and driving back to Chaing Mai. I checked back into the same hostel and got my stuff out of the luggage room showered and put things away. Later on I went to the Sunday night market and had a good walk around I bought and ate a lot of street food but mostly just looked at the handicrafts my favourite stall was one where you could get your name written on rice as a pendant or get a crack pipe! By the time I made it back to the hostel I was pretty exhausted and fell into bed.

Monday 4^th November 2013

I woke up early this morning full of excitement as I was going to the zoo to see pandas! I got some munch and then flagged down a share taxi to the zoo I had to pay extra to see the pandas which was a bit shit as you can only go in once and also there are normally three pandas but two are on load somewhere so there is only one. Nonetheless I had a great time there chilling out with my panda buddy. The rest of the zoo was a bit hit and miss some of it was really cool and modern other parts the animals looked neglected and their living conditions were less than ideal. After the zoo the plane was to get a share taxi the rest of the way up the hill to the temple but the drivers were being dicks and wanted to wait until the taxi was full so I had to sit about for a while waiting for others I met a girl who had been volunteering at a school and was on her way home so we chatted while we waited eventually we were on the move we went in and checked it out it was beautiful but super load and busy with obnoxious tourists. The ride down was super windy and rough and the guy dropped us on the edge of town we decided to walk the rest of the way in which turned out to be further than we thought but was good exercise. On the way back to the hostel I stopped at a vegetarian place and had a curry before finishing the walk. Back in the room Andy and Anna were back from their trek and in the same room as me which was cool. I spent the evening uploading photos off my camera and organising my bus to Pai tomorrow.

Tuesday 5^th November 2013

I got up and packed up this morning then went for breakfast with friends before waiting for the bus to Pai it was late and got later and later until It was clear it wasn’t coming at all no one seemed to take responsibility for it and it all just seemed to be a joke eventually we got to the travel office and over two hours late got on the road. It’s supposed to be a rough journey but I found it fine and slept most of the way. The driver was completely normal until we stopped for a toilet break where I think he smoked a crack pipe because suddenly he was mental driving with no hands and yelling at nothing, pointing out elephants (cows), tigers (dogs) and pandas (small dogs) he also declared his love for everyone and called Andy handsome stressing he wasn’t gay and that he had many girlfriends. As we drove into Pai he pulled over and aske a girl for directions to Pai she was so confused. It was a bizarre journey. When we eventually arrived we waited or our hotel transfer which turned out to be a motorbike with a cage on wheels attached we all piled on with me and Anna in the cage with the bags and Andy on the back of the bike. It was a hair raising but fun journey to the Pai circus school where we were booked in for two nights. We hung about for a bit before walking into town (in the near pitch darkness) we had dinner in a disappointing Falafel shop and then had a few drinks in a bar on the river which had a fire competition happening which was cool to watch. We were almost taken out by a fire poi which came flying in our direction! Back at the hostel I got into bed and promptly froze all night.

Wednesday 6^th November 2013

Today we hired scooters from the place we are staying first stop was town for breakfast before heading back ad picking up swim stuff ready for a day out. We started by driving up to the big white Buddha that you can see from town we had to park and walk up about 200m it was quite steep but easy going up there the Buddha looked huge and we took a bunch of photos unfortunately you don’t get much of a view from up there as the tree line blocks it. We didn’t stay long as there was no shelter and up there the sun was blazing. We got back on our bikes and rode and rode we missed the turn off for the water fall but didn’t really mind as we had a cool drive through some really awesome scenery eventually we turned back and got back on track. We arrived at the waterfall and took a bunch of photos but didn’t swim in the afternoon shade it was pretty cold there. Back on our bikes we headed back into town. We got back to the hostel and left the bikes there walking into town for some street food and a few drinks at the jazz bar and the reggae bar.

Thursday 7^th November 2013

We checked out of Pai circus school today and into a place called riverside which was on the riverside for not much more money it was much better than freezing on the other side of the river. After breakfast we rented scooters again and drove to the hot springs we were the only ones there which was cool we relaxed in the heat for an hour or two before heading to Pai Canyon we walked on the edge of the canyon and took heaps of photos before heading back to town via Strawberry world which was this weird roadside shop thing that sold juice and sweets and had a weird fun park out the back. We took the scooters back to the hotel and then got some street food before meeting Becky and Abbie in the Jazz bar for some drinks.

Friday 8^th November 2013

This morning we all had breakfast together and then Anna Andy and I drove up to the Chinese view point it was a steep ride and I was shitting myself a bit at the top they charged us to come in which was a complete swiz but it was only 20Bhat the view was stunning especially with clear blue skies above us. When it came time to leave I was too scared to dive the first part of the hill which was the steepest so Andy had to walk back up and drive down for me, the rest of the descent I dragged one foot along the ground as extra brake! We returned our scooters and were just in time to meet Laura checking into riverside with some girls she met on the bus up. We dumped our things and then all headed into town as we were going tubing. It was such a laugh in places the river was too shallow and so our arses dragged along or smashed into rocks, we frequently crashed into the side or got stuck in the middle with fallen branches and other debris it was a good way to spend several hours and the best part was when Andy flipped in his tube the sad part about that was we lost many of the drinks as he was attached to the cooler. I would have had a perfect graceful dismount but got dragged further along by rouge tubers and almost missed the finish. We clambered out ungracefully and pulled clothes on we had to walk our tubes back to town. That night we grabbed some food and then had drinks on our balcony before hitting up the late night bars.

Saturday 9^th November 2013

This morning there were so many of us at breakfast we had to have two different tables after eating we all went our separate ways Anna Andy and I once again hired scooters an drove back to the waterfall but went during the morning when the sun was out. The water was still freezing so I was reluctant to swim I soon remedied that by accidently falling in much to everyone’s amusement!  We climbed out and lay on the hot rocks to dry off and warm up before driving back to town for a munch we met Laura and all had lunch together then she jumped on the back of my bike and we got some errands done. That evening we walked about the night market eating street food and looking at all the crafts. Later on we all met up on the balcony for drinks.

Sunday 10^th November 2013

Sadly today we had to leave Pai Abbie, Becky and I had the long journey all the way from Pai to Bangkok and then I was getting another bus south! We went to get breakfast and on the way saw Laura who was out and about looking for her camera which she lost last night (she did eventually find it yay) she was really upset as she hadn’t had much luck and so wanted to be alone. The rest of us got food. After eating I helped Laura search her room for the camera we didn’t have any luck but I did find her missing iPod. I then took her out on the scooter to all the places they had been last night but most of them were closed and we didn’t have any joy. Eventually we had to say goodbye and head to the bus stop we all went together as far as Chaing Mai this time the drive made us all card sick I was really struggling not to throw up. Back in Chaing Mai we said goodbye to Andy and Anna who were staying there we had a short break to get food before getting a share taxi to the bus when we got there most of the seats were gone and it seemed to be a first come first serve basis so we ended up right at the back the only bonus was I was in the middle so had leg room there. We chatted a while and then went to sleep.