|
  | |  |
Bangkok and beyond
Entry 31 of 44 | show all | print this entry |
|
We booked an overnight boat and bus combo from Koh Tao to Bangkok. Our plan was to arrive in Bangkok around 6am, make our way to the Indian Embassy to apply for a Visa, and then in the evening we would hop on the overnight train to Chang Mai in northern Thailand. That meant we'd spend one night on a bus, one day in Bangkok, and one night on a train...sounds like a great plan to save time and save two nights of hotels stays, right? Well, instead of getting the package we booked and paid for, we got a free "upgrade" to the express boat and bus combo. Crap! It wasn't much of an upgrade when arrived in Bangkok at 1:30am without a hotel reservation! Where to go when in doubt? McDonald's! We were only going to hang out there until we figured out what to do, but we ended up spending the night camped out at McDonald's playing scrabble and drinking coffee to kill the six hours until we could go to the embassy! So in addition to spending our nights in hotels/hostels/guesthouses, trains, planes, automobiles, and boats, we can now add the McDonald's in Bangkok to the list!
The city of Chiang Mai was our base for exploring northern Thailand. From there we ventured further north into the 'Golden Triangle' where Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and Laos all meet. It's not that there is lots of gold here, but the money-maker in this region was the production of opium by hill tribes, making the Golden Triangle the world leader in the opium trade. We took a trip across the rivers to visit Laos and Myanmar for the day. Crossing over to wander the border town of Thachilek in Myanmar, there wasn't a huge cultural difference from Thailand, but it had its interesting points: at the market there we had a guy offer us Viagra, porn DVDs, and cigarettes. We didn't stick around much after that, but I think maybe they're a package to be used in that order!
Looking for adventure and culture, the following day we set off for a two night trek into the mountains around Chang Mai to visit some villages belonging to the Karen tribe. Guided by one of the Karen villagers, we trekked through forests where we saw terraced rice paddies, stilted houses, and spent a couple nights living in the villages. We rode elephants through a forest to reach one of the villages, going up and down hills and crossing streams. Amy had to shut her eyes a few times when the elephants maneouvered steep and narrow paths. Oh, and we discovered half way through our ride that we were actually sitting on the 'seatbelt' which we thought was missing...not very smart of us. It's a long way down from the back of an elephant! On the last day of the trek, our guides built a couple of traditional bamboo rafts and we took the river route that some locals still use to transport goods to Chiang Mai. All was going well on the lazy river, that is, until we reached a few rapids and began questioning the stability and safety of a bamboo raft. We crashed into rocks and thought we would all end up in the river along with our bags (not the bags!). Our raft started coming apart which necessitated emergency repairs while still in the river. The good thing about bamboo rafts is there is always spare bamboo lining the river!
  
After roughing it a few days, we were excited to make our way back to Bangkok to indulge in some luxury. My mom was visiting Hong Kong and decided to fly into town for a few days to see us, so we ended up staying with her at the swanky Intercontinental Hotel in Bangkok. We were so excited to be staying in a place with modern comforts - hot water, air conditioning, fluffy plush bathrobes and slippers, and cable TV - that we were sad every time we had to leave the room. The few days we had together we spent sightseeing, shopping, as well as indulging in good food and much needed spa treatments. When it was time for my mom to leave, we were definitely sad to see her go as it reminded us of how far we are from home and how long we've been away. We really enjoyed spending time with her, especially since she really knew how to pamper us. We think it was her way of reminding us what we're missing at home and luring us back sooner! It'll be tough getting back to basics again now that we've tasted the good life!
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries by edamame, from Thailand or try a new search. |
| |
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
16 votes 
This is a top pick!
