Bathing Beasts at Elephant Nature Park

The crew and I returned to Pai for a couple leisurely days after our time in Tham Lod Village. We found a private pool to swim in, met friends new and old, and said our goodbyes. I was off to Chiang Mai to see the elephants.

Everyone who's ever visited Elephant Nature Park (ENP) says that you just have to go there. After hearing this from four trustworthy individuals (two of which happen to be best friends of mine back home, Nathan and Sandy) I was convinced. I thought twice about the cost - $80 is steep for a day trip in Thailand - but it included transportation and an all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet. Everyone was right. I just had to go.

ENP is a sanctuary for abused, retired, and elderly elephants. The lady in charge, Lek, has been saving elephants for years and owns a big piece of land where the beasts can roam freely. I deliberately chose to visit a sanctuary rather than your typical ride-the-elephants tour because of how the animals are treated.

Lek believes in educating her ecotourists, not just entertaining them. We watched a video on the van ride from Chiang Mai, and another later in the afternoon. Images of elephants in chains, posing with tourists on the streets of Bangkok, terrified. To make these wild animals tame they must be "broken", which is every bit as brutal as it sounds. I won't get into details here. If you're interested in learning more, one of my former coworkers wrote an excellent 2-part blog post on the matter: How to Break an Elephant (thanks Heather). 

Because riding elephants improperly can injure them, rides are not offered at ENP. There are no chains or restraints. Just a big open chunk of land for some big, gentle beasties.

We began by meeting our guide, Cherry. She introduced us to some of the elephants we'd seen in the video and advised us on how to approach them. Mostly common sense stuff like watch your toes and don't touch sensitive areas. Cherry guided us to a feeding area with a big tub of fruit and turned us loose. I approached the gentle giant cautiously at first, holding a quarter of a watermelon in my right hand. I then placed the fruit on the inside of her trunk, gave the outer-trunk a good pet, and watched as she raised the melon to her mouth and devoured it. Awesome.

Elephants eat 300 - 600 pounds of “jungle fodder” every day. Some of the older animals at ENP have trouble consuming rinds, so the sanctuary employs watermelon peelers. It takes a huge staff to run the place, plus the work of volunteers. It didn't take long to see where my money was going. It probably costs at least $80 to feed a single elephant for the day, not to mention operating costs and the expense of acquiring elephants.

My tour group was a diverse bunch. We had some Canadians, another guy from Seattle, a woman and her niece from Chile, and more. At one point Cherry asked our group if anyone knew the Thai word for "elephant". I simultaneously answered "Chang!" with one of the Canadian girls. Our group laughed. Chang's not a good beer. But there are elephants on label, and I'd learned the meaning at a bar in Chiang Mai. You never know when a little beer trivia might come in handy!

Next up: bath time. Elephants like to roll around in the mud to cool off, and its equally important that they have water access to bathe. Cherry led us down to the river, where a few elephants were waiting for us to shower them with buckets of water. We set about our task gleefully, soaking each other in the process.

Next time you're in Thailand, visit Elephant Nature Park. You just have to.

The Farmer in the Dell

Leaving Tham Lod, we were distracted by a sign. A simple sign reading "temple" with an arrow pointing to the right. Let's check it out, we thought, maybe watch the sunset from a majestic mountaintop wat. Sergio, Karina, Rosie, and I walked down the dirt road awhile in search of this imagined paradise. Meandering through dips, curves, and forks in the road we crossed a dam and discovered a gazebo in the middle of nowhere. Karina left our mark in black ink on the ceiling. 

We never found the temple. But what we did come across was far more remarkable.

A man approached Karina while the rest of us relaxed in our gazebo. She had crossed back over the dam into a field, determined to find this elusive temple. The man gestured for her to follow him. Karina communicated this to our group by yelling across the river. We followed.

The man led us to a small village across the field, four or five huts arranged loosely between papaya trees. He welcomed us into his hut, a simple, three-wall structure with a wide open entrance and deck. We removed our shoes and sat in a semicircle on the deck, a bowl of bananas between us. He encouraged us to eat, so we ate. The man disappeared into another hut for awhile, leaving us to enjoy our tiny bananas and chat amongst ourselves.

We decided he was a farmer and this was one of those hill tribes we'd all heard about. For many tourists in Thailand, the hill tribes are just another attraction: relatively expensive tours can be arranged in which one goes trekking for several days and visits "authentic" hill tribes. Such tours are a source of controversy in Thailand because of concerns that these people are being exploited. Many of the hill tribe people are Burmese refugees, not Thai citizens. Therefore their rights are limited and it's unlikely that they see much, if any, of the money brought in by tourism. An extreme example of this is the fabricated Karen longneck villages, described by some as "human zoos". Ethical tourism is a vast topic beyond the scope of this blog post, so if you want more info start with CNN's coverage of the issue here: CNN article.

Our farmer friend returned, this time with a woman - who we assumed to be his wife - and some fresh-cut papaya. They also brought out peanut flavored candies (similar in taste to Butterfinger) and some hot tea. We gratefully accepted, wishing we had something to offer in return. We sat around munching for awhile, attempting to communicate in broken Thai-English and watching the sun disappear behind the hills. Suddenly a monk appeared, presumably from the lost temple, and offered a blessing to our gracious hosts. In turn they gifted him a large papaya from a nearby tree. He was gone as swiftly and silently as he'd arrived.

At sundown the farmer man stood up. He went inside his hut and emerged with a large drum, nearly as long as he was tall. He began pounding away on it, playing music for us as the light faded. The woman joined in with a gong; we all stood up and clapped along. Karina and Rosie took turns on the drum while Sergio and I snapped photos. Despite communication barriers, we were reminded that music is a universal language understood by all. 

We thanked our hosts profusely at the end of the night before heading off into the dark jungle. We hadn't anticipated a walk back in the dark and were unprepared with only a couple tiny lights between us. It took some trial and error to find our way through the darkness, past a pack of barking dogs and back to Cave Lodge. We arrived at precisely 8 o'clock, when the kitchen was scheduled to close. We were very hungry. The staff took pity on us. We reminisced about our incredible day over a big tasty meal with beer and kombucha. I passed out not long after, exhausted.

What we shared was a truly authentic hill tribe experience. No tour, no money, no exploitation. The man invited us into his home and gave freely, expecting nothing in return. We gave what we could - laughter and thank-you's. And it was enough.

I recently contacted John Spies, owner of Cave Lodge and long-time resident of the Tham Lod area. He has spent years photographing hill tribes in the region and is considered the local expert on caves. I wanted to know more about our hosts and sent him a couple photos of the farmer.

John told me that the man is "a local Thai Shan from Tham Lod village". The Shan are a Southeast Asian ethnic group, primarily from Burma. So our friend may have been a Burmese refugee - and we may never know. It is interesting to note that we were less than ten miles from the Burmese border during our visit to Tham Lod.

These are the experiences I ventured to Thailand for. Connecting with people the world over; shared experiences as a common language. This is why I travel.

Tham Lod Spelunking

We assembled a crew for the ride. Me, Sergio, Karina, and Rosie. Or me, a guy I met in a hostel in Bangkok, and two girls we met in bars in Chiang Mai and Pai, respectively. 

Our destination was Tham Lod, one of the largest caves in Thailand (1600 meters long). Located approximately 50km northwest of Pai, the ride there was full of ups and downs - along the same steep route containing 762 curves in the opposite direction to Chiang Mai. Four of us with varying levels of motorbike experience scootering along a road with dozens of hairpin turns was quite the experience. We made it in one piece. And yes, we wore our helmets.

Karina had arranged for us to stay at Cave Lodge, a simple guesthouse in an incredible natural setting above the Nam Lang river. Opened in 1986, Cave Lodge is run by an Australian named John who just so happens to be the local cave expert. We didn't have a chance to meet John during our stay, but his book and photos provided lots of insight into the area.

After a dip in the river with our cute dog-friend, Foxy, it was cave time. We walked to the entrance and hired a guide with gas lantern, a bamboo raft, and some fish food for 800 baht total. Quite possibly the best 200 baht I've ever spent.

Photo flash and other artificial light sources are not allowed inside Tham Lod. Visitors are required to hire a guide and cannot enter the cave alone. Why the rules? It's a fragile ecosystem, home to fish, bats, and swifts. The cave is also potentially dangerous. Safety first!

We had only the light of a flame to follow, our trusty guide leading the way. Piling onto our bamboo raft, we rode along the 600m stream that runs through Tham Lod. Hungry fish swam up to the side of the raft, waiting for us to toss handfuls of food into the water. After a short ride we disembarked to explore the cave by foot. 

Our group tromped up steep staircases and through narrow passageways into the belly of the cave. At times our guide would stop, shine the lantern on a rock formation, and describe it with a single word: crocodile, snake, elephant, milk. Her conversational English was limited so we relied on these shared words to communicate. "Milk" was the most surprising - she uttered it while pointing at a breast-shaped rock, giving us all a good laugh.

                                                                See the croc?

After nearly two hours of caving, we boarded the bamboo raft again and were paddled to the exit. There was a great flurry overhead as we approached. Hundreds of swifts flying in circles - a feathery vortex. At dusk thousands of swifts pour into the cave to claim their stalagmite perches for the night. We considered waiting but had a couple hours to kill, so we wandered back toward the entrance of the park. Only we didn't make it that far. Something distracted us, taking us off course into an unforgettable experience - one of the most memorable I had in Thailand. Stay tuned!

Another Slice of Pai

Renting and riding a motorbike in Pai was a breeze. Probably because I had eased into navigating Thai streets by bicycle back in Chiang Mai. I hadn't ridden a scooter in a couple years, since my trip to Turkey. I mentioned this to the attendant at Aya Service where I picked up the bike, hoping for a brief overview. He obliged. 

The guy pointed at the kickstand. "Up."

Then at the left handbrake. "Brake. This one better."

He turned the key, motioning toward the ignition switch. "Start. Go."

And I was off. No mention of the gas tank, which was nearly empty, or how to open the seat compartment to refill it. Nothing about the turn signals or headlights. Minor details. Can't be bothered. It was all simple enough to figure out on my own anyway.

I rode to Pai Canyon in the early afternoon, 8km south of town. Sometimes referred to (rather optimistically) as the Grand Canyon of Thailand, Pai Canyon is an impressive viewpoint and a great place to catch the sunset. I wandered a bit and vowed to come back for sundown, as the midday heat was hovering around 100 degrees. Too hot for this north-westerner. 

Sergio arrived in Pai the next day and I picked him up on my scooter. Riding with two people is challenging for a novice. I swerved as we accelerated, dodging and weaving through pedestrians and other vehicles. No incidents to report, thankfully.

Sergio checked in at Yawning Fields and with nothing else to do, I taught him how to drive the motorbike. He sped off for several minutes, long enough for me to wonder if I'd ever see him or my motorbike again. In the evening we joined a pub crawl, where we met Karina from Eugene, Oregon who just so happens to be a fellow vegetarian. We chatted awhile and parted ways, neglecting to exchange contact information.

The next day we ran into Karina in the street. She was looking for something to do and I suggested sunset at Pai Canyon, so we planned to meet again later. Once 5:30 rolled around Sergio was sleeping soundly in his bungalow, so I went to meet Karina alone. We took the long way there for a change of scenery. As I came round a corner in the lead, I nearly ran into something completely unexpected.

Two Asian elephants were walking down the road, taking up the entire left lane.

I laughed, slowed down, and went around. The elephants' mahouts (trainers) were with them, and it seemed they were just out for a stroll. Like walking the dog. 

Karina brought a bottle of local kombucha and we drank it while watching the sunset. We discussed travel and work and life, and she invited me to join her the next day for an overnight trip to some caves up north. It turned out to be one of the most spontaneous and rewarding decisions I've made so far. The sun disappeared. We rode back in the dark, tired and content, looking forward to our next adventure.

Pai: The long and winding road

My time in Pai was at times exciting, but mostly leisurely and restful. I spent one week there and will do my best to sum it up properly without too much unnecessary detail.

The steep and winding road from Chiang Mai to Pai is said to contain 762 curves. Yes, someone counted. I was picked up from my guesthouse by a songthaew, a covered pickup with passenger seating in the form of two long, parallel benches in the back. Songthaew are the standard mode of transportation for many locals in lieu of buses or taxis. They are cheaper, slower, and less comfortable than most other four-wheeled options. The driver squeezed nine of us inside - me and four couples. With all of our luggage.

I had paid 150 baht for an air-conditioned van to Pai. Imagining riding up 762 rolling curves sandwiched between two smelly hippies in the back of a pickup truck was not my idea of a good time. Fortunately the agony only lasted a short while, as we pulled into a bus station and chaotically transferred to our AC van. Relief.

I'd heard about Pai from friends before coming to Thailand. I had a picture of it in my mind: that hippie oasis in the north where life is easy and the birds sing while you nap in hammocks and eat copious amounts of Thai food. Actually, this illusion is more accurate than one might imagine. But there's more to Pai than that. The people are relaxed and welcoming, it's nearly cheaper than dirt, and once you arrive it's very difficult to leave. Compared to the rest of Thailand it's same same, but different.

After a week in Thailand's two biggest, busiest cities it was nice to slow down and chill out.

I stayed at Yawning Fields, referred by my friends Nathan and Sandy. For 200 baht/night (less than $7) I had a private nature bungalow. Emphasis on the nature part. At any given time I was likely to find geckos, ants, mosquitos, wasps, and other such creepy crawlies in my room. I learned very quickly to use the provided mosquito net. One night I wore a citronella bracelet on my left arm while sleeping. I woke up to a dozen or more bites on my right arm; my left untouched. Forgive the lame pun, but mosquitos suck.

Natural nasties aside, Yawning Fields was pure bliss. Co-owner Ming, a feisty Thai lady, cooks up some mean local and international dishes. Her cooking, combined with their policy of paying nothing till you leave, made it extremely tempting (and dangerous) to stay in Pai for a very long time. I could literally do nothing but eat Ming's food all day without leaving the property or handing over any baht. Too convenient. 

As relaxing as Pai is, I can only sit still for so long without developing cabin fever, wanderlust, or some related disorder. Fortunately, motorbikes are readily available in town for 140 baht per day. I rented a bike for nearly the entire duration of my stay in Pai, exploring every nook and cranny I could get to on two wheels.

Still hungry? Have Another Slice of Pai

Chiang Mai by Bicycle

I decided to rent a bicycle. I wasn't quite ready to try a motorbike in Chiang Mai traffic. Even a pedal bike was intimidating at first: getting out of the old city is a nightmare. Chiang Mai's old city is a walled-in square mile, full of guesthouses, restaurants, and temples. Portions of the old wall, built in 1800, are still standing and the entire square is surrounded by a moat. Yes, just like a castle. But being inside the walls sometimes feels like being trapped in a box. Must. Get. Out!

Getting outside the box is tricky on a bicycle. It involves crossing two busy one-way lanes of traffic on roads where rules either do not exist or are simply not followed. I had to psyche myself up a bit before plunging in, sweating bullets in the heat and actually pulling over once out of exasperation. 

I can do this. I can ride a bike in Chiang Mai. I've jumped out of a plane. I've hitchhiked across western Turkey. I've worked retail. This is not that hard.

Sometimes a little self-assurance is all it takes. I was off into the traffic, white-knuckling it the whole way as motorbikes and cars sped past me. I had a rough idea of my destination: west, towards the university and a forest temple I'd read about. Along the way I stopped to get my bearings and ended up at a large temple complex. Curious, I rode around for a photo and found a monk, dressed in an orange robe and smoking a cigarette. He asked me where I was from.

"USA," I replied.

"Ah, USA. Smoke?" He said and offered me the cigarette. 

This gesture was perplexing for a couple reasons. First, I was being offered a cigarette by a monk. This doesn't happen every day, at least in my experience. Second, there was the assumption that as an American, surely I was a smoker. Or that's how it came across at the time. In retrospect he was probably just being nice and didn't have any preconceived notions whatsoever about the smoking habits of American citizens. 

I declined, of course, and we attempted to converse but had very few common words between us. He finished his cigarette and walked off towards the temple, leaving a storm in his wake.

                                  

I wasn't expecting a storm. The forecast said cloudy and hot with a chance of thunder in the evening, but it was midday. A fierce wind kicked up, blowing hot, dry dust up from the street and into my face. Locals took shelter in their homes, holding a bandana or shirt over their noses and mouths. I had only my bicycle. Better find shelter fast.

Squinting into the dust, I pedaled slowly around to the temple's entrance. There, another orange-clad monk wielding an enormous digital SLR camera was taking photos of the havoc and debris. I smiled, pondering my own ignorance of modern Buddhist practice in Thailand. Monks smoke and own smartphones and cameras. They're human. 

I found shelter at an overpriced coffee shop with wifi, AC, and a toilet. Perfect. I Skyped with my sister and waited for the storm to pass. By this time it was raining quite heavily, a tropical thunderstorm out of nowhere. I wasn't about to ride in it. 

Back on the road an hour later, I headed straight for Wat U-Mong, a forest temple. Ever since playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as a kid, I've secretly hoped to visit a real-life forest temple. U-Mong did not disappoint.

                               

I chained my ride to a tree and set off to the temple on foot, removing my flip-flops before entering. The temple is comprised of a network of brick-lined tunnels said to be built around 1380. Ancient. Above these tunnels a large, impressive stupa presides over the complex. I explored the grounds and ended up at a lake surrounded by hundreds of hungry pigeons. 

On the way back I purchased an ice-cold water bottle at 7-11. I placed it in the basket above my front wheel, thinking it was better off there than weighing down my backpack. Wrong. Speeding down the highway on my bicycle with newly gained confidence, I hit a bump in the road and the bottle flew out into traffic. Oops. I'm sure someone hit the bottle and it exploded, but I was moving too quickly to turn back for a look. I had only taken a couple sips and was waterless once again. Major bummer.

Water woes aside, I was having a great time. I stopped by Chiang Mai University for some more water and a few selfies, then pedaled back into the old town.

For dinner I met a Couchsurfing acquaintance, Laury. She'd heard of this great vegetarian restaurant called Cooking Love and recommended we go there without any knowledge of my self-imposed dietary restrictions. Perfect!

Cooking Love's tofu fried rice was among the best meals I've had in Thailand. I highly recommend the place. After dinner we went to an Irish pub for a beer. I was disappointed to see that Guiness cost twice as much as domestic brews, but wasn't at all surprised. I begrudgingly ordered a Chang, sat down, had a beer and felt sorry for myself (not really).

Laury and I met a French girl at the bar, Rosianne. We got to chatting about plans in Thailand and the girls decided to meet up the next day for a tour. I was leaving for Pai the next day and couldn't join them, but agreed to meet Rosianne in Pai later that week. Little did I know that several days later I'd be cruising up the highway on motorbikes with Rosianne, Sergio, and another character you'll soon meet. This is the backpacker life, where strangers become instant friends. This is Thailand. 

Chiang Mai Markets + Munchies

Day two in Chiang Mai was a busy one. We checked out a local market, Wararos, where goods are a fraction of the cost compared to more touristy markets. I ate mango sticky rice for the first time and fell in love. Now I eat it every few days for breakfast or dessert. Such a simple pleasure: sticky rice topped with fresh-cut mango, with coconut milk poured over the top. Sometimes they add little crunchy things too. All for 40 baht. Heavenly.

                             

The real highlight of the day, though, was my first Thai massage.

...

Later Sergio and I perused the Sunday evening walking street market. It's basically a long street with shoulder-to-shoulder tourists flashing money and local merchants eating it up. Fun to see once, but I tired of it after all of five minutes. I guess I've been in Thailand long enough that the tourist markets annoy me more than they impress. I much preferred Wararos, the local market we'd visited earlier in the day.

Sergio departed for Chiang Rai the next day, leaving me solo yet again. It's always bittersweet to say goodbyes, not knowing when (or if) you'll see the person again. It turns out that I would see Sergio again later in my travels, and a bit sooner than expected...

Some more photos from Chiang Mai:

Chiang Mai Thai Massage

I'd read about a place called the Chiang Mai Women's Prison Massage Center. It is exactly what it sounds like: you can get a massage from a prisoner. My guidebook assured me that these massages are "performed by inmates as part of their rehabilitation training" and that "the money earned from these treatments goes directly to the prisoners for use after their release."

So it's not as bad as it sounds. Actually, it's for a good cause. I was all for it.

Sergio and I went together and were turned away because the place was full for the day. No worries though, they have another building just around the corner where you can get a massage from an ex-prisoner. Sign me up! We walked around the corner and down the street to the Women's Massage Foundation and I handed over 180 baht ($6) for an hour-long traditional Thai massage. Literally one-tenth of the cost of a massage in the states. Insane.

The masseuse washed my increasingly disgusting backpacker feet in a little basin outside, then led me in to change. The place was busy, with tons of ex-prisoner women running around and chattering in Thai. I put my brown, loose-fitting top and bottoms on and away we went into the massage room. It was dark and cool inside, with multiple fans blowing to keep the temperature down. The room was large, with 10 or 12 low beds spread out. The entire room smelled of peppermint oil. 

"Ok mista, lie down now please!" 

Yes, ma'am.

I laid down on my back and she started working on my feet, rubbing and pulling each toe till it popped. Above the sound of my toes popping I noticed what sounded like traditional Thai music playing in the background. It could have been Chinese or Cambodian for all I know, but definitely Asian.

She worked up my legs. Calves, thighs, inner thigh...cool. This place has a good reputation. I trust my guidebook. No happy endings beyond feeling more limber and relaxed.

It was rougher than I'd anticipated. In a good way, though. I winced a few times and took deep breaths, releasing the tension from my body.

"Ok mista, turn ova please mista."

She massaged my back, rubbing and occasionally whacking. It made a satisfying smacking sound and didn't hurt at all. 

Laying on my stomach, hands at my side, she grabbed them and pulled me up into an arched position. I felt like a breaching whale. Or maybe a mermaid. She lowered me and repeated twice more. Great way to stretch out the back!

Finally, she asked me to sit up cross-legged on the bed and clasp my fingers around the back of my neck. She got behind me on the bed and asked me to lay back onto her. Alrighty then. I laid back, not sure where this was going. She pulled me back into a crab-walk position with my feet in the bed, my hands behind my neck, and the rest of my wight supported by her tiny frame. 

"Relax, mista, relax."

I had involuntarily tensed up and needed the reminder. I was at her mercy now. I imagined myself in a wrestling match with this little Thai ex-con, and she was winning. 

She twisted me like a pretzel. I really don't know how else to describe it.

Afterwards we were both sweating profusely and I persuaded her to a pose for a photo. You're welcome!

Chiang Mai: Temples

The morning after arriving in Chiang Mai at 1am, I explained our situation to the host and she laughed it off. Our room was spacious and had a nice private shower, towels, and even toilet paper. These are simple luxuries, easily taken for granted at home. Not so much in Thailand. Many of the cheaper hostels have shared bathrooms and a bring-your-own policy on anything you use to dry, absorb, or wipe. 

Our first order of business was exploring Chiang Mai's temples. A university town, and the second largest city in Thailand, Chiang Mai is young and thriving. And there are lots of wats (I may be borrowing this phrase, but it's too good not to use). We walked around and snapped photos of half a dozen or so, marveling at the giant Buddhas inside until we got templed-out. 

In the afternoon Sergio decided it was time for a beer, so we stopped in at the nearest watering hole. Chatting away the hours with our friendly bartender, Goi, we learned some Thai words and shared some Spanish. I also learned that Sergio trained as a knife fighter. This hadn't come up in the few days we'd been traveling together, but it certainly explains why he sleeps with a knife. He even showed us a YouTube video as proof. Huh, I thought. I'm traveling with a Mexican knife fighter. This could get interesting. 

The knife is quite practical, really. I borrowed it one day to skin and slice a fresh mango. I've considered getting one myself.

After leaving Goi's bar we stopped by our hostel for a quick nap. It was 8pm and we intended to get up around 10 for more exploring. We didn't wake up till the next morning.

Some more photos from Chiang Mai:

Bangkok to Chiang Mai

Bangkok day 3 was more leisurely. I was on my own. I decided to walk to Wat Arun (The Temple of Dawn) around dusk to catch the sunset. From my guesthouse the walk was 45 minutes or so down busy streets and across chaotic intersections. Fortunately there are pedestrian overpasses that allow you to get above the traffic and walk right over it.

Wat Arun was impressive when I arrived before sundown, and infinitely moreso at nightfall. Illuminated in the evening, the temple glows golden for all of Bangkok to see. I did not enter because visitor hours end at 6pm, but rather sat outside waiting for the tourists to disperse and the light to fade. It was incredible to behold the transformation. To my back, the Chao Phraya river's choppy waters tossed with ferries and long-tail tourist boats easing slowly by, twinkling with the flash of their cameras like a hundred shooting stars. In front of me, the temple shone brighter by the minute. It was so incredible that I broke a personal rule and took a selfie. I've been taking them ever since.

I walked back, briefly considering a taxi but preferring instead to walk. Walking is free and I have all the time in the world. You see more on foot anyway. I walked by a boxing ring beneath the freeway where kids were learning to fight. Beneath the freeway! Their instructor was shouting above the constant noise of cars overhead. What a different way of life.

Returning to the guesthouse, I met with my roommate Sergio. We went out for dinner and hatched a plan to travel to Chiang Mai together the next day. By bus, for 9.5 hours. Or so we thought.

The bus ride from Bangkok to Chiang Mai took no less than 12 hours. I insisted on a day bus since I can't sleep in anything but a dark room with a comfortable bed and little noise. I know, right? Sucks to be me sometimes. The 12 hours were broken up by  countless stops to pick up more passengers, and three stops in which we were allowed to get out, use a toilet, grab a snack and stretch our legs. We arrived in Chiang Mai after midnight, got a Tuk Tuk to our hostel and checked in around 1am. The host was not pleased. Good thing I booked a place with 24 hour reception just in case!

Tuk Tuk Touring Thailand

My second day in Bangkok started early, at 5am. My roommate Anna had a flight to catch and woke me with her shuffling and packing. Kenny, Lily and I were joining a Tuk Tuk tour for the first half of the day and had to be there early anyway, so no big deal. Staying in shared dorms doesn't allow for much shut-eye, but it's worth it to meet other travelers and save some money. A bed at Joy's guesthouse is only 300 baht, or less than $10 per night.

Getting to our tour meeting point proved more difficult than anticipated. We allowed half an hour to get to Viengtai Hotel, our meeting point, from my hostel.Which should have been plenty of time. However. Very few Thai taxi drivers speak or read English outside of touristy areas. We hailed three or four and they all replied, "I don't know" or something equally unhelpful in Thai. Finally a nice Thai gentleman walked up, looked at my map, and explained our destination to a Tuk Tuk driver. We hopped in and were off into the busy streets of Bangkok.

Heat. Noise. No time to lose. We were already agitated - not a good way to start the day. We arrived 15 minutes late, literally running up to the steps of the hotel. A Thai man observed us from across the street, amused. Damn Americans.

There were two others in our group: a man from California and a woman from Manchester. Our English-speaking Thai guide was of course very knowledgable and helpful. We split off into groups of two in three Tuk Tuks; I sat with our guide in order to ask as many questions as possible. Zipping through Bangkok traffic, I asked her about the tour, the company she works for (Intrepid's Urban Adventures), life in Thailand, where she goes for vacation, and if she'd ever tried fried scorpion. "No," she said, "scorpion is for tourists only!"

Our first significant stop was Wat Pho, the temple home of an enormous reclining Buddha. Like seriously huge. This is the largest reclining Buddha in all the land, measuring 50 feet high and 150 feet long. Too bad I didn't have a camera...

We visited markets and more temples, getting in and out of our Tuk Tuks several times over the course of four hours. Our final destination was the Golden Mount, a temple on a hill with 360 degree views of Bangkok. Climbing the 318 steps to the top in 95-degree heat was no simple task, but totally worth it. A gentle breeze at the top cooled us down. I found a tiny golden bell, the size of a pea, and tucked it into my pocket - a reminder of the Golden Mount - and hopefully not grounds for detainment when I leave the country.

Disclaimer: I don't usually do tours, but I won a contest and got this one for free. Here be the itinerary for anyone interested: http://www.urbanadventures.com/bangkok_tour_tuk_tuk_experience

With our tour finished it was time to head back to the hostel. This time I came prepared. I flagged a taxi and handed over a piece of paper with Joy's house address on it, conveniently written in Thai. What could possibly go wrong? The driver looked me straight in the eye and said "300 baht". You've gotta be kidding me. My room for the night costs 300 baht. 300 baht is four times the amount a meter ride would have cost. 300 baht, you may remember, is only about $10 and would be a perfectly acceptable amount for a 20-30 minute taxi ride in many international cities. But NOT in Bangkok! I told him no, please turn on the meter. His reply: "Do you want to go or not?" I said no, he sped off, and we flagged another taxi.

It wasn't about the money. It's simply a matter of principle. I don't like getting ripped off!

Speaking of money, I made a stupid mistake that cost me $90. I forgot my camera battery and charger at home. Frantically packing up some last-minute things early in the morning to catch my flight from Seattle, I threw my camera in, got in the car, and left the battery charging. Oops.

So after our tour it was off to the mall for me. Lily and Kenny left Bangkok that afternoon, catching a bus south to the islands. I was excited to be alone for the first time since my arrival. On my own schedule. I caught a skytrain to MBK Center, Bangkok's giant 7-floor shopping mall, and went camera shopping. Three hours later I emerged full of tasty mall food, slightly disoriented, and carrying the cheapest digital camera I could find. Success.

I stumbled out into the night and walked right into a crowd of hundreds. What the heck? It was Wednesday at 7pm. MBK Fight Night! And a perfect opportunity to try out my new photo machine. I hung around for an hour or so, watching several rounds of ringside Thai boxing, shooting photos and video, all for free. Not a bad way to end my second day in Thailand.

Location:Bangkok

24 Hours in Bangkok

I arrived in Bangkok late at night, 11:15pm on St. Patricks Day. I wore a green shirt during the entire flight and was slightly disappointed that ANA did not serve Guinness, but rather a flavorless Asian malt "beer". I hadn't slept in over 24 hours and was tired, not looking forward to customs and immigration. It turned out to be a breeze. A stamp on a piece of paper, folded into my passport and I was on my way to baggage claim.

A strange thing happened when I grabbed my bag and headed for the exit. Someone said my name. I ignored it, thinking there was no possible way that someone at the Bangkok airport could recognize me. They called out again, louder this time, and I turned. I had never seen the guy before. There was a girl with him and she looked familiar, though at first glance I couldn't pinpoint why. "Hey, I'm Liliana from Couchsurfing" she said. "I thought that was you!"

A couple months ago during the planning stage of my trip, I posted on a Couchsurfing forum to find travel buddies in Thailand. Liliana and I exchanged rough itineraries and planned to meet up at some point, but had no idea we'd be at the same baggage claim at the same time in Bangkok. It was purely coincidental and a nice surprise to have two travel buddies lined up before leaving the airport!

Liliana and her friend, Kenny, flew in from LA. They hadn't booked anything for the evening so I invited them to get a room at my home away from home, The Phoenix Hotel. We caught the free shuttle to the hotel and turned in for the night, exhausted.

The next morning we travelled to downtown Bangkok from the airport area, a journey which involves several skytrain transfers and costs about $2.50. I had booked a room at U-baan Guesthouse in Thonburi, a place recommended to me by a coworker who stayed there last year (thanks Ian). The owner, a thirty-something Thai woman named Joy, is one of those people whose name describes them particularly well. An aptronym, if you want to get technical. She's not only friendly and funny, but speaks English and is a great resource on travel in Thailand.

Kenny and Lily tried to book a room at Joy's house but it was full, so she directed them down the street and around the corner. While they were gone I met my roommates: Anna from Wisconsin and Sergio from Mexico. Anna had been in Thailand for four months teaching English and it was her last night in town. We chatted for awhile and she offered some useful travel advice. Sergio had just arrived in Bangkok the day before and was pretty much in the same boat as me: curious, excited, ready to explore.

Eventually my Californians showed up and we took a cab over to Khao San Road, the famous backpacker ghetto, for dinner. It's touristy and overpriced, but a good way to ease into life in Thailand as everything is in English. We wandered down the street and came across a vendor selling fried scorpions on a stick. Kenny is the go-getter in our trio and just had to try it with three Canadian girls while I recorded the scene on his iPhone. He convinced Lily and me that it wasn't bad, so we tried it. Fried scorpion tastes something like burnt bacon, or maybe beef jerky. Not chicken.

We ate Phad Thai for dinner (150 baht, or $5) which was a little overpriced by Thai standards. A plate of delicious food at street carts only costs 35 - 75 baht in most cases (between $1 and $3). SO cheap and SO good.

We also ordered, upon Kenny's insistence, a 4-liter beer tower. Split among three people it was just the right amount of Chang to make our night a little more interesting. Everything was a blur after dinner: walking down Khao San, ordering dessert from a street vendor, drinking fresh cut coconut through a straw, realizing that we didn't have directions back to our hostel in Thai so the taxi driver got lost and went down a narrow ally, busting his left mirror on a wall and trying to charge us an extra 150 baht for it. We paid 100 baht for our should-have-been 65 baht ride and called it even. Welcome to Bangkok!

Note: you may have noticed the lack of photos in this blog post. I didn't have a camera for the first few days of my trip, so no photos. Hence the long, descriptive posts! More on the camera situation later...

Location:Bangkok, Thailand