Koh Phangan, Thailand: Days 52 - 66

December 6, 2015 - December 21, 2015

Koh Phangan. Oh, Koh Phangan....

I spent two magical weeks on this island, sometimes referred to as "Purgatory," other times as "Boomerang Island." This post will be slightly different, where to begin...

Bangkok, Thailand: Days 49, 50, 51

Day 49: Arrival to Oldtown Hostel and Credit Card Fraud

I arrived this evening, walking from the train station, to a hostel recommended to me by a guy I met in Ho Chi Minh, who was also going to be staying there! This hostel is awesome - wide open, clean common area and rooms and bathrooms, you can't ask for much more.

Ayutthaya, Thailand: Days 48 & 49

Day 48: Arrival and Night Market

After a long day on the train, I finally got to the station in Ayutthaya where a man persistently offered me a ride in his Tuk Tuk as soon as I stepped onto the platform. After repeatedly telling him 'no thank you,' I eventually caved and accepted his ride for 100 Baht to 1301 Hostel.

Chiang Mai, Thailand Part 2: Days 45, 46, 47

Day 45: Arrival and Thai Massage

London and I arrived at the hostel, Julie's Guesthouse Part 2, to find Scotland and Italy lounging out front. We freshened up after the dusty drive. Scotland, London, and I decided to get massages. They both had experienced a Thai massage before, so decided to go with oil massages. I went ahead and tried the Thai one. It's a really intense massage - in fact it hurts! She pushes and twists your legs, arms, and entire body, putting her full weight on you, cracking your joints and your back. It's amazing how she twists your leg around hers to get a particular stretch. As painful as it was, my groin, still hurting from jumping 15 meters in Chiang Mai Canyon days ago, feels a lot better now! I didn't tell her about my broken foot, so that was a bit sore afterwards. It was also a bit awkward in that they put all three of us in the same room. I had cloths on that they gave me, but the others had to strip down a bit, due to the oil.

Relaxing evening uploading pictures before bed.

Day 46: Doi Suthep, Iced Coffee

The girls had an elephant tour booked for the day, so London and I had a lazy morning and dropped of laundry.

I wanted to see Doi Suthep, and he decided to come with me. We rented a motobike, a semi automatic, so he had to drive all day. Around the Square, a few kilometers away, and up the mountain we went. We stopped to potentially see a watersll, but they charge 100 Baht per person, so we decided it wasn't worth it. (It's crazy how $3 is somehow expensive here.... your perspective on cost changes with each country and how much you should pay here instead of how much it would be back home)

Stopping once more and and viewpoint on the way up, we made it up to the temple. Shoulders covered and 30 Baht later, we were in. The view of Chiang Mai is beautiful from way up here. Continuing further up the road, after the temple, leads you to and little village, selling souvenirs. We walked around,  past a little garden in the back, shared some sweet strawberries, and ventured back down.

I wish I took note of the name, but past the temple on the right hand side, going down the mountain, sits a coffee place with a great view. Two mocha iced coffees later, we sat there until she closed shop and told us we had to leave.

Back at the hostel, we didn't see the girls, so we wandered down to find dinner. Spices and Herbs turned out to be the right choice. He ordered Tom Yum and I ate the Red Curry. Delicious. And they fruit juices are actually mostly fruit and not so much ice, making them the best I think I've had so far here.

Rejoining the girls, we had some drinks, played pool and jenga at a sports bar across from our hostel. They we hit up 7-11 for cheaper drinks, sat and hung out one last time together until finally, at 2am I said goonight and goodbye. I had signed up for a tour that left early in the morning, and they would be on their way to Bangkok by the time I returned that evening. This was but far the most difficult goodbye yet. Especially with London, since I had spent the most time with him. I'm sure I'll see them all again :)

Day 47: The White Temple, The Black House, Long Neck Village, Thawlsen Chiang Rai Hot Springs 

Waking early for a 7:15am pick up, I got to see the girls one last night out front by good fortune. One more quick hug goodbye, I got on the bus for my day tour to Chiang Rai.

And most of the day passed on that bus.

It took 1 hour to pick everyone up before we could begin the 2 hour drive to the first stop. At least 30 minutes to 1 hour stretched on the bus in between each stop. And traffic on the return was awful, taking over an hour to drop everyone. That all aside, it was an interesting day.

Stop #1: White Temple. Our bus was full of Chinese people, so our guide spoke Chinese, but not great English. The only non Chinese people were myself and a girl from Brazil who spoke okay English. That being said, all I know about the White Temple is that one man built it, and it's still working on it. It is free to enter,  but once you step onto the path, you must continue to walk, otherwise it's bad luck. The outside is completely shining anf white. Arms reach from the ground and heads collage onto walls. No pictures allowed on the inside, but the man was still painting his desings. A weird mixture of scenes fill them mural - from Buddhist symbols to a scene of a city terrorized by a two headed snake, with Minions, Superman, and Spiderman on the scene. Only other thing I can really say is that the bathrooms are painted gold.

We had lunch across the street before continuing.

Stop #2: I literally have nothing to a say about the Black House, as our guide couldn't tell us anything in English. So here are pictures. Very masculine, lots of alligator skins, anaconda skin, and various mammal skins and skulls. Also, a horse outside got a made erections when I pet him on the head; everyone stopped to photograph. So weird.

Stop #3: Long Neck Village was also a bit strange. The women start putting rings around their neck at age 4 or 5, and once you start the process, you can't stop. A ring is added roughly once per year. It started out as protection from Tiger bites when they lived in Burma, but now it is simple part of their culture and about beauty. They also wear rings around their legs, under the knees. As we went around, taking pictures, it felt as though we were taking pictures of animals in a zoo. I didn't like the feeling. The girls and women older than 13 or so didn't look happy. They wove scarves and had items you could buy, but it seems so strange. The oldest women don't even look and you. I guess they are used to it by now.

Stop #4: Thawlsen Chiang Rai Hot Springs was much different than the hot springs in Pai. These springs are boiling hot to the point that they have little wells to boil eggs. The parts designated for your feet were almost to hot to bear. I had to dip them in and out, otherwise it felt as if they'd burn!

Back at the hostel at 8pm (I was told I'd get back at 6:30... not sure I'd recommend this tour to be honest), I beelined for Spices & Herbs for some chicken pad thai - quite possibly the best I've ever had. Laundry finished, I packed my bag to leave in the morning.

Day 48: Train to Ayutthaya 

I woke early, got ready, finished packing, and headed to the laundry place to see if they had my missing elephant tank top (they didn't :( ). I hopped into a red taxi truck, who dropped his daughter off at school before taking me to the train station.

After buying my ticket, I went to a school coffee shop to use the Internet unsuccessfully. One thing I miss about Vietnam is the readily available WiFi everywhere go: airport, train station, bus station, on the bus, on the boat, at the street market! Here, no WiFi, and the coffee shop WiFi didn't work.

On the train, as I am typing this, it is much more comfortable than the one in Vietnam. Airconditioning and even snack and meal service included. Lunch was spicy mackerel, so even though I tried several bites, I couldnt get past the skin and bones, so I simply ate the rice and cookies. The views are beautiful, looking out over the countryside and passing villages. Not a bad way to have cheap, relaxing travel. Chiang Mai to Ayutthaya runs about 17 USD on the express train, and takes about 9 hours. That's less time then I spent on the bus yesterday!

(One hour away from Ayutthaya! Just wanted to add that the bathroom on this train is leaps and bounds better than the bathroom on the trains in China! For starters...it's not a squat toilet. Winning.)

Pai, Thailand: Days 42, 43 ,44, 45

Day 42: Thanksgiving Arrival, The Famous Circus School Hostel

The bus from Chiang Mai rolled into Pai around 6:30pm. Even though the driver drove super fast around corners, speeding past other buses, it still took roughly three hours to make the trip. Chomping on my Subway sandwhich, I figured that would sufficiently count as my turkey for Thanksgiving. My hostel offered a pick up service, so I climbed into the back of the truck, ready to see what this odd hostel had in store.

Chiang Mai, Thailand Part 1: Days 39, 40, 41, 42

Day 39: Arrival, Monk Ceremony

I arrived to the airport mid afternoon and caught a taxi to my friend's hotel. Finally a familiar face! Much needed! He is also traveling for a long time, longer than me, and it made sense to meet up for the festival, a long ways away from SF.

Hanoi, Vietnam: Day 35

Day 35: Sick and Homesick

I'm going to be very honest, I didn't feel very well when I got to Hanoi. Whatever caused me to not feel well in Phong Nha (I think it was something I ate at the bus stop), didn't go away. I think sickness and home sickness go hand in hand because I really wanted to be home with my family and a hot fire. Instead, I caught up on blogging for several hours at my hostel and booked a cruise for the following morning. I took a break to grab a sandwich and walk to see the lake.

Phong Nha, Vietnam: Days 33 & 34

I am going to be honest, it is getting harder and harder to keep blogging, especially when I'm having such a great time! So I apologize for the continued spelling errors and perhaps less detail, as I am writing this post over 10 days after leaving Phong Nha.

Day 33: Dragonboat Phong Nha and Dong Tien Son Caves