highlights from thailand: koh phi phi & koh lanta.

Well over a year ago, I went to Thailand and am finally finished blogging about it with this post. Since it was so long ago, there's a lot I don't remember, but I'm sharing what I do. (I know this for sure: the trip was fun and relaxing and I'd recommend it to anyone!)

I've broken the trip into three parts: Chiang Mai, Bangkok, and islands Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta. 

After playing with elephants in Chiang Mai and sightseeing in Bangkok, Alanna and I flew to Krabi and then took a ferry to Koh Phi Phi. 

I feel like Koh Phi Phi is most known for two things: being beautiful and being a "party island." I'd say both are true. But other than drinking one bucket, I didn't party. (Partly because I'm just not usually a partier, and partly because I didn't feel like partying after finding out my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer while I was in Bangkok.) 

I loved the little details, like the Thai writing on the Heinz ketchup bottles and the inspirational sayings on the sugar packets.

Another thing that struck me but I didn't take a photo of were the signs on the island that said something like, "In case of tsunami, go this way" with arrows. Sombering. 

After a couple days laying in the sun (and eating delicious food!), we took another ferry to Koh Lanta. If Koh Phi Phi is known for partying, Koh Lanta is known for relaxing. And relax we did. 

We were only here for a couple nights, so we splurged and stayed at a tiny resort right on the beach. (It helped that we booked it last minute while we were in Bangkok.)

These two photos (above) were from our tiny balcony off our room. 

While I was on the islands, I tried to eat as much seafood as possible. Mmmm. (But I also ate as much green curry as possible; I discovered it and fell in love with it on Koh Phi Phi.)

This was our view from dinner at the resort. I loved watching all the fishing boats come in. 

We didn't explore Koh Lanta at all. We spent all of our time relaxing here, splashing in the water to cool off, and playing Candy Crush (Alanna) and reading (me) in our room. Heaven.

While waiting in the Bangkok airport for our flight back to Beijing, I wrote this note on my phone: 

Innocent, joy-filled smile from a girl, playing with kittens as the worn out momma looks on, a waiter saying, "slow down, sister!" because I'm stirring my tomato soup too quickly, causing it to spill over the side of the bowl, laughing 'til my belly hurts, a scoop of mango gelato, riding in the back of a pick-up truck - a common mode of transportation - feeling a breeze.

Those little things and all of the inside jokes I now have with Alanna are the real highlights from Thailand. I will also remember all of the iced coffees from 7-Eleven I drank.

P.S. One of the things we laughed the hardest about:

Our last morning in Thailand, we had to fly from Krabi to Bangkok. We got up super early to get to the airport for our flight, but almost no taxis stopped for us and the ones that did, refused to take us. Stressful. We thought for sure we were gonna miss our flight. Then a tuktuk driver stopped for us. We tried to explain that he couldn't help us, there was no way his little tuktuk could make it to the airport and even if it could, it wouldn't make it on time. He kept motioning for us to get in, so against our better judgement, we did (7-Eleven iced coffees and plastic-wrapped pastries in hand). 

He drove us slowly to what we assume was his house and motioned for us to get out of the tuktuk and into a nice looking half-ton truck in the driveway. Again, against our better judgement, we listened to the man. And he disappeared into the house. 

We were nervous. I mean, we were in danger of missing our flight, but more than that, WE HAD JUST GOTTEN INTO THE BACKSEAT OF A STRANGE MAN'S TRUCK! Ummm... 

And then we saw this and felt a bit safer: 

"There's no way someone with a stuffed toy Spider-Man would hurt us, right?" Ummm... 

And then a mustached, puffy-haired, tired-looking teenage boy came out of the house and got into the driver's seat. We imagined what had taken place: The man (father?) walked in and yelled, waking up his teenage son, "Hey! Wake up, ya lazy bum! You gotta take two silly white girls to the airport!" 

Alanna and I laughed and laughed. What else could we do? 

We got to the airport safely. I can't remember if the man had asked for money, but if he did, it couldn't have been that much. I remember thinking these people were so kind. Just like everyone else we met in Thailand. 

P.S. Highlights from Chiang Mai and Bangkok, Shanghai, Boracay, Vermont, and Montréal. 

highlights from thailand: bangkok.

Over a year ago, I went to Thailand for two weeks. And then never blogged about it. Oops. But I am now! Since it was so long ago, I'm just quickly sharing what I remember, but if I remember it, that probably means these thoughts were the important parts, right?

I've broken the trip into three parts: Chiang Mai, Bangkok, and islands Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta. 

After playing with elephants in Chiang Mai, Alanna and I flew to Bangkok for a few days. Everyone I've talked to either loves the city or hates it, and unfortunately, we didn't love it. I think this is because the city felt dirty and loud, and not that different from Beijing. (I might also think of it negatively because it was on my last morning there that I found out my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.)

We might also not have loved Bangkok because we stayed on Khao San Road. Neither of us was in a partying mood, so we wished we hadn't taken the advice from friends to stay here. Oh well. Our hotel was actually pretty nice and had a rooftop pool and a little cafe with delicious croissants. 

And! This lady was right out front! I ate many plates of pad thai and spring rolls. Delicious and so cheap! The pad thai was only 30 Baht, about $1 CAD. 

There were photos of the king everywhere. 

There were also tuk-tuks everywhere. 

We used tuk-tuks to get to most of the touristy places we wanted to see because getting a taxi was difficult. 

We went to a lot of random temples and saw a lot of buddha statues and I never got over the beauty of them. I'm not buddhist but I just felt something while I was there. 

I think my favourite "sight" in Bangkok was Wat Pho, also known as "The Reclining Buddha." 

It was just so huge and majestic. I stared at it in pure awe. 

Another favourite place was the Grand Palace. Alanna didn't go in (she sat outside watching people be turned away—your shoulders and knees had to be covered to enter) so I wandered around by myself. 

I think what struck me most was the detail. Intricate paintings, gold everywhere, stone work. 

One thing I will say about visiting all of these temples was that I did not like the crowds or the "touristy-ness." And I know, I know, I was a tourist. And part of me felt like I shouldn't be there. Yes, I was in awe of the temples and thought that they were beautiful, and I know that tourism has its place and reason in an economy, but I felt like the crowds—including me!—with their cameras and posing and staring cheapened the temples and what they mean. 

I think Jason Hudson said it well in a post he wrote about visiting Angkor Wat: 

As peace signs spread like wild fire, hoards of tourists scurried through the ruins behind a bellowing guide, his voice amplified by a squawking speaker box on his hip. Between these silly groups and the locals selling t-shirts inside the temples, the potential for a religious experience seemed laughable now...

I wondered why I was here and began to feel like a major asshole. I, an agnostic at-best, was part of the problem, traipsing around these hallowed grounds which should be left to those who worship them. I felt terribly for the few people who had come from far and wide to quietly experience this place, the Mecca of Buddhism. On the rare occasion that I visit a Christian church, I stand quietly, careful not to disrupt the environment or the people there. But these temples have signs and arrows forcing you on a track, "This Way Please", and suddenly you find yourself standing, disrespectfully, at an altar or in an inner sanctum once reserved for only the most-devoted.

I've visited temples since my time in Bangkok, and I probably still will, but I have far less patience for touristy gimmicks, crowds, and taking posed photos. I'm certainly way more aware of my presence, behaviour, and possible disrespect. (And now I'm cringing as I remember photos I posed for in Datong. Oh man.)

Okay, enough serious talk. This Pepsi stand is where one of my favourite parts of the trip began. Alanna and I decided we would do a river tour that included a floating market. Ha! We were totally ripped off and we totally deserved it. But I've never laughed so hard in my life. 

We bought our tickets at the stand (that and the sketchy boxing ring just out of the frame should have been clues we were being duped) and waited for our boat to pick us up. 

We were the only two on the boat and we didn't know whether we should laugh or be scared. We laughed. Of course. 

We passed a lot of homes like this one. It was interesting and beautiful seeing where people lived, signs of lives being lived like potted plants and clothes hung out to dry. 

The "floating market" turned out to be one woman with a boat of cheap trinkets and souvenirs, as well as some snacks and beer. Alanna joked that our "captain" probably said, Hey, Ma! Get out in the boat! I got us a couple of suckers! She bought each of us a beer, including one for the "captain," which he didn't drink and probably gave back to his mom to sell to the next group. 

We could have been mad at ourselves or at the guys involved, but we weren't at all. Seriously, we laughed and laughed—at ourselves, at the situation, at everything. Memories, guys, memories. 

We passed a few other boats and laughed harder, wondering if their passengers had been tricked too. 

Annnd we stopped at a snake farm. Sketchy and scary and sad. Other than the few people working, we were the only ones there and the animals (they didn't only have snakes) didn't seem well cared for. 

Our "tour" ended at Wat Arun, also known as The Temple of Dawn. 

Again, the details were incredible. Breathtaking, really. 

And that was Bangkok: a hotel with a rooftop pool and a cart of pad thai out front, temples and temples and more temples, and touristy sketchiness. I know that's not everyone's experience, but it was ours. And it was fun memorable. 

P.S. See highlights from Chiang Mai here and check back soon for Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta. 

P.P.S. Highlights from Shanghai, Boracay, Vermont, and Montreal.

highlights from thailand: chiang mai.

I went to Thailand over a year ago and never shared the photos or details on the blog. Oops. 

I'll be honest, it's been so long ago now that I don't remember a lot, but I do remember some things, so I thought I'd quickly share some photos and thoughts. 

I've broken the trip into three parts: Chiang Mai, Bangkok, and islands Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta. 

Here are the highlights from Chiang Mai: 

Now, this is not a great photo is it? But I took it and I'm sharing it because the first thing that kind of blew my mind as soon as we arrived was that they drive on the left side of the road in Thailand. It was my first time being in a country where they drive on the "other side" of the road and I was excited about it :) 

This fruit shake stand was a very short walk from our hotel and I drank my fair share of them. Mmmm. 

I think Thai writing is so beautiful. 

This woman was making pancake-like things (I think they were called "rotis"?) and she moved so fast. This was the first thing I ate in Thailand (not including snacks at the airport) and it was delicious! If I remember correctly, I had one that was banana and chocolate. Again, mmmm. 

There were statues of buddhas everywhere. So stately and beautiful. I think I actually stopped in awe a few times. 

Hands down, the biggest highlight of the ENTIRE trip was visiting this Elephant Nature Park. 

We learned all about these incredible animals and the struggles that so many of them go through. I won't go into details here, but you can find so much information on their website. 

Sharing a moment. 

We got to feed the elephants, give them water, bathe them, and give them lots of love. I didn't want to leave. I fell in love. 

My only goal on this trip: Kiss an elephant. Check!

If you're going to Thailand, please, please try and visit the Elephant Nature Park. There are lots of places where you can see and interact with elephants, but they treated the animals so well here and I learned so much. 

Not the greatest photo, but these were the most delicious spring rolls I had ever had.

After we got back from the park, we ate the most delicious meal of pad thai, spring rolls, and Chang beer. 

The night market was a neat experience, and we got lots of bartering practice!

The transportation in Thailand was cool. Not just driving on the opposite side of the road, but we rode in the back of trucks, on crowded buses, in colourful tuktuks, and in *gulp* the personal vehicle of a stranger. 

I always laugh because at home (in Canada) I'm so careful, always buckling my seat belt, never riding with strangers, etc. How quickly things change and you adjust. (But of course, be safe and trust your gut!)

Okay. These tigers. Yes, the pictures are cool and the tigers are cute/majestic depending on their size. But Alanna and I felt so bad visiting them.

We had been looking forward to visiting the Tiger Kingdom and when we got there, we paid to see all of the tigers (they divide them by age). There were signs posted everywhere about how they treated the tigers well, that they are just sleepy, not drugged, etc., but we weren't convinced. 

We just didn't like the way they were treated. The handlers would lightly hit them (playfully?) while they were sleeping to wake them up; I guess to make for better photo ops? Alanna and I kept telling them that it was okay, we didn't mind if they slept, that we were content to just pat them and look at them. (They are impressive just to look at!) But the handlers scoffed at us and tried to pose us, almost making us get into silly positions. (For example, they wanted us to put the tigers' tails into our mouths.) 

All of this, plus the fact that they were in enclosures (I know, what did we expect?) made us feel uncomfortable and guilty. We left after only seeing two sizes of tigers, despite paying for them all. 

Now, I'm not trying to make anyone feel guilty. I know lots of people who have visited the same place and enjoyed it. Plus, hey, we visited, didn't we? Alanna and I talked about it and agreed: We probably would have felt a little uncomfortable and guilty no matter what, but we think we felt more so because we visited the tigers AFTER visiting the Elephant Park. And after learning so much about how harmful captivity and certain treatment was to elephants, how could we not feel bad for the tigers, too?

I ate as much Thai food as possible on this trip. I was determined to try everything. This was tom yum soup and it was so good. 

This is not the best quality photo but I love it so much. This captured a moment in between shrieks and laughing. Have you ever had a "fish pedicure"? Oh man! So tickly! We literally could not stop shrieking and we apologized many times to the other customers. They assured us they did the same thing. What an experience. But our feet were softer afterwards. 

Please don't judge me. We ate here after a long day of walking around and neither of us was feeling well and we just wanted something that tasted like home. Oh, McDonalds. It was familiar. But! In my defense, it's kind of cool to try fast food in different countries because there are always different things on the menu. And isn't this Ronald McDonald statue kind of cool? 

So, that's Chiang Mai in a nutshell. Bangkok, Koh Phi Phi, and Koh Lanta coming up!

P.S. Highlights from Shanghai, Boracay, Vermont, and Montreal.