Thailand

All I have to say is Thailand is amazing! Well, I guess I have to say more because if I didn't, you'd be really disappointed. Get ready for a long post...

We left Hong Kong on Thursday night on Kenya Airways and arrived in Bangkok around midnight. The flight was great with the exception of the man sitting in front of me. He misinterpreted the flight attendant's announcement for "take-off" because he instantly took off his shoes. He kept his socks on, but that didn't prevent the smell from filling the closest 10 rows with a horrendous odor. It was the kind of smell that prevented you from thinking about anything other than how bad it smelled. Anyway, it was a 2-1/2 hour flight and we had free drinks and dinner. Jen and I didn't eat because we didn't expect to have a meal on a flight that short. After knowing this, we did eat on the way home. Way to go Kenya-- you're putting US airlines to shame.

Jen and I, along with the 4 other guys from USC (Phil, Eric, Matt and Kaz), met up with two others (Paul and Valentino, both Austrian) after we landed in Bangkok. After a quick drink on Khao San Road, we met our van and headed to Chiang Mai. Getting a passenger van for 8 people was such a deal! The driver, who we named He Hop (after misinterpreting Phil's Thai), stayed with us for the entire weekend for about $60US per person, including gas. Oh, He Hop... so funny.

After a 9-hour drive, we woke up in Chiang Mai and had lunch at a street-side "restaurant." The food wasn't wonderful, but it wasn't really authentic Thai to begin with. That meal, in fact, was the only time we saw He Hop eat or drink anything. We decided he was a robot. We found a hostel and a tour guide company shortly after that and began our adventure!

We signed up for two tour packages on Friday and Saturday. Friday afternoon we went on a 4-hour ATV tour of the countryside and drove through a small village at the top of a hill. Jen and I shared a 4-wheeler, while the rest of the guys had their own (crazy drivers). The only bad part was we finished the tour covered in dust and dirt because it was so dry. Check out the pictures wearing our lovely helmets and masks.






Jen and Matt on the way back to the hotel. Before this trip, I had no idea how funny Matt could be. He was the reason He Hop was such a big hit.


That night we had the most amazing local Thai food for $7US per person, including drinks, dinner and dessert. Because Phil speaks Thai, he was able to order a table full of family style food. After that, the waitress generously brought a big bowl of ice cream, fruit, cakes and chocolate syrup so we could celebrate Eric's 22nd birthday a few hours early. At dinner we found out some devastating news...

It was election weekend.

Doesn't sound that bad, right? Maybe you're confused because Thailand has a royal family. That's not where I'm going with this. During election weekend, no alcohol can be served from Friday at 6 p.m. Sunday at midnight. This included all alcohol-- bars, restaurants and 7-11's. Luckily, since we were in pretty "touristy" areas (both in Chaing Mai and Bangkok), it wasn't terribly difficult to get ahold of. Phil would sweet talk a bartender (note: when they realize you're Thai, they're instantly in love) or a waitress and we'd usually get what we needed.

We finished that evening at the Night Bazaar, an area with hundreds of street vendors that stay open until midnight. Jen and I bought knockoff LeSportSac book bags which came in really handy for the extra stuff we bought/carried around on our trip. Needless to say, after a long day of traveling, 4-wheeling, eating and shopping, we went to bed pretty exhausted.

The next day we started our second tour-- white water rafting down the Maetang, elephant riding and bamboo rafting. Unfortunately the water was too low for it really to be considered "white water" but there were rapids. We went downriver in 4-person canoe-like rafts. During many parts, it felt like I was tubing down the Frio River after a drought. No matter what you do, you can't help but feel like an overweight American when a rock would get lodged right under your behind. Our guide would have to get out to dislodge us from rocks and bad rapids. Oh well, it was entertaining. My guide found it humorous to splash us and play tricks, giggling along the way. It's like he was a performer-- singing, laughing, making jokes, and swamping our raft. After a while, I played along and it was much more fun.

After lunch in a small village, we went elephant riding. It was so incredible to see them roaming around under the trees. Jen and I rode together and were the first ones to get on. Our "driver" sat on the elephant's head and steered using a small pointed hook somewhat similar to a cattle prod. The funniest parts about riding the elephant were the messiest! We mistakenly bought our elephant a bag of bananas and bamboo to feed along the way. However, since he was well-trained, he wasn't about to take another step until he got ALL of the bananas. He'd fling his trunk backward reaching around until you put it into the end of his trunk. At the same time, we had a small elephant traveling along with us (no passengers, of course), but he wanted food too! His trunk would fly up on my side and a lovely snot/dirt mixture would fly up too. My right pant leg was pretty disgusting by the end of it. After the hike, the elephant-keepers (I guess that's what they're called), took us to the watering hole so the elephants could cool off. If you've ever watched Animal Planet or the Discovery Channel, you know that elephants cool themselves off by drinking water and spraying it all over their bodies. I'm sure you can guess what happened. We all got pretty wet (some worse than others) with dirty elephant snot snout water. Of course, we got a good laugh. But why in the hell didn't they have us get off? Part of the experience?!


The biggest leaves I'd ever seen!

It was a gorgeous day!

The infamous watering hole. Look how wet Phil and Matt's elephant is. So funny.



The last leg of the tour was the bamboo rafting. It lasted about an hour, but because it was the end of the day, it started to cool off... making the water seem much colder! The best part was just that it was peaceful way to end the day-- floating under trees, vines and makeshift bridges.

We spent our last night in Chaing Mai eating some more amazing Thai food at a place called The Wok. Gotta love Lonely Planet for recommending some great hostels and restaurants! The patio was lit with strands of lights and candles... it was pretty fantastic. After dinner we got in the van for our 9-hour drive back to Bangkok with He Hop. If you're wondering, Phil was actually saying something that sounded like "pee kahp" to get his attention. He Hop just stuck.

We arrived in Bangkok at 7am Sunday morning-- just in time to watch the floating market vendors set up. Sadly, because we wanted to see as much as we could in a day, we didn't go to the "good" floating market outside Bangkok. We just saw the rinky-dink one in town (pictures below). We had a Thai breakfast (not really my favorite) and started our day.

Mmmm... doesn't that Thai breakfast look "good"? Even the guy that serves it doesn't eat it.




The first stop was the Grand Palace, a huge walled area of temples, old buildings and old administrative quarters. Because the King's sister recently died, the people of Thailand were in mourning. They flocked to the Grand Palace in all black to pay their respects. They LOVE the King in Thailand. (If I didn't feel like a tourist before, I did then. All of the signs and lines separated foreigners from the Thai people... we had to pay, Phil didn't. We had to stand in line, Phil didn't. If you're Thai, go there. It's a sweet deal! The buildings there were unlike anything I'd ever seen-- so intricately decorated, embellished and maintained. The worst part was that I don't know much about Thailand's history. I spent most of the time fighting my way through crowds reading my informational brochure. And it was HOT! It's February and it felt like the middle of July. We had to wear the appropriate clothing (pants, shirt, close-toed shoes) making it feel even hotter. Oh, and in the pictures you'll notice that Jen is wearing a horrible orange button-up shirt and Matt is wearing huge pants. All of Jen's clothing was "appropriate," but it was so hot she wanted to wear a tanktop. She tied a silk shawl around her arms and shoulders, but the security guards wouldn't allow it. They mader her change and she wasn't very happy. Other than that, I'm not sure the guys appreciated the temples, but I was so glad we went.













After the temples, we went to the Chatuchak Weekend Market-- the largest market in the world. 15,000 stalls cover over 35 acres! As the name suggests, it's only open on the weekends, but supposedly about 250,000 people visit each day. It. Was. Insane. I felt welcome when we arrived because someone was blasting country music from the 90s at the entrance. I sang along and everyone stared. You would think with that many vendors that I would have bought a bunch of stuff, but nothing seemed very appealing... at least nothing I could afford. They had everything ranging from cell phone accessories to antique furniture and art. We wandered around there until we couldn't stand it anymore. The picture below is from the walkway leading to the market. Just a few taxis.

We finished our Sunday by having dinner at Subway (to avoid Thai food overload) and drinks back on Khao San Road. Besides having to say goodbye to He Hop, it was quite the perfect adventure! Oh, and if all the sightseeing wasn't enough, look what I found in Bangkok-- a DOUBLE Big Mac. Wanna go to Thailand now?