Up North to Chiang Mai!

Well hello there!

I'm having a magnificent time in the Northern region of Thailand. My first stop was Chiang Mai. This city has a lot of charm and although it is quite large, the area is much more approachable than Bangkok. I stayed in the Old City, where there are plenty of cafés, delicious restaurants, and wide variety of nightlife. 

Monks at worship at one of the beautiful temples in the city

Chiang Mai is a wonderful place to take a course- anything from language to massage to cooking. I opted for a culinary class since I've been enjoying the local cuisine so much. My class was very very in depth and intimate (only one other student). We started early in the morning by visiting a local market and learning about local fruits, veggies, grains, and spices. Every neighborhood in Thailand has their own local market where they find their cooking essentials. After we decided what meals to create and picked out our ingredients at the market, we headed to a location to cook, cook, and cook some more (plus lots of eating)! In total I made tom yum soup, spring rolls, papaya salad, green curry, pad thai, sweet and sour stir fry, and sticki rice with mango. I hope to continue making all of these when I get home :)

Our cooking stations

We even learned how to make fruit art!

Proud chef with my pad thai, stir fry, and curry

If that wasn't enough for the day, I then decided to rent a motorbike and drive up  to the sacred Wat Phra That Doi Suthep on top of Doi Suthep (Doi translates to mountain in Northern Thailand).

Lovely view of Chiang Mai from Doi Suthep

A long staircase leads to the sacred temple

The great serpent Naga is often featured in the design of Northern Thai wats and is believed to protect the Buddha. The one above is the railing of a staircase leading to the temple. Below you can see the serpent on the rooftops of the wats.

An impressive gold chedi in the center of the temple.

The following morning I signed up for some quality time with adorable Asian elephants. I went to an elephant camp called Baanchang (baan meaning home and chang meaning elephant in Thai), a company that rescues elephants from lives of hard labor. This was an incredible experience. We had the opportunity to first feed the elephants sugarcane and bunches of bananas.... They eat an entire bunch at once including the peels!! 

Me and a teen elephant. We are making the same expression.

Next our guide told us taught us basic commands like how to get on the elephant, turn each direction, and stop.

Here I am feeding a bunch of bananas to this giant elephant after my first try getting on.

After some practice we each got assigned to our own elephant for a ride around the grounds. Riding on the elephant was neat but a seriously leg workout. At times I thought I was at the rodeo. My elephant, Kramer, was a little bit of a rebel and was constantly veering off to find food. She also loved to constantly spray muddy water all over herself (and consequently me), so by the end of the ride I could barely see through my dirty sunglasses.

The group going on a ride

After our journey through the jungle it was time to cool off. We had the opportunity to get in the water with the elephants and wash them off. Kramer also thought that I needed to be washed off and sprayed me thoroughly with her trunk.

I am currently in Chiang Mai after a stop in a small town mountain town called Pai. Read again soon to hear about my time further North!

Love to you all,

Laura

Finishing up in the South

Hi there everyone!

 

My final days in Southern Thailand have been quite wonderful. I arrived at Ko Phi Phi last Monday and stayed at a lovely resort up on the hills.

I trekked to a viewpoint of Phi Phi on my second day (above). As you can see, there is a strip of land that connects two long mountainous parts of the island. This strip is where all of the action happens in Phi Phi, featuring lots of bars, shops, and tour booking spots. Beautiful beaches rest on each side of this strip. 

As you can see it's hard to take a bad photo on the island:

The tide would go out so far on the North side of the island that boats would be left stranded on the sand.

The most popular activity for people visiting Ko Phi Phi is to find a boat and  jump around to the beautiful surrounding islands. While most join a major tour group that travels by speedboat or fishing boat, I opted for a company that went on a longtail boat with a max of 6 people. We left earlier to avoid any crowds and also had the ability to navigate into the smaller bays.

My boat crew :)

Snorkeling around Phi Phi was wonderful. I had the delight of seeing 4 baby blacktip sharks as soon as we jumped in the water. Although the landscape is spectacular around Phi Phi, some of it's beauty is lost due to the sheer quantity of people that visit each day. Maya Beach, depicted in the Leonardo Dicaprio movie The Beach as a pristine spot that only a lucky few would ever visit, is now ironically jam packed with tourists who will pay 200 baht just to touch their toe to the sand. Regardless, there is a reason why so many people visit Ko Phi Phi and I'm glad I got to see why.

I arrived to Phuket on Wednesday to have some quality final days on the beach. Phuket is the largest island of Thailand and is separated by the mainland by only a short bridge. I opted the stay near Hat Karon, a dreamy beach with soft white sand and plenty of space to lay down and relax. 

Hat Karon

Sunset on Hat Karon

At night I got a ticket to one of Thailand's famous cabaret shows. These shows are unique in that all of the beautiful women dressed up in exquisite costumes are actually ladyboys. The performance was fabulously gaudy with a sprinkle of humor. We weren't allowed to take pictures at the show but here is a picture from the brochure:

After a short plane ride to the North, I now reside in Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand.

More exciting stories to come! Love you all!

Laura

Khao Sok National Park

Hi guys!! Hope everyone is doing well :) I've had a very exciting past few days so let me fill you in. 

Saturday morning I packed a bag for a two day, one night excursion in Khao Sok National Park. The tour began with a 45 minute longtail boat ride towards our accommodations for the evening. The beauty of this ride was absolutely incredible. Majestic limestone mountains towered high in the air against the bright blue sky. The pictures below can give you an idea of the stunning scenery.

We stayed in small secluded bungalows that floated on the water. 

The adorable room that housed me and several friendly frogs.

After the group dropped off their stuff we went on an hour and a half jungle trek to Nam Talu Cave. This was definitely one of the coolest caves I've ever visited. It was very extensive... We took about 30 minutes to get through the entire thing. Besides all of the fascinating natural features of the cave, we also witnessed hundreds of adorable bats and even some giant spiders. The Nam Talu Cave is not intended for people with claustrophobia, as at times we had to slide into narrow crevices with water reaching chest level. I, of course, thought that was completely awesome. I would've taken more pictures inside of the cave but I didn't have a death wish for my phone.

Entrance to the Nam Talu Cave

In between activities we would have time go swimming or kayaking in the water in front of our bungalows. We would often have competitions trying to see who could balance the longest on slippery logs floating on the lake.

View from my bungalow

After taking a longboat ride to catch views of the sunset (and several groups of playful monkeys), we ended the night with some dinner, card games, and stargazing.

We had an early longtail ride the next morning to witness the park waking up. Algae collected on the surface of the water and soft mist coated the mountains.

We later had another lovely hike in the jungle to visit new cave. Along the way we came across the largest collection of butterflies I've ever encountered. They gathered together on the ground, grouping themselves in colors.

This covers only a fraction of the butterflies in the area.

Our last activity of the trip was some heart pounding cliff jumping at the Green Water Gateway. We had to climb a sharp, jagged limestone mountain to reach our launching point. This was one of the scariest cliff jumping experiences I've had but it was so exhilarating!

Green Water Gateway. We climbed to the  top of the rock seen on the very left. To give some perspective, the stick coming out of the water on the right side of the rock is only slightly shorter than me.

I am now on my way to Ko Phi Phi, the gorgeous island that is known for being featured in the Leonardo Dicaprio move The Beach. I hope to have many gorgeous pictures to come. 

Sending my love,

Laura

Ko Phangan

How's it hanging guys? I've departed from the beautiful island of Ko Phangan, just arriving at Khao Sok National Park. I'll be taking a short break from the beach so I can trek one of the oldest rainforests on the globe.

During my first night at Ko Phangan, I made an appearance at the wild Half Moon party. Everyone begins their night at a local bar, sipping on drinks and covering their skin with glow in the dark paint. Once people are satisfied with their body art, they get scooped up by one of the many taxis heading inland towards the jungle. After paying an entry fee, we entered into a wonderland filled with bright glowing art pieces. A DJ plays under a neon flowering canopy while enthusiastic guests drink (literal) buckets of vodka red bull and dance until the sun comes up. Definitely a unique experience.

View from my resort on Ko Phangan

The following day I rented a motorbike with two friends I made in Ko Tao and drove all over the island. This was easily the best (and most fun) way to experience Ko Phangan. The landscape was gorgeous, similar to Hawaii except for the occasional sighting of a temple or elephant (eeeeee so cute!!). We visited 5 different beaches that day, each of them having their own personality. 

Serene Hat Salad

A sandbar connected Hat Thong Lang and the small island Ko Ma. 

Watching the sunset on Hat Rin Nai (cleverly named Sunset Beach)

The night ended with a delicious dinner along the water. I got to try my first authentic Thai curry- ammmazing. I'm delighted by how cheap everything is here. A similar meal in the states would have costed 4 times as much.

On Thursday I signed up for an excursion to Ang Thong National Park. This spot consists of over 40 jungle islands with sheer limestone cliffs, hidden lagoons, and dreamy beaches. We stopped at several different islands for activities including snorkeling, kayaking, and trekking. 

Many of the islands had gaps between the the ocean and the rock where you could kayak into small caves

Monkey Island

One of the parks popular viewpoints 

A large lake in the middle of Ko Mae Ko called Emerald Sea. This lagoon is off limits to the unclean human body.

Than Bua Bok, a cavern reachable after a strenuous hike on the largest island of Ko Wua Talap.

South to Ko Tao

Hi there!

I'm swinging in a hammock right now enjoying the beautiful views that Ko Phangan has to offer. I've just transferred from Ko Tao over to the island known for it's jovial nature. This place seems to always have a reason to celebrate, whether it be the epic Full Moon Party, which occurs once a month, or many of the other events they've created over the years (Half Moon parties, Black Moon parties, Jungle parties, and Waterfall parties). It just so happens to be a half moon tonight... I suppose I'll have to make an appearance at the festivities. 

My stay at Ko Tao was brief but very eventful. I arrived in the afternoon on Sunday and found accommodation at the Sunset Buri Resort. I immediately stripped down to a bikini and waded in the warm shallow waters of Sairee Beach. 

Long-tail boats line the coast, ready to take passengers at a moments notice. After a satisfying dip I took a seat at one of the many beachside restaurants and watched the beautiful sunset.

Once the sun was down, the beach came alive with an ample amount of fire dancers, disco balls, and pumping beats.

Above: Fire dancers working their magic

I got up bright and early in the morning for a snorkeling trip. We made our way around the entire island, stopping at 4 fantastic snorkeling spots. The coral was unlike anything I've seen before. Colorful features would sway in the water and pop into crevices if you brushed your hand too close to it. My favorite spotting in the water was a small octopus that was shuffling across the ocean floor about 3 feet away from me. I also saw a group of squid scooting along the ocean. 

Our final stop of the trip was to the beautiful Ko Nang Yuan. The viewpoint of the island was breathtaking:

Our cute pink vessel:

I spent my evening enjoying dinner and drinks with new friends I made during my excursion. We had a nightcap on a floating block on the ocean, watching fire dancers put on their daring shows along the beach. A fantastic full day at Ko Tao and one I'll never forget. 

Sawasdee Ka!

Hi guys! Guess what? I've made it to Thailand!!

This is my third full day here and I seriously feel like I've been here forever. Everyday so far has been such jam packed with exciting experiences. I'm getting charged by the minute here at this internet cafe so let me dive right in.

I arrived in Bangkok on Friday in the afternoon. Being totally jet-lagged and feeling like it was actually 3am, I went right over to my hotel. My taxi driver dropped me off several blocks away from where I was staying and there was a solid 20 minutes where I was lost, but I eventually made it over. I decided to stay up for a couple of beers on the rooftop of my hotel and take in the view of the city before heading to bed.

My first (and only) full day  in Bangkok I decided to see everything I possibly could. My first destination was the holiest of them all: Wat Phra Kaew (The Emerald Buddha Temple) and the Grand Palace. This place was incredible.

Inside the main building in the middle seen here is where the very sacred Emerald Buddha is located.

The big structure on the right is a model of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The model itself was beautiful to see... I can't wait to see the real thing in 3 weeks!

Everything was so ornate and incredible that I could have stayed there all day, but I had much more to visit.

This is Wat Arun. I took a boat across the khlong (canal) to get to this temple.

The stairs on Wat Arun were the steepest I've ever experienced. A trip to the top is not advised for those who are afraid of heights!

Finally I made it to Wat Pho. This is home to the largest reclining Buddha in the world- very large!

The temples in Wat Pho were also very beautiful.

After visiting the holy trinity of temples in Bangkok, I was able to catch a kite flying competing in Sanam Luang (The Royal Field). I finished the night of grabbing a much needed meal and enjoying a couple beers before heading back to my hotel. I needed to get some rest because I had booked a 6am bus/catamaran to the island of Ko Tao (which is where I am right now!)

I'll update you on my adventures today at another time, right now I'm gonna grab some dinner with some new South African mates that I met today.Miss you all so much and wish you could be here!!!

Love, Laura

Below: Kites flying high over the Royal Field

Below: The feet of the Reclining Buddha in Wat Pho

Beautiful murals painted on the walls at Wat Phra Kaew