Thailand

My SouthEast Asian adventure continued on February 18^th as I boarded a plane in Denpasar Bali, and flew via Singapore to Phuket, Thailand.  After spending only a couple days hanging out at Karon and Patong beaches, I took a combination of local buses up Phuket and onto the mainland of Thailand where I stopped in Khao Sok. From what I experienced, this is just a one street town that mainly serves as a gateway for tourists to experience the beauty that is Khao Sok National Park at their own pace. A variety of treks were available ranging from a half to multiple day guided trips. Eager for some adventure, I signed myself up to leave the next morning on an overnight camping trip. The trek turned out to be great, although not what I expected. The first day I was picked up along with an older German couple and four guys. Our hilarious and appropriately named guide, ‘Big Man’ brought us by pick-up to the pier where we went by long-tail boat about an hour to a group of bungalows. Although I was kind of excited about camping in the jungle, the bungalows set on the water would be difficult to complain about. The view was stunning – towering limestone cliffs, engulfed in lush green forest, all overlooking emerald green lakes as far as the eye can see! Our next two days were one-of-a-kind, spent hiking through the jungle, stopping to take a swim in the waterfalls along the way, trekking an hour through Nam Ta Lu Caves, home to hundreds of bats, some of the biggest spiders I’ve ever seen and I don’t even want to know what else.. We swam in the lakes, kayaked, ate some incredible Thai food, and even ended the day right with some local Thai rum!

From Khao Sok I bussed to Surat Thani. I took a night train from there to Bangkok, where I somewhat successfully avoided the madness for two days before taking another night train to Chiang Mai. I spent a couple days walking the old city and abundance of markets before taking a minibus to the tiny hippy town of Pai. I finally braved my first Southeast Asian motorbike rental, and Pai was definantly the place to do it. You could choose to venture in any direction from Pai and be greeted by miles of amazing mountainous roads leading to waterfalls, several little villages including a China Town and even a Piranha Fishing Farm! Pai came alive in the evening, when the streets of the tiny town became lined with venders selling various foods, clothing and no shortage of anything hemp. I even tried to ‘relax’ with a traditional Thai massage as the woman attempts to crack every bone in your body..

Back in Chiang Mai I met with Jin and some others who I had met last year through my work with Maetaman Elephant Camp. We took a day trip to Doi Ithanon – supposedly the highest peak in Thailand. What a neat experience! I was the only foreigner in the group of maybe 14 Thais, including three monks. They were all so welcoming and we spent the whole afternoon taking endless pictures with the spectacular view as a perfect backdrop!

From Chiang Mai I continued North by bus to a little border town called Chiang Khong, only separated from Laos by the Mekong River. I met up with two girls also heading into Laos and it looks like we will at least begin the journey together.. Stay tuned as the adventure continues and I head into Laos next!