Chiang Mai

New Monk Ceremony

When planning my trip to Chiang Mai, I was concerned with how much time I had allotted. I had heard so many people talk about how much they love Chiang Mai but many people had a hard time putting their finger on why. I am now a part of that group. Maybe reliving my trip through writing this post will help me figure out why J

I took an overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and had no idea what to expect before I got on board. The trip was supposed to be 12 hours so with a book, food, and my ability to sleep pretty much anywhere I was set. I was on the top bunk which literally meant I was laying in bed at 7pm haha. But when I fell asleep there was no one else in my section of 4 beds, when I woke up there was an Asian family below me having breakfast. I couldn’t help but think of 500 Days of Summer “I don’t know how to tell you this, but there is an Asian family in our bathroom” haha made me laugh. Anyways, somehow this 12 hour journey had turned into a 16 hour one. The poor worker was so annoyed by me I am sure, but how the heck was I supposed to know when we were there?! I only asked a couple of times but I would have like to ask about 15.  Finally, looking and feeling haggard I arrived in Chiang Mai and somehow had a tuk tuk waiting for me. I had booked a room at a hostel called Julie’s and apparently they had a pick up service!

Quick note on Julies: this hostel was AWESOME for meeting people.  It has a great common area with food/ drink, pool tables, lots of seating etc. The prices are pretty much unbeatable to stay here. Of course the accommodation is average and there isn’t any glitz or glam, but it is perfect for a backpackers hostel.

Once I got to Julie’s and was settled in my room, I decided to explore a bit. Chiang Mai is WAY bigger than I was imagining. I am pretty sure I was there for 10 days and didn’t see everything. While I was here I met a group of people which made the trip much better. In Chiang Mai, I went to massive shopping markets, rented a bicycle, got massages, went to many temples, took a side adventure to Pai for a few days with a friend I met traveling (more on Pai later), ate so much food, bought a few books, etc. I’m only going to elaborate on a couple of things otherwise I might end up writing a novel!

On our organic farm tour

Master chef status HA

 

 First is the cooking class. I have never taken a cooking class before, and was super excited for this. A couple of girls I had met had taken one from the same company (Asia Scenic Cooking) and had only positive things to say, so Claire (who I met in Chiang Mai) decided to sign up. It was a blast! I was slightly concerned because my cooking skills are not always up to par, but our instructor helped and gave very good instructions. When signing up you can take just a regular course at the cooking school, or you can take a tour of an organic farm and cook there. Claire and I had chose to just go to the cooking school, but when we arrived we were the only ones in our class so we got a free upgrade to the farm tour!  We made things like fried spring rolls, cashew chicken, massaman curry, fried bananas, and mango with sticky rice. Everything was delicious, and we left very full. My advice would be to go on an empty stomach because you are pretty much going to be eating multiple meals in about a 3 hour time frame. Overall the cooking class was a success, and I would highly recommend it to chefs (and want to be chefs) of all skill levels!

In Chiang Mai there are pretty much temples on every corner, so I have pictures of many. I had been told that there was a temple I had to go to but of course I kept putting it off, putting it off because I had seen so many temples already. On my last day in Chiang Mai I made myself get up early and go. This was temple Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, which is the most famous and visited temple in Chiang Mai. To get there I took a tuk tuk to the zoo, where I was dropped off and then a Song-taew  (basically a pick up truck with seats in the back) waits until it is full and then you are on your way up the mountain. It is a very windy trip and there was definitely some people that were not feeling so hot in the truck. Also I read about how to get there in my lonely planet Thailand book, and they said that this was the easiest way… but who knows. Be ready to walk up TONS of stairs (no Anna, not like the one we went to in Laos… thank goodness) it is totally do able, I am just complaining haha. Also WARNING: do not take pictures of the really cute kids sitting in traditional Thai garb on the stairs. I did so on the way up and I learned the hard way. They will come charging at you and pull on your clothes until you give them money.  I felt so dumb haha, because of course I screamed because they scared the crap out of me, then I was cracking up because I was by myself and so flustered. Besides being bullied by these kids and almost rolling down the stairs, to top it all off I didn’t even get a good picture!

On the walk down the kids were still sitting on the stairs, many of them crying. I then realized their mom or dad or someone would be sitting off to the side telling them to get money from people and more specifically who to target. These poor kids were so hot and tired, and probably sick of sitting there day after day. All of this resulted in my feeling bad for taking the picture in the first place, and buying about ten of them something cold to drink, because that solves everything? Regardless they were very thankful.

One more random side note! If you are in Thailand In April make Chiang Mai a must do on your list! In Mid-April is the Songkran Festival also known as Thai New Year. I was so upset that I had to leave a few days before it started because the city was already preparing for it. I also had friends who were there and said it was the highlight of their two months of traveling. http://travelthumb.com/thailand-holidays/songkran-festival-2013/ Here is a link that will better describe the festival J

Back again and again to Bangkok

Throughout my two months of traveling, Bangkok seemed to be my place where I could go and settle down for a few days. I would get to Bangkok, sleeeeeeeeeeep and plan my next adventures. Since I had already done most of the touristy, need to do type things in Bangkok I had no problem relaxing here. I found a hostel that I would highly recommend here! It is called The Mile Map and it was wonderful for a hostel and was very close to a sky train stop. This was my first ever hostel and traveling alone experience and had no idea what to expect. Thankfully the Mile Map was very clean, air conditioned and full of friendly people. The sky train is probably my favorite thing about Bangkok. Not only did I feel extremely accomplished being able to successfully maneuver myself around the city, but it is the most efficient way to see (part of) Bangkok in my opinion. 

The Mile Map Hostel

I was in Bangkok three different times throughout March and April and found myself in the same areas. It was strange that even though Bangkok is not necessarily homey, each time I flew in it was like a sense of relief…back in Thailand. I had developed a routine each time I was in Bangkok. I would make sure to 1. Stop at the local college and watch them play soccer, they had a game every time I was in town. It was a small Christian College, which I found so random to be in the middle of Bangkok, but anyways the field was right on the way to the sky train. I am sure they thought I was a stalker of some sort because I would always get looks like who the heck is the random American sitting amongst the Thai fans. 2. Go to Siam Paragon and Siam Center (the malls). Two malls that were side by side, needless to say I spent more than my fair share of time there. 3. Go to Lumpini Park, which I have renamed to the Central Park of Thailand. This park is BEAUTIFUL and so peaceful. You can ride bikes, run, read, and even rent paddleboats. 4. Lastly I would make sure to go to Starbucks. Thai Starbucks has the BEST smoothie on their menu that I will miss when I am home. It is mango passion fruit, and way too good to pass up.

The last time I was in Bangkok Anna, her boyfriend Alex, and his friend were there at the same time. All of us met up one night to go to the LeBua sky bar, which is where parts of the Hangover 2 was filmed. You can literally see for miles up there, the view was nothing short of incredible. At this point in the trip I hadn’t seen Anna in a few weeks so the location made for a sweet reunion and of course a perfect chance for us to dress up a little. I have heard there are many sky bars in Bangkok, and if they are anything like the LeBua I highly recommend taking a trip to the top!

Since Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, it is very easy to get travel from. There are always buses, trains, and planes leaving to go elsewhere from Bangkok. I primarily used the sky train and train system, with of course the occasional taxi. Once again I had trouble with the taxis haha. Many of the taxi drivers refuse to use their meter in the cab and want to charge you a fixed amount that it outrageous. Being in Thailand for quite a while now I am aware of this and won’t get in a cab unless the meter is already on… except this one time when I was running really late J  I cant remember how much I agreed to pay, but I do know it was too much, but I figured at least I would get there quickly and just be at the airport. Little did I know we would be stopping at a gas station (wait in line forever), the driver would be having a quick snack with some friends and I would almost miss my plane. When FINALLY arriving at the airport, the driver jacked up the price to almost double the agreed upon price. Long story short this resulted in me slamming the car door, throwing money through the open window (the original price), and maybe using a few choice words… Whoops. I think it’s safe to say my sass got the best of me. Unfortunately that leaves me at Ashley-1 and psycho taxi drivers-1.

At first when writing this post I could hardly think of a thing to write about Bangkok but now that I am writing I can think of a whole list. I will spare you the rambling novel until my next Bangkok post, I’m sure I will be back soon enough!

Malaysia

The Twin Towers in downtown Kuala Lumpur

 Courtesy to my expiring Thai visa, I got to take a little trip to Malaysia. Down town Kuala Lumpur is the closest I have felt to being in Seattle since I have been in Asia! It has the hustle and bustle of businessmen and woman, skyscrapers and office buildings, and my favorite part… incredible amounts of malls and shopping! Or maybe it is just because I am sitting downtown at a Starbucks? Regardless all  of it and the Papa Johns pizza I found made me feel very at home.

              

When I arrived in Kuala Lumpur my only plans were to take care of my visa, other than that I didn’t even know much about the city. I decided to hop on the monorail, I picked a random place to get off and find something to eat. I walk down the stairs and what do I find? An H&M, Forever 21, Victoria Secret, etc! I was dropped right into the middle of shopper’s paradise, and I was all smiles. Downtown has so many different malls and shopping centers, I swear every time I walked around the corner I found another one. Anyways it was very easy to keep myself busy.

So far the visa process has been pretty painless. Ahead of time I had all of the documents prepared and ready to go. On many websites I read about getting to the embassy before it opened at 9:30. There I was at 7:30am sitting on the side of the road anticipating the gates to open. Luckily I had my laptop to entertain myself. I realized that I had a movie in my computer, Marley and Me. Yes I sat on the side of the road sobbing as I watched and other people stared. I’m sure they thought I was having some form of mental break down, but I dare you to watch that movie without crying! At about 8:45 I decided to clip together all of my documents, when I realize I cannot find an envelope with a few things inside I need. I frantically dump out my entire backpack, to then remember I took it out last night and it is on my bed. I then lose my first place in line and hop in a taxi, that I literally have to beg to take me back and forth. Long story short, I made it and have applied for my visa. Never a dull moment J

Things I learned while in Malaysia:

      -       Seeing a movie alone is not nearly as bad as I thought it was. Although I think about it now and it may be an all-time low for my social life. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and didn’t feel uncomfortable sitting alone. Worst part was not being able to talk about the movie afterwards.

      -       Taxi drivers like to rip you off. I got scammed out of some money and was so frustrated. Him screaming at me, me yelling back, resulting in him flipping me off and driving away. Yes I still lost the money, but I think I got under his skin just enough. Ashley-1 Psycho taxi driver-0

      -       People are weird. No this is not new news, but after traveling throughout Asia you realize how true this is for every culture.

      -       I am not as directionally challenged as I thought. I can proudly say that I have mastered the Malaysian monorails.

      -       Going to the embassies to renew your visa is quite similar to going to the DMV. Everybody is grumpy, nobody wants to be there, and the workers can simply decide whether or not they will make your day or absolutely ruin it.

((This took place at the beginning of June. It was just about a month after I had returned from my backpacking trip)

Hello from Yaowawit!

Somehow it has been two months since my last post, which leaves me with no clue of where to begin. In my defense I have had quite a few visitors which left me without time to update you all. I can't believe how fast the time with my family and Chrissy flew by or that it is already August! Please bare with me as I share an out of order, sporadic plethora of posts. I will do my best to give you a time frame of when each event happened buttttttt we will see how it all goes :)

The Bali Breakdown

Bali, Bali, Bali… what I would do to go back right now! This was the first destination on our adventure and we almost didn’t make it. Thankfully running late and a flat tire could not hold us back because we were, Bali bound! While we were in Bali, we made three stops… Kuta, Ubud, and Gili Trawangan of The Gili Islands. (Beware! This is a short novel)

Bubba Gump's in Kuta,
this is for you Kenz!

 Our first stop was in Kuta. My first impression was that this could be the best place on earth! I later would retract this statement but at first glance there was a beautiful mall (I know I am pathetic) with a staircase that literally put you on the beach. Two of my favorite things within 1 minute of each other, what more could I ask for?! For Anna and I the first stop was the mall to get new “surfing bikinis” because of course that was necessary and then to hit the waves. We each took a lesson and were able to actually ride some waves which was exciting. A few days later we were able to rent boards again and get some surfing in, it turned out to not be quite as easy when you didn’t have a “Kuta Cowboy” pushing you into the waves. Kuta has one of the best places in Bali for beginners to learn how to surf, but it was surprising how much trash was in the water. We found ourselves a little bit sad because we had heard such amazing things, but also realized how spoiled we are to live in Thailand and visit amazing beaches on a weekly basis. Also in Kuta we found lots and lots of shopping, had a wonderful foot massage (the first of MANY), and some good food! Oh and how could I forget this is where we tried Bali’s most popular beer Bintang for the first time!

And onto Ubud we go, Ubud was about an hour and a half taxi ride away from Kuta. I was not aware of how lush and green it would be. This was one of the most peaceful places I went throughout the two months. Our guesthouse was in a great location where pretty much everything we wanted to see was in walking distance. There was one main street, which had all of the shops and restaurants. On this street we found both AMAZING Mexican food (and guacamole!) and Pizza. Anna and I had both been feeling pretty deprived of Western food, so to say we ate it a lot is an understatement. In Ubud there are many different Yoga studios, and honestly if there is a perfect place for a yoga studio Ubud is it. The largest among them is The Yoga Barn, and I fell in love with this place and you could say yoga is not a favorite activity of mine. Typically visiting yoga studios is not something that I would take time to do on a trip, but this place was worth it. At the Yoga Barn people were there for just a class and some were there for a weeklong cleanse! Anna and I stopped by for a class, to take pictures while pretending to be Yogi’s and eat one of our only healthy meals of the trip. We had wheat grass shots, grilled veggie wraps, and some other sort of green and pink drinks. It became an on going joke about things Anna would order to drink, it seemed regardless of what she ordered it came out green. This drink was one neither of us could drink and we even joked about pouring it out. Less than 2 minutes later a gust of wind came knocked over numerous things on our table and the drink was dumped out completely… someone was looking out for us haha! My favorite part of Ubud was renting a motorbike and driving around seeing the views. We encountered many rice fields, small village like neighborhoods, and even some monkeys! Because we enjoyed our time so much we ended up extending our stay. After awaking really early one morning, stood on a road with all of our things, and were picked up in a sketchy van… we were on our way to The Gili Islands!!

 

The Gili Islands is made up of three different islands Gili Air, Gili Menos, and Gili Trawangan. We went to Gili Trawangan also called Gili T, and this my friends is the most beautiful beach location I have ever been to. From the moment we showed up I was smiling ear-to-ear I knew I had found my “happy place”. This island had no cars and everything was accessible by walking, bicycle, or horse and carriage (yes, this happened). The only thing about Gili T is the Mosk. Out of the Mosk came the loudest chanting/singing/prayer I have ever heard in my life. It could be heard at all places on the island and yes, I had a daily wakeup call at 4:30am. Although at times it was quite obnoxious, it did give the island a cultural feel. On the first day we found a restaurant for breakfast directly on the beach, we ended up spending everyday here. In front of the café was GIANT beach beanbag chairs. It is fair to say we absolutely did not leave this place from the hours of 11-5. Also straight out from the café was a deserted boat you could swim out to and hang out on. One of my absolute favorite moments of traveling happened here. One day while we were lying out, it started pouring and everyone was frantically packing up his or her stuff. Anna and I were doing the same when we decided to stash our stuff off to the side and swim out to the boat. We had our own little dance party in the rain on this boat and I remember feeling so happy! Lying on the beach, stand up paddle boarding, and a yoga session took most of our time and I could not be happier about it. Little did I know I had over a month of exhausting traveling just around the corner and I would need this rest. By far this was my favorite place in Bali and I have no doubt I will be back here someday.

PS: Im not sure if I mentioned this before but FYI… After being at Yaowawit for 2 months, school was let out for summer break! This means that from March 15- May 11 I was out and about through Southeast Asia. I am doing my best, kind of J to catch up on all of my blogging so you can hear about my adventures!

PPS: I apologize for the way the pictures are arranged, blogger is not being my friend today. ALSO there will be so many more pictures on facebook, someday when I get around to it!

I'm backkkkk!

After 18 hostels and guesthouses, 10 lengthy bus rides, 7 flights, 4 countries, 3 overnight trains, 2 months, and 1 backpack I am back at school in Kapong!

I cannot believe how fast these past two months have flown, it seems like just yesterday Anna and I were mapping this trip out. Throughout these two months I have learned so much about Asia, myself and the fact I still tend to over pack. I promise that I will go into plenty of detail about all of the different segments of my trip as soon as I am all settled in back at Yaowawit. The first day of school is on Tuesday and I have a little preparing to do!

Before anything else I need to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to...

My parents and grandma: I am so lucky to have such supportive family members in all of my endeavors. As cliche as it may sound, this trip literally would have been impossible for me without them. I did my best to stay in contact and let them know my whereabouts so the worrying was kept to a minimum. I love you all so much, and once again THANK YOU for supporting me in my crazy adventures.

Steve Jobs: While traveling through SE Asia I have been able to have my iphone with me wherever I go. Some may see this as a downfall and the fact that you cannot get away, but trust me being able to contact home, friends, family when you need them is a plus!

Anna: My travel partner! We had such a great two months traveling and I can't believe how fast it came to an end. Thank you for keeping me sane when at times I was ready to freak out, and for dealing with my grumpiness when I am hungry.. whoops :) I missssssss you already Anna Ko, reunion in Germany?