Bang Bang into Chiang Mai

Doug and I were in Chiang Mai for almost a week. Here is the breakdown of our adventures from those crazy first few days. 

February 12th: 

When I ended the last blog Doug and I were just departing Bangkok and had boarded a night bus to Chiang Mai. The bus ride was really cheap so we prepared ourselves for a very uncomfortable 12 hour long, butt-numbing night. We were wrong.... Instead we accidentally booked what was basically a first class bus ride, complete with: snacks, dinner, reclining seats, pillows, blankets, tvs, and all the Thai music videos we could watch (they are horrible but you can't stop watching them). 

We slept better on the bus than we had slept in a long time. Maybe it was because there were two monks sitting behind us sending us their positive vibes or maybe it was the fact that we got to watch Frozen before we fell asleep. I spent the beginning of the bus ride texting my dad and catching up with him, but after that I slept like a baby. Really though, I did. I fell asleep at about 11pm and woke up around 5am (much like our niece, Hazel). 

February 13th: 

Our bus arrived in Chiang Mai at roughly 5:30am. We got off the bus, checked our bags to make sure nothing was stolen (because that was a normal thing to do) and quickly sat down on a couple benches to get our bearings. We hadn't booked a hostel yet, so there we were sitting in the dark, a little unsure about what the heck we were doing. Luckily a  "taxi" driver came up to us and explained to us in broken English where we were at. He was obviously affiliated with a couple guesthouses and thankfully he offered us a deal on one where we were able to talk him down quite a bit. Awesome! At least we knew we had a place to sleep (it's weird that lodging is something we worry about now). We walked with the man to his "taxi" (a.k.a- his shabby little tuk tuk) and hit the road towards the Lai Tai Guesthouse where thankfully the receptionist had a twin room available and let us check in 5 hours before we were supposed to. It worked out great for us because we got the room for a day and a half at the price of a day. Score! Once we were in our twin beds (we looked like Marshall and Lilly in "How I Met Your Mother") we slept until 10am and then decided to investigate our new surroundings. 

First Impressions of Chiang Mai: 

1. Wow this place is polluted. 

2. Not as crowded as Bangkok, but still busy traffic. 

3. Smelly

4. What's with all the Western middle-aged men with super young Thai girls? Creepy. 

5. I'm pretty sure the wiring here isn't safe. My dad would not approve. 

6. Friendly people 

We spent the rest of the day walking around the Chiang Mai "square" getting used to the Chiang Mai scent. We explored many of the Buddhas and temples. 

We even went to a monk chat, where we talked with young novices who aspired to eventually be ordained as monks and oddly enough, an elderly Canadian man who came to monk chat all the time. We learned about their lifestyles, their practice of Buddhism, and why they do what they do. It was interesting and gave us great insight into the culture we were immersing ourselves in. 

 We also had our first encounter with mango sticky rice, which was delicious.

 And we found a make-shift gallery with a talented artist. It would later be a great debate between Doug  and I as to whether I should buy one of the paintings. 

We also tried to get massages at a women's prison. Guess who's idea that was, not mine! (what?!?, a prison! Yeah that's exactly who I want rubbing my neck...no way man!) but turned out they were all booked. Apparently it's a popular place. 

February 14th: 

Valentines Day. Doug and I celebrated with a Thai breakfast followed by some temple exploration.

 Then we had long foot massages ($6.00!) the night market and a delicious crepe. 

The night market is quite the spectacle. Luckily Doug and I got there around 4:30pm and were able to see about half of it before the crowds arrived at 6pm. 

The place was absolutely packed with people. There were hundreds of vendors and there was any kind of Thai food imaginable. 

Doug got some sketchy Pad Thai that turned out to be good. Our night concluded with us ordering a peanut butter- Nutella crepe. It was heavenly! Probably the best dessert we've eaten on our trip (which isn't saying much because we rarely buy dessert). 

February 15th: 

The 15th Doug and I sort of took the morning off from the city. I wasn't feeling well. My sinuses were going crazy from all the pollution in the air so we stayed back at the Lai Thai. We planned more of our trip and scoped out future destinations. Doug and I went to the pool to have a relaxing sort of afternoon, however, with the pool came quite the show, which I would like to call....  "Pool Side Stories with Lydia and Doug." They say a picture says a thousand words, so here is a photo of what sat across from us at the pool. 

Honestly it is a little inappropriate to completely explain, so I'll just say this: out of the five people: one got completely naked, one royally ticked off a lady and management had to get involved, one pulled out the weirdest contraption I've ever seen, one had elephantitis, and Doug almost saw one person's privates as he/she changed swim suits...try and match them as you wish.  So, basically Doug and I got front row seats to the pool circus and could not stop laughing. I'm so happy I didn't feel good, because it was hilarious! 

Later that afternoon we strolled through another market and eventually came back to our guesthouse for dinner. We each had hot and sour soup. 

It was very good but there were a lot of things in it and we weren't sure what they were. Regardless, it definitely cleared up my head! 

After spending a few days in Chiang Mai I had a some second impressions of the city. Let's admit, first impressions aren't always the greatest. 

1. The food is delicious, especially the mangos. 

2. Haggling with vendors is kind of a fun game. 

3. At second glance it is a much more beautiful place.

4. The people were quite friendly and made me smile. 

5. The detail in crafts and architecture is incredibly  impressive. 

6. You get used to the smell :) 

7. The dedication of the monks and their willingness to explain their beliefs equally evoke a sense of admiration. 

Our first few days in Chiang Mai took a little getting used to. Traveling isn't always beaches and margaritas. Sometimes it's smelly roads and delicious mangos. Either one is okay with me, but I think I benefit more from the second, learning new things about ourselves every day! 

Stay tuned for the next blog: tigers and cooking and elephants! Oh my! :) 

 

Bangkok and Beyond!

Our month in New Zealand absolutely flew by! From skydiving to glacier hiking we did NZ the right way and met some of the best people! Doug and I spent our last few days in Auckland and then we were off to Thailand. 

After a day spent in Auckland totally homeless we were ready to move forward. Our flight didn't leave till 7am on the 10th but we didn't want to pay for a room on the 9th that we would hardly be staying in. So, we packed up all our stuff and took it to the streets. We spent the 9th wandering around Auckland with our backpacks doing a few random things which included: 

- Doug getting a haircut (it was time) 

- Doug and I mailing a box of random  

   things home along with postcards 

- buying The Hobbit (after spending a 

   month in NZ, I'm pretty sure it's a sin 

   that I haven't read this book) 

- wandering around trying to find some 

   free wifi 

- spending a large amount of time at the 

   harbor reading The Hobbit, napping, 

   playing cards, and people watching 

Finally, at around 10pm we caught a bus to the airport and then spent the night in said airport (at least this time we found comfy benches and didn't have to sleep on the floor). Altogether our travel time was 17 hours, which included a 5 hour layover in Melbourne, Australia. We arrived at 7pm Bangkok time and let me tell you--- we found out fast that we were not in NZ anymore! Woah baby were we not in NZ! 

After we got through the initial shock of realizing no one around us spoke English, the visa form confusion, and the constant crowds of shoving people... We made it out to the curb of taxis! Woo! (It was an accomplishment). We beyond needed to shower and were certainly a little jet lagged but we made it to Thailand. Next all we had to do was communicate with a taxi driver for another 20minutes to show him where our hotel was. 

And after a few wrong turns, a couple sketchy alleyways, a sighting of a few ladyboys (look it up if you dare), and some miscommunication with the receptionist- we made it to our hotel room! Woo! The next day we woke up, ate breakfast and took a taxi into the city of Bangkok! 

Doug and I had booked a hostel on Khaosan Road but before we got there we wanted to explore downtown. Mind you, we still had our packs. So there we were walking through the very crowded streets of Bangkok, bags on our backs and nervous feelings in our stomachs. This place was totally new to us. It scared me a bit but I love that feeling-being in a new place and immersing myself in a new culture. I've never been in a location where I had no idea how to speak the language. But you learn something new everyday! People here understand "thank you" and a polite smile can go a long way in any culture and for our crazy day in Bangkok that is all I needed. 

In all we walked about 6 miles that day. We took a taxi to see The Golden Buddha.  It was the first time we entered into the realm of monks, meditation, and Buddhas, but it wouldn't be our last.

After walking around the temples for a bit, we immersed ourselves in Chinatown and by that... I mean we got lost :) 

The amount of people movin' and shakin' in Chinatown and in Bangkok in general is unreal. There are food stalls and street venders everywhere you look, completely surrounding you. 

But then you turn down a random street and it's totally calm and normal. 

Once we made our way out of Chinatown we stopped for lunch in a random little cafe that I can't even tell you the name of (because I can't remember it and I probably couldn't pronounce it anyways). We ate vegetable Pad Thai and had sweet buns. I wasn't sure what the sweet buns were and I'll be honest I mainly got them because they looked like the food in the Disney movie, Mulan. Well, it wasn't a bad move on my part because they were delicious! They looked like balls of dough but were steamed and fully cooked and they tasted like a very sweet soft cake. 

After lunch we wore out some more of the padding on our shoes and eventually caught a tuk tuk to the Recling Buddha. 

The tuk tuk ride is sort of a right of passage in Thailand, something every traveler must do. A tuk tuk is basically a motor bike with a cart/seating attached to it. 

You sit in the cart (bags and all) and don't wear a seatbelt because you don't have one and then you hold on to whatever you can and try not to fall out. 

They probably aren't the safest form of transportation, but they are kind of fun. Plus it's entertaining to haggle with the drivers on a price. 

The Recling Buddha is this huge (Buddha) 46meter long statue that is portrayed on its side and stretches the length of a massive temple. 

While visiting this Buddha we truly started to appreciate the amount of detail that goes into the creation of the temples and the Buddhas. We visited many other Buddhas aside from this one. The artwork in Bangkok and the intrinsic detail of the buildings will blow your mind. 

After Doug and I had visited numerous Buddhas, we decided it was time to head to the other side of Bangkok towards our next source of lodging, the D&D inn on Khaosan Road- the street of backpackers. 

Khaosan Road was a pretty awesome experience- great food, interesting people, and nice lodging which included breakfast (bonus!). All the venders try to get you to buy things, but it's all part of the experience. 

Everything is super cheap here, which works out nice for us. One U.S dollar is roughly 32 Thai Baht. 

Our third day in Bangkok we spent mainly around the Khaosan Road area. This was also the day we decided to get Thai massages. It was $6.00 for an hour-we could not resist! 

The massage was .... Crazy. Doug and I were taken up a few flights of stairs, had our feet washed and given odd clothes that reminded me of scrubs. Next we went into a room with mattresses on the floor. At first we really did not know what we had gotten ourselves into but it was fantastic. The massage women stretched us out and had us in all sorts of positions that at one point I literally thought my head was going to pop right off. Also about half way through the massage I looked over at Doug and his lady was straight up punching him in the back. I about lost it, but I couldn't even laugh because my lady was busy pulling my cheeks apart and pushing down on my nose! What an experience is all I have to say. We walked out of that place feeling super relaxed and I felt two inches taller! I have a feeling there will be a few more massages in our future while we are in Thailand. 

After the massage we ate lunch, FaceTimed our families and wandered around a bit more before packing up again to catch a night bus to Chiang Mai.

My first initial thoughts of Bangkok were that it was an insanely chaotic city. After spending a few days there- I still stick by that statement. However, though it may be chaotic, it has a rhythm. People move and go about there day in a fairly laid back manner. I never saw anyone get mad at the amount of traffic or flip someone the bird when they got cut off on the road. People come and go as they please and chat with whomever they want. Several people were very nice to us and were very helpful with directions. I feel like a lot of Americans get upset when we have someone in our country who can't speak English. Here, I do not know one Thai word, but even if they can't understand me they still attempt to or will at least smile at me. In a city that's so chaotic and so overwhelming it was nice to have people be so willing to help. Don't think I'm naïve. I know I'm traveling and I know that I need to be aware of my surroundings (duh, have you seen the movie Taken?!? ) I'm just shedding light on the fact that there are good people all around the world and I was pleased to encounter a few of them and was lucky to have them in my path. 

If you get anything from this post-- let it be that a smile and a polite head nod can go a really long way. Open your eyes to those around you. :) 

That lady at the grocery store with a crying baby in her cart and a tugging toddler on her leg doesn't need your upturned nose and rolling eyes- smile and politely nod people, smile and nod.. :)

Thanks so much for reading and have a wonderful day!!