Chelsea with the Elephants!

Well, yesterday was the day… the day we’ve been waiting for for months and months! It was the day we were to meet the ELEPHANTS! This was something both Jessica and I agreed was one of our top priorities to do in Thailand. Our main bucket list check box to complete before we would leave the country.

As I was planning our itinerary, I did a lot of research on where we would spend our time and, more importantly, money to be with the elephants. I’d heard a lot of negative stuff about elephant “conservation” companies, who tout rescued elephants but do not actually care for them or treat them properly. The elephant population in Thailand is decreasing at an alarming and unsustainable rate, and I wanted to be sure my money would be going to an organization that was not only humane and with rescued elephants, I wanted to find the best one.

I looked into several options in northern Thailand, and eventually settled on Patara Elephant Farm. Their websit was extensive and gave a lot of information about their mission, their priorities, and their aim for each person’s visit. I liked that they advertised their service as “Elephant Owner for the Day” instead of “Elephant Riding” or something of that nature. They touted a wholistic approach to your visit – focusing not only on spending time with the elephants, and riding them, but also learning about their healthcare needs and efforts to avoid extinction.

I made a reservation for us online, and was happy that we didn’t need to pay a deposit. It was particularly surprising since the experience was so expensive – by far the most expensive thing we did on our entire trip. But, we got picked up at 7:45am from our hotel by a van with two other girls and one staff member from Patara. The drive took us out of Chiang Mai and into the nearby mountains. We passed a lot of resorts, and I can see why; the area was absolutely stunning. It was probably more beautiful than the road we took to Pai.

Around 45 minutes after being picked up, we rolled onto a gravel road. There were no signs, and it felt a little sketchy. No one told us anything, really… the driver just opened the door and gestured for us to go to a small gazebo near an open dirt area. We walked over and a staff member finally told us to put our stuff down, that the elephant and baby would be coming over soon.

A minute or two later, sure enough, we got our first sight of elephants. They strolled down the dirt road and came into the dirt clearing in front of us. The staff said we could go “play” with them, and even helped us take pictures. More people arrived after us, and there was eventually 16 people together. They encouraged us to approach the elephants, take pictures with them, and even play with the baby on the ground. The two girls who had been in our van, at the staff’s direction, sat on the ground and the baby elephant came up to them. It looked great at first, then the baby elephant proceeded to CLIMB ON TOP OF THEM. It was partially horrifying, and partially hilarious. The baby elephant was only playing, not trying to hurt them, but even the baby is pretty big and HEAVY. It climbed so much on top of them, knocking them over, that it wound up with all four legs on the ground with the girls pinned under it. It probably sounds more horrifying than it was. I mean, I’m sure they were scared, but we were all kind of laughing in a “is this really happening?”/”should someone interfere?” kind of way. The trainers were all laughing and finally helped get the elephant off. The poor girls who got trampled were completely covered in dirt and all I could think is “Thank GOODNESS I didn’t volunteer for THAT!” They weren’t hurt at all, just a little shocked I think.

The elephants were having some breakfast; because they eat huge sugar cane poles, bamboo shoots, and massive bunches of bananas, it was kind of scary to get near them while they munched away. It was so cool to see them eat though! Their trunks are so dexterous!

After taking a bazillion pictures with the elephants, the trainers led the elephants over to a water hose and they filled up their trunks and sprayed the water into their mouths. It was incredible to watch!!! This was obviously not their first rodeo and they knew what was up. The little baby elephant even nursed the mom while she was eating (after playing with the humans, aka knocking them over!).

Eventually, the staff called us all over to the gazebo and briefed us. Up until this point, the experience felt a little weird (although cool!) since the staff hadn’t really told us anything or explained the day. Now, though, someone who looked in charge gathered us together and told us about the organization and what we should expect. Basically, he reiterated what I’d read on the website: that Patara not only rescues elephants, but cares for them AFTER rescue. They get the elephants healthy and then promote reproduction and healthy living. I really enjoyed hearing this and felt even better about our day. Their brochure states that you will do 10 things with the elephants, and riding the elephant is only part of it.

Another thing I really liked about this place was they provide a professional photographer, so I didn’t even bring my camera with me. However, I realized that the photographer could only be in so many places, so I used my phone to take some pictures. I really wish I’d brought my camera, though, to have better quality and control over what photos I got. Anyway, Jessica and I agreed that we would not worry about photos (as long as we felt like we got at least a few!), and just enjoy the experience.

After our briefing, we were split into two groups. Luckily, Jessica and I were in the group that did NOT include this French family with two small children. They seemed super nice, but the kids didn’t speak any English and the parents were translating the entire time. Plus, kids just slow things down ;)

Well, we were finally ready to meet our elephants! Before we headed out to find the elephants, we were each given traditional garb – riding pants and a frock type top. Very stylish! We were each assigned to an elephant, and both Jessica and I ended up with a mother and their babies (I had a mother + baby, Jessica had another mother + baby). My elephant’s name was Buantong (it took me about 10 tries to get the pronunciation down). In order to first make friends with the elephant, we were going to feed it. We were each given a basket full of sugar cane pieces and bananas, and instructed us to tell the elephants “BON” to open their mouths and praise them with “DeDe” (good girl or good buy). I walked out to my elephant, which was intimidatingly huge. They obviously are used to the basket of food, because Buantong was very good about opening her mouth when I instructed, but eventually got impatient and started sticking her trunk into my basket and grabbing the food. I started to just put the sugar cane on her trunk, where she held things. Her baby, Aryang (I think), was very greedy and never even waited for me to feed her, but instead just kept grabbing the food right out of the basket. I did praise them, like I was told to. They were so incredible and sweet! I loved getting to intereact with them in this way.

After we went through two baskets, the group reconvened. We were then taught about the four signs of an elephants health: 1) eating and drinking 2) sleeping 3) ears 4) eyes.

      1)    Eating and Drinking – the elephants are basically always eating. They eat a lot of bananas and sugar cane and bamboo. Their food moves through them quickly, so they poop about once an hour. They even showed us what healthy poop looks & SMELLS like! They picked up a piece of dung and broke it apart. It was basically all grass-like fibers, and it smelled super mild, like grass a little bit. Their poop is also very watery; when you squeeze it (yes they squeezed it in front of us), water comes out. A healthy elephant should be eating a lot and drinking a lot with green/yellow fiberous and water poop.

      2)    Sleeping – an elephant should sleep lying down on its side. You can tell if it is sleeping correctly because it will have dirt on its side. An elephant shouldn’t sleep standing up.

      3)    Ears – a healthy and happy elephant will flap its ears a few times per minute. If he is in a mad mood or aggressive, his ears will be out for a long time. When you approach the elephant, you should do so from the side instead of from the front, which is seen as aggressive.

      4)    Eyes – Elephants do not have tear ducts, so their “tears” flow constantly. They should always show some tears below their eyes.

After learning about this, we learned how to brush the dirt off the elephants. The dirt is good for their skin, to protect it from sun and bugs. They will actually throw dirt on themselves. However, sometimes it should be brushed off to help their skin stay healthy. We each got a palm-frond “brush” and were instructed how to brush them off by slapping them with it. It felt a little mean, but I don’t think the elephants could even really feel it. My elephant was particularly dirty, so my trainer took the elephant to a pool.

After watching them play in the water for a while, we gathered back together and learned about the various ways to mount the elephant. We would be riding them bareback, so we had to learn how to get up without steps or anything. Basically you can get up on the elephant’s leg or trunk. The elephants know a command that tells them to hold up their leg, which you can put your foot on and hold their ear and haul yourself up. Alternatively, they will put their head down and you can get up on the head, but then you have to turn around, because you’ll be facing the back of the elephant.

I was pretty intimidated to try and get on my elephant, as she was so big! But, when my turn came, I put on a brave face and stepped up to the elephant. She put her leg up at my trainer’s command, and it took a second to have it steady. I put my right foot on it, grabbed her ear with my right hand, the lone rope around her chest with my left hand, and hauled myself up for all I was worth. I got about halfway up and my trainer had to push my foot up to help me get up the rest of the way.

Finally up, I was up! It felt so HIGH and unsteady! We were supposed to sit far forward on the elephant’s head, not the neck, to be the most comfortable. Our knees were to go notched up behind the elephant’s ears, with our feet back on its neck. It was so high up, I was definitely nervous! There was basically nothing to hold on to, either, as the rope was so far behind me. My elephant started to take off towards a trail, and my trainer was no where to be found. I started to freak out, spotted my trainer, and yelled at him to get over here! I was so annoyed that he was not staying near me. Finally I got him over and we started down the trail, leading the pack. The trail was uneven and had some inclines (lean forward) and declines (lean back). At one point, my trainer actually got up on Buantong with me, but sat pretty far behind me. I was glad he was there at one point when Buantong walked towards a half fallen down bamboo rod which would have clotheslined me, had my trainer not hacked it down as Buantong stopped for a snack.

We had walked about 20 minutes, and were on a pretty steep decline. My trainer kept falling further towards me, and I realized that he was nervously laughing and talking in Thai to another trainer. This continued on for several minutes before he said “You okay” to me, and another trainer said “can he get down?” I said of course (I never wanted him up with me anyway!) and he jumped down. It was definitely kind of awkward, but I know he was super uncomfortable about it.

As we walked through the jungle, it was so surreal. It was absolutely gorgeous and I couldn’t believe I was riding on an elephant! She was impressive, too, as she could follow the path, no matter than terrain or sharp turns. Buantong was a trooper.

We finally got to the end of the trail as it intersected with a road, and Buantong easily stepped over the barrier and we crossed the road. There were some Thai kids on motorbikes that were coming out of the area we were heading towards who stopped to watch us. It was really cool; I was proud to be badass enough to be doing what I was doing! We headed down another path on the other side and some other elephants came into view, and another group of tourists with matching riding attire. I was happy to be with my group, as there were fewer of us and I felt like we were having a more legitimate experience.

Another five minutes and we were at a natural pool. I think in the rainy season, it would be a waterfall, but as we were well into the dry season, it was mostly just a pool. We dismounted (gracefully of course) and waited for the entire group to convene. Next it was time to bathe the elephants and scrub them clean!

The elephants were seriously enjoying the pool, lying in the water and spraying themselves. We got in our bathing suits and were given scrubbing brushes and got to work. The water was cool and felt wonderful (although it wasn’t very clear!). We took some more photos in the water, then got out to have our picnic. We had about an hour to eat, relax by the water and in the tree hut, and rest. We all got to chat together and there were some interesting people in our group – and the most Americans I’d seen in Thailand thus far! Two girls from New York, a mom & daughter from Jersey, and a couple from Canada. The mom was hilarious beucase throughout the day she had been obviously quite nervous of the elephants, but what a trooper!!! She was awesome.

After the break, we re-mounted our elephants and had a short ride to the top of the waterfall area, near the road. We got off and took final pictures and said goodbye to our elephants. I was so sad to leave them, but what an amazing time we’d had! We piled into the van and headed to the main office. We turned in our riding outfits and received our cd’s of professional pictures. We got to see the pictures on an ipad while we waited, and I wasn’t too impressed. I really wish I’d brought my nice camera. But at least I got some pictures with my phone J I’ll be able to see the pictures when I get home and get to a CD drive.

They took us back to the hotel and I couldn’t believe we still had so much of the day left! We rested a bit then headed out for dinner and exploring. We walked back around the wat I’d found the night before so Jess could see it. Then we explored some shops, and finally I decided to get a massage. I opted for a package that included a foot massage (30 minutes), Thai massage (1 hour), and back/shoulder massage with oil (30 minutes). It was divine!

At this point, all of the “big” items for our trip were completed. All we have left is a travel day on Friday and a market day on Saturday before departing for home that night. I can’t believe it’s almost over!! I am bittersweet about leaving – I could totally stay here for months!! But, I really miss Danny. I don’t look forward to going back to work, but I am really ready to get back to my own bed. I am also sad to leave because I don’t know what my next big adventure will be. Danny and I are planning our honeymoon, but that is a very different kind of travel. It will be much more relaxing and focused on US, rather than on adventure. After we get married, things will be different with finances too. So, I am just… sad.

No matter what, though, I will never stop traveling. Of that, I am sure.

Xx,
Chelsea

Chelsea [Cooking] in Pai

Tuesday we were up bright and early to get ready for our full-day cooking class! Little did we know just how long our day would end up being.

We left around 8am in order to make a stop at the laundrette so I could have some clothes washed. I only packed a backpack's worth of stuff for this trip - and that includes my "getting ready" stuff! So, by mid-way through our trip, I definitely needed some things cleaned. We dropped off my 1.5 kg bag of dirty clothes and paid the 45TBH to have it washed and sun-dried (it was 15TBH more to have it dried in the machine).

Just down the street we got to BeBe Spice, the restaurant owned by Thom. She would be our cooking instructor for the day. We were pretty early, so we hung out and met the other students in the class. They were:

Anton & Marielle - a couple who have been traveling together 16 months throughout the Pacific and SE Asia. They are from Sweden and I loved them.

Michele - an older woman from Vancouver. Definitely wanted to flaunt her knowledge, but also eager to learn. "That person" in the class. Overall very nice but got on my nerves at times.

Sepp & Janele - a couple (?) from Germany. Not sure how long they've been traveling but will go to S.America next.

Thom welcomed the class and we got started by discussing the basic names for ingredients in Thai (gai = chicken, moo = pork, tae hoo = tofu, pla = fish, etc). We talked about curry dishes (the main thing we'd be cooking that day) as well as stir-frys and soups (both of which we would also make, but later in the day and with less prep). Each person got to choose which recipe from the book we would make for each category. I chose Yellow Curry with Chicken, Pad Thai with Shrimp, and Tom Yum Creamy with Chicken.

Once we were organized, we headed to the Thai market. We were all loaded into Thom's car, except Sepp and Janele who had a motorbike. We got to the market and, first things first, had some breakfast. We all got basic Thai fast food. I chose garlic pork on rice, which I regretted as it was pretty bland. Thom taught us about the condiments on the table, and I used some vinegar and chili powder to try to spice up my breakfast. It didn't really work.

Next was shopping for our ingredients. Thom had given each of us a list with 4 or 5 ingredients to buy. However, we got a whole education before being let loose to shop. We learned about all the parts of the pig they eat (spoiler alert: it's all of them). Then we looked at some catfish in a tank (yuck). I guess Thai's really love catfish. We then saw the tilapia, which we got two of, as some of the group were making dishes with fish. Then we learned about the types of rices in Thailand (sticky and Jasmine) and the different varieties of each. While interesting, I was getting seriously bored by this time.

We moved onto the produce/herb section, where Thom taught us about every single type of greenery they eat. Well, maybe not all of them, but it felt like it! Coriander, Chinese Celery, Chinese Kale, Holy Basil, Sweet Basil, etc etc... FINALLY, after what felt like hours (which is accurate, since it was a couple hours), we were told to go find out ingredients. My ingredients were coriander, carrot, limes, and bell peppers.  I got everything together with ease, and helped Jessica look for Chinese Celery since we had promptly forgotten all of Thom's careful descriptions of each.

Finally, we headed back to the shop with our goodies! I had grabbed a quick Thai Tea while waiting for the others to finish their shopping, so I was somewhat revived. We then had to clean and wash all the vegetables and herbs, cut the fruits, and prep the spices. We had a short break where we got to eat the fruit (some of it at least) and catch our breath. We then divided up the ingredients to each have what we needed for our first dish: curry!

First things first - we needed to make our curry paste. Since I was making yellow curry, I had to start with a red-curry base. I would turn it yellow when it was time for cooking it. First we had to chop everything, which took quite some time. Then we had to use a mortar and pestle and pound everything together to make the paste. This was pretty intensive and took some time. However, the result was so fragrant and delicious!

We were then ready to start the curry itself. Thom's method was to go through the steps of the recipe together as a group, then demonstrate once for us, then send us on our way. It was actually pretty good except that it was a lot to remember and she challenged us to cook with our senses, rather than from the recipe book.

We went through the recipe and adjusted flavors and amounts based on what we thought would be best. It was really fun to make it exactly how I wanted (ie: I got to choose the vegetables and spice level, etc). By the time we finished the cooking, we were ready for our late lunch feast - it was 4:15!! We all tasted each others dishes, as we all made something slightly different. I personally thought mine was the best, but I am a little biased. The others - red, green, panang, and massaman - were all wonderful as well! I'm really going to be spoiled on my curry now. But, I can make it at home! I don't think I'll make the paste from scratch - it took forever and the ingredients would be very expensive back home.

We then had a short break from 4:30 to 6:00. It was much needed by that time!! Jess and I went in search of a massage. We got a back-shoulder-head massage for 1 hour for 200TBH - about $6! Score!! It was seriously so relaxing, when we got up to head back to class, we both considered skipping the rest in favor of a nap. However, we persevered! Well, persevered might be too strong a word... I slogged through the evening.

Our last two dishes would be cooked in tandem, so it involved a lot of prep and watching of demonstrations, and even more trying to remember what to do. Nothing too exciting happened, minus the incredible pressure once the burner was on. Go-go-go!! Between everything, we didn't finish cooking until 10pm. I was absolutely exhausted. Thankfully, our course included alcoholic drinks at our final feast, and I took advantage. Once I had some wine in me, I was feeling MUCH better.

We sat around the table together and talked for a while. Michele's boyfriend, Tommy, joined us, as well as some people Thom had met a few days before, and two random French girls who spoke very little English. It was certainly an eclectic bunch! It's funny because this was probably the longest day we've had in Thailand, yet I feel like I have the least amount to say on it.

Overall, the cooking course was good and I enjoyed it, but it was so long and there were definitely parts that I thought we could have cut in half (or even eliminated). But, it was an experience and I'm glad we did it! Once we got back to the hotel around midnight - the latest we've stayed out so far - we both promptly passed out. The next day we had the option to go back to BeBe Spice to practice our skills, but we agreed that we'd had enough cooking for a while and would just pay for lunch somewhere instead.

And, that concludes my day of cooking. Again, nothing too crazy happened but it was a great, if long, experience! And now I can go home and cook (some) of the delicious food I've been enjoying on this trip!

Xx,
Chelsea

Chelsea in Pai

Since we had to reschedule our days in Pai due to the cooking class being shifted to Tuesday, our Monday was now free. Sunday night as we browsed the market and ate the most amazing baked goods and street food, we toyed with the idea of doing some kind of tour. Pai has a lot to offer the tourist - there is a cave exploration tour, bamboo rafting, canyons, ziplining, etc. I was so tempted to sign up for one of these, but at the same time, we'd been so scheduled thus far that I was definitely looking forward to the idea of sleeping in!

So, Monday morning, we decided to take it easy, as see where the day led us. Yes, there were loads of adventures to go on, but we were also on vacation and part of vacation is just relaxing. We got up and headed to breakfast at a nearby cafe that had WiFi, and I regaled you all with our Sunday adventures. Blog written, we decided to just explore Pai!

We walked around the town, which we decided was much different at night than during the day. The previous night, it was bustling with street vendors set up along the two or three major roads. Today, it was so much more chill! We poked around some different shops, and I am so pleased to have gotten some beautiful, handmade jewelry. We then continued walking to a part of the town we hadn't seen yet: the riverside.

We got to a bamboo bridge connecting each side of the small river that runs through the side of Pai. This was probably the most ramshackle bridge I've ever seen - there were long bamboo rods on the bottom, with flattened bamboo woven like straw on top. You could see through to the rods below in spots where the flattened bamboo had broken, and it was so rickety that having any other person on the bridge at the same time made my heart skip a beat. Thankfully it wasn't too high and the river not too intimidating that it made me too afraid. Plus, there were loads of other people walking across. One girl even rolled her suitcase across (I wanted to smack her).

The nearer side of the river was lined with a restaurant and bar; the other side had cottages/bungalows. We walked across and took some photos and explored the beautiful riverside. The mountains in the background were incredibly picturesque. However, the sun overhead was beating down and we got HOT. After hanging out on the swing sets along the river and taking some pictures, we decided to see about some cold beer and lunch!

As we walked back in the direction of our hotel, we took a side street we had not been down yet. Our tour guide back in Bangkok had mentioned that today (Monday) was a holiday in Thailand. I hadn't really factored that into our plans, but we could definitely tell as so many places, particularly restaurants, were closed. We finally found a place called Dang Thai Food ("Daaaaannnnng! Thai Food!") and walked in the covered porch. When the proprietess saw us come in, she looked around and saw that there were no open tables; she scurried over to a table of two guys who looked like they'd ordered a drink just to use the power outlets and were busy instagramming and.... kicked them out. While we felt bad that she told them they had to leave, I secretly thought it was hilarious. I was also glad, because by then I was hungry!

We sat down at the recently-vacated, four-person table, and as we did, another couple came in. Not one to pass up an opportunity to make a buck, the proprietess pointed to our table and said "You share!" Welp, looks like we were going to make some friends! The couple sat down and we started to chat a bit. Once we ordered food, we started to really talk with them. They were from Canada and had been in Thailand since early January. They were making their way through all of the major areas, from the south and the islands, all the way through to this province. They were currently in progress of doing the Mae Hong Son (that is the name of this province) loop by motorbike. I seriously can't imagine doing this loop; the road from Chiang Mai to Pai was plenty for me!

We talked with them over beers for quite a while, actually, but they needed to get on the road so we eventually said goodbye. Once we left the restaurant (thankfully we weren't kicked out!), we decided to take a mid-afternoon siesta. It was so hot at that time of day! We went back to the room and watched Anna & the King, as we were now interested in a bit of the history of Siam/Thailand. (When we went to Japan, we watched Memoirs of a Geisha, so this is basically a continuation of the tradition.) Around 5:30pm, we decided we'd cooled off enough to enjoy going back out.

Since the lighting was now WAY better, we went back to the riverside and took some photos. We had a fun little photo shoot then decided to walk around the Walking Street market again. As it was a holiday, the market was a bit smaller than Sunday, but still plenty of vendors. We moseyed through and eventually found a restaurant that looked good for dinner. We keep marveling how we are spending the most on our breakfast, a middle amount on lunch, and then very little on dinner. Completely the opposite than I had expected.

I suppose that, as a national holiday, restaurants and shops were not supposed to sell alcohol. Obviously the restaurant from lunch had, and our waitress at dinner told us to be sneaky. Okay, she didn't SAY "be sneaky" but she mimed for us to hide the bottle under the table and winked. Ergo... "be sneaky".

As we were enjoying our dinner (& sneaky beer), another caucasian couple sat down near us. Jessica was facing them, and said they kept looking back at us (they weren't even facing us). I laughed, but soon I noticed it too. It was kind of weird, how much they kept looking at us! As we were finishing dinner, we heard some drums and gongs and cheering. I got up and looked out the front of the restaurant (almost all the restaurants have open fronts) and saw a small parade coming down the road. I can only guess it had to do with the holiday, because it was there and then it was gone and that was that.

After dinner, we walked around some more and looked for our baker-vendor from the night before. I can't get over the chocolate-chip scone I had (amaaaazing) and wanted another. But, sadly, they must be really religious because they weren't there. Around this time, the helpful guy from the guesthouse, the one who wanted to return our money, texted me and we arranged to meet at the hotel. By arranged, I mean the conversation went like this: Him: "Where are you" Me: "Come to new hotel" Him: "Okay see you". He ended up refunding us for two nights minus the commission the booking agent collects (15%). Hey, its more than we expected to get back!

After this, we walked back into the hub of things to look for a bar that the Canadians had recommended to us earlier at lunch called the Yellow Sun. We walked up and down the street several times without seeing it, before we realized it was closed for the holiday! Oh well, we were tired and headed back to the hotel to call it a night. Next day was an early start for cooking class, so we got some rest.

Next time, MasterChef Thailand!

Xx,
Chelsea

Chelsea in Bangkok (Part I)

Success! I've arrived safely in Thailand!! I landed around 9:30pm local time yesterday, Thursday February 18. But let me back up a bit...

My flight to Seoul without issue. What a long haul! I was really thankful to have a little extra room, since the seat next to me was technically empty (despite the guy on the other side hogging it). I got a 2 hour nap, a maybe a few more zzz's near the end. When we landed in Seoul, it hit me that I still had another 8 hours till I would be able to sleep. Insane! I'd already been traveling for 15 hours or so. (One of the Korean flight attendants told me that route, IAH to ICN, is the longest flight in Korean Air's schedule; phew!!!) I only had an hour layover, and I wasn't sure if the flight to Bangkok would serve food, so I grabbed some ramen before I got to the gate. As I was standing at the counter, eating my ramen, I checked my email.

One of the emails I got was from Booking.com, confirming a hotel stay... in Koh Lanta. We are not going to Koh Lanta. Uh-oh! One big red flag that this was a huge mistake was that it was from Booking.com. I used to use this site before I discovered the amazing rewards program at Hotels.com. I knew that all our hotels were booked through Hotels.com for this stay in order to collect the nights. So this was a big "uh-oh!" I finally realized that this was a reservation that I made around 7 months ago, when we were thinking about going to the Thai islands. I had made the reservation back then since it was free cancelation and they had limited availability. I guess I had forgotten to cancel it when we decided not to go to the island. I immediately emailed them back and asked to cancel (that day was the last day to cancel without penalty). They told me I had to call booking.com, so I did. Booking.com told me I had to talk to the hotel, but when I told them I had and that the hotel referred me to them, they were super helpful and offered to contact the hotel on my behalf to confirm that they won't charge my card. Yay!

I hung up with them (yay for Skype calls on wifi!) and immediately after that, boarding for my flight began. I had another aisle seat, but this time I had a Korean guy right next to me. I was one of the first to board my flight and watched everyone stream onto the plane and find their seats. I noticed that so many of the passengers were male; I think it was about 80% male. I couldn't help think of a statistic that I learned when I lived in Korea: that the single biggest demographic of sex tourists in SE Asia were Korean men. I couldn't look at them without disgust. I realized that I was being super judgmental, so I tried to clear my mind. THEN, homie next to me started hacking. up. a lung. And then the guy across the aisle starting having a coughing fit too. I seriously put my entire face in my sweater and tried to breathe as shallow as possible. Yay for 6 more hours of this!

Thankfully, I was able to get some sleep on the plane. I slept about 3 hours in total, which was really nice. I knew I'd be going to sleep after I got to Bangkok, but I couldn't help it! Plus it made the flight go by faster. We landed and since I was near the front (of economy), I got out quickly. Also, self-five for taking a backpack; I was able to pass nearly everyone in my flight on the way to immigration. I got through within about 5 minutes, and after a quick stop at the loo, headed out to the arrivals area. 

Jessica, whom I think of as my travel-protege, found a car pick-up service for transfer from the airport to the hotel for about $19. A taxi would have been about $13-15, so it was a bit more expensive. However, I was so glad that I got it! I found the sign with my name on it and a very friendly and smiling young woman, probably 23 or so, greeted me with a traditional Thai wai. She asked if I needed the restroom, but I said that I actually wanted to get a SIM card for my phone. She suggested True mobile, and the counter was very close. I went over and in about 5 minutes I was all set up with a Thai SIM and 2.5 GB of data (for around $10). Score!

The girl led me out to a waiting car and put me in. The drive confirmed my destination (Siam@Siam) and we were off. A that point, I texted with Danny for a few minutes then just completely zoned out and watched the buildings pass by. We got to the hotel in about 30 minutes and I got to the room easily. Jessica was there, albeit half asleep, and we caught up for a few minutes before both going to bed. We were in a hostel, but in a private room with a en-suite bathroom, and I was so happy we had spent more to get the privacy!

I woke up a few minutes before my alarm was set to go off at 6am. I got up after checking my email and started to get ready for Day 1 in Bangkok! We had a personal, private tour guide booked to meet us at the hotel lobby at 8am, as today would be our main day of "sightseeing". 

LouLou, our guide from Tours with Tong, met us promptly at 8am and took us outside to a table to discuss our itinerary. She was a bit difficult to understand at first, but as soon as I got used to the accent, it was fine. She was very quick - both in speaking and in walking. We set out for our first destination: Wat Traimit in Chinatown. We took a bus across from the hotel and got there in about 20 minutes. LouLou was very good at explaining the history of the Wat, even though I don't remember much. This wat's name means 3 friends (I think), and she explained that it was originally build by 3 Chinese businessmen, but has now been upgraded to a royal Wat. 

Jessica and I put on our sarong wraps around our legs and we went into the Wat. It was interesting, especially because LouLou explained much of the symbolism and Buddhist meanings for each detail. She also told us some of the history of Thailand (or, Siam at the time). We quickly noticed that LouLou was very devout in her religion, and a staunch rule-follower. She barked at several clueless tourists who were not wearing the appropriate attire for the shrine, and Jessica and I giggled as we watched.

After that, we took a bus to the Flower Market. I had expected something bigger, but it was very interesting. LouLou explained the different flower color meanings, the way the flowers were arranged and their uses, and made sure we knew not to smell the flowers, as it would render the bloom useless for what it was intended: a religious offering.

After the Flower Market, Jessica and I begged to stop for a bite to eat, as we hadn’t eaten any breakfast. LouLou found a street cart making noodle soup and ordered some for each of us. It was absolutely DELICIOUS. I felt much revived after a meal (up to that point, I’d only had a bottle of water since getting into the country 12 hours before). We then walked a few blocks to another temple: Wat Pho. This complex was 20 acres of stuppas and gold Buddhas abounding. LouLou was again reliable with her anecdotes about stupid foreigners who lean on and touch the Buddha statues, the meanings behind the different hand positions of the Buddhas, and the colors associated to the different stupas, which corresponded to colors for the days of the week. In fact, she did a sort of Buddhist “reading” for us – apparently, I am was born in the Thai year of the Snake (I am a Horse in China), and as I was born on a Wednesday, my lucky color is green, I should wear yellow, and my lucky day is Monday. She also told me Danny’s information – he is a Dragon and his lucky day is Wednesday. She said that Snake and Dragon are a great match because they are the same species, and that we are each other’s lucky days. Fancy that!

We wandered around the complex a bit more taking photos and dodging tourists. Our next stop, LouLou warned, was the Grand Palace and there are many many more tourists there. It was also 3 times the size of Wat Pho, which I already felt was big! We left Wat Pho and took yet another bus (each bus being around 12TBH or ~$0.40) to the entrance to the Grand Palace. Jessica and I decided not to pay the 500TBH to go into the main complex, but instead took a photo in front of the building. We saved our $15 and headed to get lunch. We went to a restaurant near the temple, and had a nice (air conditioned) breather. I ordered spicy chicken soup and Jess had Pad Thai. They were both delicious!! I also had a Thai Tea, which was fantastic. I hadn’t had one since I worked at Baybrook in 2011 or 2012. Yum!!

After lunch, we walked over to the river pier. I couldn’t believe how choppy the water was! The pier was going up and down so much I was surprised not to see anyone lose their lunch. We waited and watched all of the tourists pay 1000TBH ($30) for the river tour, then caught our public boat for 13TBH (less than $1). Woohoo! We had a nice (albeit crowded) little cruise down river for about 20 minutes. We learned our lesson in keeping our mouths shut while the boat is flying through the water. The brown river tastes pretty terrible!!

When we disembarked, we decided to go to a massage place LouLou recommended to relax and escape the chaos of the tourist sites. We bid LouLou adieu, and each got a body scrub and aromatherapy massage for 2 hours. It was about $50, but WELL WORTH IT!! It was one of the most relaxing massages I’ve had!

It was funny because we shared the room, which was otherwise private. Between the scrub and the massage, we each had to rinse off in the shower in the room. The ladies giving us the scrub/massages gave us these thin mesh panties to wear, so between all that, there were no secrets between any of us!! Jessica commented that I am one of the people who has seen her naked most; between our jimjilbang experience in Korea and now this!

Well, we thoroughly enjoyed our spa day and left feeling so refreshed! We walked to the SkyTrain to head back to the hotel. It was extremely easy to find and to navigate (thank goodness!) and we got back to the hotel without issue. Once we got to our room, we had a snack and decided to take a rest before heading out for dinner. I started looking through photos from the day, and Jess decided to take a cat-nap…

Fast-forward 4 hours and we are both waking up exhausted from serious REM-powered naps and wondering where our night went. We were both so tired and sore; walking five miles plus an intense massage is a cocktail for exhaustion. Our bodies were aching and we were hobbling rather than walking.

After I woke up a bit, I realized that I was quite hungry, and I always get nauseated when taking Advil on an empty stomach. As I was in serious need of Advil, so I resolved to head out to the main street near our hotel to find a quick bite. Most of the street food vendors we’d seen earlier that day had gone home, so I popped into the 7-Eleven and got a ham and cheese sandwich, which they heated up for me in an actual sandwich maker (instead of a microwave). It was really good!

My main observation from the day is how ridiculously cheap everything seems. Water – 10TBH or around $0.30, and a meal can be almost just as cheap! My sandwich tonight was 27TBH, less than $1. I am really excited because I am trying to keep an accurate budget of our total expenditures as well as breaking it down daily. I had an estimated budget, and its weirdly fun to look at it as I reconcile it.

I am really looking forward to tomorrow, as Jess and I will have time to go at our own pace (LouLou was a speed demon), take photos as many times as we want, and get off the beaten path. But for now, I think it’s time for bed.

Xx,

Chelsea