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[adventuresbyjojo]

Pai

1 and 2. The white Buddha on the hill

3 and 4. 2 hr scooter ride through mountains and clouds to Tham Lod cave

5 and 6. Tham Lod Cave

7. The steep climb up and down inside the cave

8 and 9. Viewpoint of the town from the Chinese village. Me and my Canadian guys :)

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Chiang Mai. Home away from home ❤️

1. Free street food I was given during a festival I stumbled upon

2. Street art covering the walls of many of the small side streets in the old city

3. Grand Canyon water park!

4. Me and friends after the Lady Boy cabaret

5. Local second hand store. Pretty much everything costing between $0.30 and $4

6. Learning how to DJ at the rooftop bar

7. North gate at sunset, my daily walk back from the Muay Thai gym

8. All the trainers that helped me out at Chiang Mai Muay Thai

9. Hug hostel family

10. Phoom (Muay Thai trainer), me, Opor (became good friend who worked reception at my hostel), and Adam (English guy I met at the gym who won his fight in a second round knockout earlier that night!)

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Pai

Bike ride from hell to the waterfall and longest bamboo bridge in Thailand.

And the Medicine Circus fire show

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Wat Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai. Scooter ride up windy roads with a view of the whole city to a mountain top temple (plus a 360 stair climb!)

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Elephant Retirement Center! One of the many places in Thailand that saves their sacred national animal from being mistreated (being ridden, forced into tourism activities, etc) and gives them a free places to roam and play with visitors who are allowed to feed them their favorite snack, bananas!

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1. My $1 passion fruit smoothie on the corner where my hostel is. And one of the famous Thai 7/11s which you can find on nearly every street here!

2. The old city wall and moat

3. Competitive chess being played on the ground floor of the biggest mall

4. Sunset view from the rooftop bar

5. Famous Thai massages! You can just walk right in and they take you on the spot. After a long day of exploring I stopped in at 11pm for a 30 minute leg+foot massage that cost only $3!

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Temple hopping in Chiang Mai.

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Temple hopping in Bangkok. The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (the temple of the sacred Emerald Buddha and most stunning of all the Wats I’ve visited), Wat Pho (temple of the reclining Buddha), and Wat Arun (which you have to get to by a local ferry boat). (Jan 3)

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Khao San Road in Bangkok, day and night (Jan 2-4)

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Chiang Mai: a home away from home

It's hard to encapsulate everything I did and loved about Chiang Mai into a single post... I will say that the most stand out thing from my extra 2 weeks was the connections I was able to make with the locals.

After several days training at the gym and getting into a rhythm I kept frequenting the rooftop bar and interacting with the new faces that appeared every several days. But I found myself feeling a little apathetic. The conversations all seemed superficial and repetitive and I wasn’t connecting with any of these 20-something foreigners on a deep level at all. I began to talk to the guys working behind the bar and they told me all about the secret local places of Chiang Mai and urged me to stay longer and they’d show me around. I befriended Florian, an Italian man working at Hug Hostel as the bar manager, Frame, a Pai native now living and working two jobs and who spoke little English, Tam and Tom, Chiang Mai-born twins who seem to oversee most of the operations related to the hostel (the cafe, music at the bar, reception, adventures, etc), and Sofia, Tom's now-girlfriend who was traveling with her remote job from Germany when she fell in love and decided to stay. They invited me to join them for live music at bars their friends played at, showed me the best places in town to buy second hand clothes, taught me how to DJ and mix drinks behind the bar, and even took me on a jungle trek (which will be a separate post in and of itself).

Wanting to change up the scene a little bit, I moved to the hostel next door that had a little more privacy and comfier beds while still returning to the bar every night. That night, I noticed that the local woman who checked me in was grabbing a beer at the bar. Erik, Elliott (who had not yet left at this point) and I motioned for her to join us. I ended up talking to her for almost an hour about her job, Thailand, customs, traditions, and she even taught me new Thai phrases. Opor became a quick friend and I ended up visiting her at Inndigo almost every day even after I had moved hostels again.

Some highlights from these 2.5 weeks in Chiang Mai included spending a fun day at the Grand Canyon waterpark, hanging out at Hug Hostel, biking through the city (coming across a festival on what I learned was national children’s day and being served the free street food by the locals), drinking coffees or smoothies in the morning and watching the morning produce market across the street from my hostel, taking at dance class at Chiang Mai Street Dance (and being the only white person), shopping for used clothes in the enormous second hand warehouses, and training Muay Thai (which also brought along many new friends).

Ultimately, Chiang Mai is an incredible mixture of city life and authentic Thai culture. And it’s funky! I kind of described it as the Brooklyn of Thailand. Even with all the charm of this laid-back city, it was definitely befriending these locals is what made me stay so long.

[adventuresbyjojo]

Pai pt. 2

I FaceTimed Henry from school which was nice to hear some updates on the NYC lives of my friends and compare travel stories from his time in New Zealand. I haven't been talking too much to people from home which makes it even better when I do occasionally. Courtney and I decided with our last full day we wanted to see the Bamboo Bridge (the longest in Thailand, a bamboo bridge stretching over rice fields walked along by the monks every morning). Not feeling entirely confident to make the drive on scooters we opted for city bikes which cost just over a dollar to rent for the day. We didn't, however, anticipate just how much large uphill slopes there would be to get there, some so drastic we had no choice but to get off and hike our bikes uphill for 10 minutes at some times. We were hot, sweaty, and exhausted after over an hour of riding/hiking when we reached the Pam Bok waterfall. We decided to stop and look around if only to have a break from our overly ambitious ride. The water looked so appetizing that I just had to go in. Not having anticipated the stop, I had no bathing suit and not so appropriate underwear on. Luckily I'd brought a sarong that I decided to tie in a handy fashion and felt a little like Jane of the jungle fashioning a little swim dress to go into the waterfall without getting any of my clothes wet. After the refreshing dip we trekked/cycled the rest of the way to the bamboo bridge which was beautiful and worth it especially since we were just so friggin proud to have arrived after the 2 hour uphill battle without giving up.
The ride back was insanely easier and we stopped part way through at the Land Split which is not super impressive but is run by local farmers who ask for a small donation and then offered us Roselle juice (made from a rare flower and tastes like raspberry tea or cranberry juice) and a bunch of locally grown snacks like potatoes, peanuts, papaya, and banana chips. I was super satisfied with our day because not only did I get an intense workout in, I also got to see the rest of the things I had wanted to see in Pai before leaving.
After showing and resting our poor legs we went to the common area to get a drink and join the pub crawl. Talking to one of the western hippies that has temporarily moved to pai and works in our hosel, I found out that another woman working there is also from "just outside NYC." Figuring it just might be nice to make the connection I started talking to her when we both mentioned our ex boyfriends were from a similar area in brooklyn which we didn't think anything of until I said "tino" and she turned away with her hands over her mouth, me thinking maybe she'd misheard me (because no one has that name). She turned back around and said "is tino short for Valentino?" And when, shocked and confused, I replied "yes" she declared "I dated his brother." SMALL SMALL WORLD PEOPLE. The chances of that having happened and ya having met in the middle of Northern Thailand at a hostel I happened to book are maybe 1 in 5 billion. Maybe more.
Anyway, the rest of the night was spent at a fire show at Paradise Bar put on by more western hippies who followed their hearts to Pai and got into fire dancing and other circustry. They seemed to be having so much fun and I could see how someone could come here and just want to stay forever. It's like a wonderful hippie commune in the most beautiful and quiet place in the world. As a passing traveler though, I'd already come to the conclusion that Pai isn't really for me. I'm more interested in interacting with locals, seeing modern day Thailand, learning the language etc. And I consider myself more hippie than the average person with a yoga teacher mom and a background in Pagan spiritually but when the circus finished and made everyone in the audience hold hands and say a big "om" together I realized Pai was even too hippie for me to handle long term. So, though I loved Pai for the 3 full days I was there, I was ready to leave tomorrow.


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Pai pt. 1

Update: Jan 8 - Jan 11
I booked just 3 nights in the hostel where all my friends from Chiang Mai were figuring if I really liked it I could extend my stay and if I didn't I could either try another hostel or move along on my journey... just trying to give myself enough time to experience a place and the freedom to decide exactly when to stay and when to leave. I was already missing Chiang Mai and wishing I could spend more time there. Which I realized I very well could whenever I wanted: the joy of extended solo travel with no set in stone plans!
The first night I spent with the Canadian guys, Kate, Courtney, and a few new British and German friends from the hostel. We followed the pub crawl to Spirit Bar which had a cool vibe and a funny Thai cover artist playing live. From there we went to another bar where I ran into Sofia (from the bus to Chiang Mai) and her friends which was a brief but fun coincidence. Eventually Kate and I grew tired and she went with me to find an open restaurant serving mango sticky rice because I'm officially addicted.
My first full day here was spent making the journey to the Tham Lod Cave. I didn't realize what exactly the plan was because it was Kate's last day and she had this whole itinerary in mind that the Canadian guys and I were just following along. We had to rent scooter bikes (I was gonna just ride on the back of Kate's and split gas) and before we left, 3 Canadian girls, a cool Australian chick and her best backpacker friend hopped on the back of the others'. So we had a whole gang departing on what ended up being a 2 hour scenic drive through the twists and turns up and down Pai's gorgeous and green mountain terrain. When we arrived at the cave, a small funny Thai woman led us with a lantern through the entrance of the cave and pointed out all of the mineral formations that looked like elephants or popcorn or even a couple of what she called "grandma boobs". It was super cool inside but very dark so taking pictures was nearly impossible. The ceilings of the cave at the highest point was maybe some 100 ft high. Our guide taught us bits of Thai like "come!" and "go!" since she was ushering us around like a herd of sheep. The ride back was equally as stunning if not more so with the sun lower in the sky and we stopped at a tiny local place for a late lunch with a beautiful view of the rural countryside. We drove straight to the Pai Canyon to catch the sunset along with over 100 other people. Unfortunately the clouds covered the horizon but the canyon and light was still super worthwhile.
That night I went out to the walking street and got two dumplings from a tiny stall and ran into Courtney and a couple new friends from the hostel, Josh, Niq, Carl, Liam, and Demaris. We ate some street food together and then went back to Spirit Bar to hang out and talk. It's so fascinating finding out why each person is traveling and where they're planning to go next. Many are people who have recently quit the job they were unhappy at and either traveling because they never had the opportunity before or to find a new place to settle in and secure work (Australia for many).
The next day the Canadian boys and Kate left which was bittersweet since I'd been traveling with them for quite a bit but so natural in the course of solo travel and hostel-hopping.

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Chiang Mai to Pai

Update: Jan 8
I booked a minivan to Pai for about $6 through my hostel and waited with my friend Courtney who was heading there in the same van. It was down pouring outside so we were glad to be doing a day of traveling but a little concerned because the road to Pai is notoriously dangerous and sickening with about 720 twists and turns up and down the mountains. We crammed our luggage and 12 people into a small van and set off on the 3+ hour journey, gratefully stopping halfway through to ease the motion sickness and grab some noodles. I spent the ride curled up, watching the scenery, and listening to music and it went by quickly. When we got into Pai, Courtney and I grabbed our packs, took out some cash from the atm to pay for the hostel and walked just a short 5 minutes down the main walking street toward Common Grounds hostel. I could already sense the small town hippie vibe it has in this quaint area of the northern Thai mountains. When we walked into the doors of the hostel the Canadian boys were already making the open air, hammock-filled common area lively by playing some drinking games. They shouted our names and rushed over to give us hugs and it struck me how cool it is that these guys I didn't know at all a couple days ago were already like long lost friends turning up at unfamiliar places and happy to be reunited. They decided to go out to get their laundry washed (~40 baht or just a bit over a buck) and get some of the famous Khao soi with chicken noodles so I joined the group of them that had grown to include 12 of us total.
After food, Kate, the beloved "mom figure"of the group (but only 24 just very sweet and responsible) and I decided to hike up to the large white Buddha site in the nearby mountainside. We took some pictures of the landscape and rested from having scaled a massive amount of stairs to get there. On our way back Kate stopped to get a massage and I continued on through the colorful but still quiet streets and over a bamboo bridge to get back to the hostel where I settled in and got ready for my stay in Pai.


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Chiang Mai pt. 2

After showering, I went to the rooftop before anyone else to get some journaling and researching done when I met Seri, a retired school teacher from San Francisco who I had an awesome conversation with about The Alchemist and Les Miserables (our two favorite books) and we were obviously kindred souls which was so cool. Then the rest of the group came up and we played more drinking games through sunset and into dark when we went out to the local market to buy pork buns and mango sticky rice. We walked around the Sunday walking street for a bit before heading to bed.
In the morning, I'd made plans to go with Canadian Sidney and Austrian Kate to the temple up on the mountain near the city. Sid had rented scooters so he and Kate drove and I rode on the back of Sid's getting to be the navigator with my handy international data plan. The drive was windy, exhilarating and beautiful. A local directed us to an area behind his shop to leave our bikes and then we set off up the 300+ steps to the temple. The temple was large and gold but similar to many others we'd already seen. The viewpoint of the whole city was special though and the impressive staircase flanked by serpents was worth the 30 baht entrance fee.
That afternoon the Canadians left for Pai but I'd see them again the next day as we'd booked the same hostel there. I spent the rest of the day adventuring around with Elliot and Erik who have been traveling together for a while and make for an entertaining pair. We walked through the local Warorot marketplace and tried some of the odd fruits like durian but stayed away from the pig heads and eels. In the evening we went back to the rooftop bar, met a couple new friends, searched unsuccessfully for a bowling alley but settled for mango sticky rice before heading to bed.


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Chiang Mai pt. 1

Update: Jan 5 - Jan 7
I spent the first part of the day grabbing breakfast, walking around the old city, going to the Lanna folklife museum and going into a few of the most famous wats. The most notable parts of this were the museum which was empty and kind of small but super informative with even wax statues of traditional Lanna people going about their traditional activities, wax statues of monks in Wat Phra Singh that at first I just thought we're incredibly still people, and the group of real monks going about their daily prayers in another smaller wat.
When my legs grew tired and the sun too hot I walked back to my hostel and did some research on things to do in the common area. There, I started talking to a guy from Vancouver named Sidney who was traveling with 2 of his buddies from home, Chris and Jay. They'd met 2 British girls, Josie and Lucy along the way who'd been traveling north with them from the islands. I made loose plans to hang out with them later. I found a dance class online that I thought I'd go to at a studio that looked like the Chiang Mai version of millennium dance complex. Excited to go out on this *local* plan, I got dressed for a class and set out on what I knew was going to be about an hour long walk to this mall plaza (?) the studio was supposed to be in. 3/4 of the way thru the walk I was sweating and realizing I'd be late so I hailed one of the 30 baht/ride red trucks hoping it would get me there in time. I might've made the class had I been able to find it in the large shopping mall. Alas. Dejected and exhausted I caught another red truck all the way back to my hostel.
In my room a met a Scottish kid named Elliot who reminded me of my friend Mason from school. We talked about his preference for Chiang Mai, ballet, and the Greek system (a concept super foreign to anyone not from the US) and after I changed I followed him to the rooftop bar where the group of met earlier plus the Dutch guy Elliot is traveling around with (Erik) we're playing a drinking game which we joined in on. After two rounds, two mixed drinks (happy hour was 100 baht for both.. or about $1.50 each) and getting to know the people at the table, I excused myself to grab dinner with the girl, Sofia, from the bus. I ended up eating with her and 3 friends she was traveling with, all older than the both of us, and then hit the Saturday walking street filled with vendors. They tired out after a bit so wanting to keep exploring I ventured to the area east of the old city where a night bazaar and cabaret supposedly were. It was a wild scene, more lively with neon signs and stretches of bars than I expected. I felt comfortable enough but a little cautious being on my own. Some of the bars evidently had some old guys sitting with Thai prostitutes and I tried not to look or linger too long near those areas. After walking around for about 2 hours I felt I'd seen all I could see for the night and treated myself to a $3 for 30 minute foot and leg massage, sore from all the walking I'd done.
The next day I slept in a bit and without much of a plan, I went to grab breakfast next door to the hostel where I ran into the group of Canadian guys from last night. They asked me if I wanted to go to an elephant sanctuary with them so I tagged along on their plan. It was a bit of a drive but made fun by the large group of people I was going with, all of whom had become fast friends. We learned how to feed the elephants, chopped some sugar cane, and walked with two elephants thought an area of jungle. We met about 6 elephants in total and got to feed them which was a funny experience. Such gentle playful giants. After snapping pictures with our new best friends we are some lunch and liked back in the van home.

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Bangkok to Chiang Mai

Update: Jan 4 - Jan 5
I had a leisurely morning walking through my Bangkok neighborhood, getting out some more money from an ATM, and settling at an outdoor cafe on my favorite street, Soi Ram Buttri. I ordered a frozen coffee and a Thai style eggs Benedict (a country not big on western style breakfast foods). I spent a couple hours there people watching and enjoying the shady 80° weather. My bus was at 8:30pm that night but I didn't want to leave any room for error so I decided to get to the northern district where the bus terminal is hours in advance just to make sure I was in the right place and didn't miss the bus. Wanting to save money and stick to my budget, I ended up taking the crowded local express ferry with my heavy pack 10 stops in the opposite direction to get to the sky train. I paid a little over a dollar for a single ride pass and took stairs up to the most pristine platform I'd ever seen.
After figuring out a transfer, I was the only foreigner left on the train. I watched Thai 20 something couples head to the park or mall and families with their small children in strollers. I got off at the stop nearest to the bus station (still a 30 minute walk across a large park). With time to kill, I sat by a small river in the park listening to music and enjoying what was like an oasis in the middle of the city. Anxious to make sure I was going to the right place, I started off toward the bus terminal which ended up being in part a walk through very local streets and in part an exhausting trek by the side of a busy highway. In the end, I was proud I'd made the walk and gotten the exercise, but should've just shelled out for a taxi ride.
I asked a couple of official looking people until I found the right place to get my ticket (which is already booked) and then had nearly 3 hours to wait. Better safe than sorry. I sat in the bus terminal that was filled with locals. It occurred to me that it has been a while since I have been in an area where I am so drastically the racial minority. I sat in the waiting area by 3 Thai men and read my book. About an hour into my wait this loud beeping noises began and about half of the maybe 400 people waiting in the terminal stood up. I looked around confused. After several more beeps the man in front of me sighed and put down his book and stood to face the screens along with the rest of the masses. Feeling a little panicked I looked around wondering if it would be weirder for me to stand with all the Thai people or stay seated. I spotted 2 foreigners across the terminal who stayed sitting so I followed their cue but watched respectfully as the screens began to play what I assume is the Thai national anthem along with a video of the the royal family. No one sang along but the second it ended they all sat as though it were the most normal thing. I wondered how often that occurs. Is it in every public space? Do people do it at home??
I grabbed what looked like the most innocent of the exotic cup of noodles from the 7/11 and ate that while waiting alongside other backpackers for our night bus to Chiang Mai. When it finally came I settled into my seat next to a nice hippie lady from Holland on her way to mountainous Pai (my next stop after the more urban Chiang Mai). I slept most of the way as comfortably as you can in a bus. When we arrived I found a girl around my age who I'd seen alone on my bus trying to get a tuktuk. I approached and asked to share, negotiating a good price and then pulling up a spot between our two destinations in the walled old city. Her name is Sofia and she's traveling to meet an Australian friend she'd met while he was visiting her hometown in the Philippines. We exchanged instagrams, planning to grab dinner together that night before parting. I walked in the lovely quiet of 7am through the streets to my hostel. I got a little lost due to google maps slight inaccuracies but eventually found Hug Hostel just outside the north gate past the shorter than expected wall and a picturesque moat

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Bangkok

Here I am behind once again. Having too much fun to write.


Update: Jan 2 - Jan 4


The first couple of days were spent in Bangkok getting adjusted (ie sleeping off my jet lag), seeing beautiful Buddhist temples, and eating great food. I somewhat intentionally booked a comfy but not very social hostel for this first leg of the trip so I didn't meet anyone there which was a bit hard initially. After checking in around 3pm, I put my stuff in a locker, took a shower, and closed the curtain to my upper bed to take a nap. I got dressed and put on my tinier backpack with my handy lonely planet and hit the streets around 5. I spent the evening literally just walking around the area just taking everything in. Sidewalk shops, lively open restaurants, and Pad Thai carts advertising variations of the famous meal for a little more than 1 usd. I bought one at the one that looked the best to me and sat right on the sidewalk curb near a few other travelers to eat and people watch. there was even roasted insects and grilled alligator. I restrained myself from buying anything knowing there would be plenty of time for that in the next 2 months in even cheaper areas (read: Vietnam) and no need to make my pack any heavier than it already is.
The next day I was silly enough not to set my alarm and ended up sleeping nearly 12 hrs (very unusual for me) so I didn't even really start my day until 1. I walked straight from Khao San road to the Grand Palace. The place was swarmed by dozens of Chinese tour groups and various other travelers. I worked my way through the crowds to pay the relatively pricey 500 bhat (16 usd) for a ticket. I walked around the complex, snapping pictures of golden temples, intricate carvings, statues, and the Hall of paintings telling the story of Rama and Sita. The main attraction is the temple housing the emerald Buddha, which Buddhists come from far and wide to pay respects to but only the king is allowed to touch it. You have to remove your shoes to enter and cannot take any pictures inside. Having seen many other temples since, this one was definitely the most impressive.
It's only a short walk to Wat Pho (famous for its giant reclining Buddha) where I met a traveler named Philipp who is German but lives in Paris and knew what Dartmouth was (which surprised me) because he's a Harvard alumn. So we decided to stick together for the day which was nice for me since he's a more seasoned solo traveler than I am. He told me stories and gave advice from his travels in Vietnam while we took the ferry across the river to Wat Arun. After seeing that temple we decided to walk around China town and had some delicious pork buns, noodles, and Thai beer in a restaurant there. After we took the ferry all the way back up the river to Khao San, I considered going out but decided against it in part due to my jet lag and also in part worried about going to a bar or club as an unseasoned solo female traveler in a big city. I read a bit and booked my bus and hostel in Chiang Mai and went to bed
At this point, I was excited about traveling and loving Asia but feeling a little lonely and worried about meeting people and really making the most of my term while seeing friends on social media returning to Dartmouth and partying together in the basements there and trying not to regret my decision at all.