Hej Hej!See! I told you I would update my Thailand excursion!
Alright, so... there is so much to say... but I might just might say it concisely...
Thailand was fun, hot, beautiful, extremely different than anything I have ever experienced... the food night have been my favorite part... half because it is so amazing... and half because I can eat most of it... (it's usually gluten and dairy free) so I got to feel like a normal human being for a while... which was so so refreshing and nice! ...easy living, for a change... no worries about how I am going to find edible food... or stay alive... :)
The people were also much more outwardly friendly it seemed than what I have gotten used to in Denmark... not that Danes aren't friendly, but Thai people go out of their way to say hi, and ask if you need help...
A little brief outline of my trip.... I flew into Bangkok and stayed with Erik Myxter for a few days... he is one of my friends from high school who has been studying abroad in a suburb outside Bangkok for the past year... That is him below...
I must say... if you think you're ever living in a mess... you have no idea what I went through sleeping in Erik's room... no idea. Smelly, messy, dirty, moldy, spiders. And! just think... I am not even a tidy person... and I can deal with just about anything... so if I am disgusted...well, that is saying something... Sorry Erik if you ever read this!!! But I know you won't be offended... because it's just the truth. I was so impressed with myself for living through just the situation of his room.
The day I arrived, Erik gave me a tour of his school, we danced at a soccer game, and played ultimate frisbee!!! ...that down there is us dancing at the soccer game... can you find me in the picture? Just try. It'll be some "Where's Waldo" fun.
The next day... Erik had school, so I ventured into Bangkok by myself... even just getting there was an adventure... I took a few different modes of transportation... and I might add that getting around in a place by yourself where you cannot understand the language, and they cannot understand yours can be quite difficult... I've never been in a place where such little English is spoken. But it always ended up fine... in the end. But, in the two weeks I was there I learned more Thai than I have learned Danish... and yes, I have been in Denmark for 4 months now... So, I was getting off of the sky train and glancing around for something that looked like a giant river... coincidentally, so were the only other two non-Asians aboard the sky train... and that is how I met Paul...
Master Scuba Diver, from England, working in Southern Thailand momentarily... and his friend Matt... who is not currently pictured... The three of us hung out all day... and it was so much fun! They were so nice... and I know this sounds stereotypical... but, I was really entertained by their accents...They told me a random bit of information... which I think is amusing enough to relay onto you...People in the UK used to call things by phrases which rhyme with their real name... for example, if someone wanted to say "the bathroom is just up the stairs and to the right." They would actually say, "the bathroom is just up the apples and pears and to the right."
There were many other examples but the word stairs is the only one I remember!
We found the giant river we were looking for and rode a boat to the grand palace stop...
We found the giant river we were looking for and rode a boat to the grand palace stop...
After we got off the oat we found a Tuk-tuk (a motorized cart thing which a driver crazily speeds you around in, to different destinations...weaving in and out of traffic,) ... there does not appear to be any enforced driving rules in Thailand... people drive on the wrong side of the road... I mean, they really do drive opposite directions than I am used to, but what I mean is that lanes were merely meaningless lines painted on the road... same goes for the speed limit... seriously, this ride was more action-packed than an amusement park.
We ended up seeing a bunch of temples... neat architecture, climbing lots of stairs... basically looking at tons of things...
Lots of Buddas... everywhere!
It ended up to e so lucky that I ran into them... It made getting around a lot less stressful, one of theme actually had navigation skills...
But, then again... I suppose if I hadn't run into them, I would have had some other sort of adventure...
Anyway, it was fun.
The real adventure here was trying to get myself back to Erik's place... it was a Thursday night, where rush hour never ends... and none of the taxi drivers wanted to drive all the way back to Rangsit (the suburb)... oh my! I was so frustrated! Eventually, I found a way...
The next day, Erik and I left for the weekend to an Island called Koh Samet. In order to get there we took a 3 hour bus ride, the back of a truck for a while, and a boat... in all of this combined it only cost about 10 or 12 dollars to get to the Island... really.
It was beautiful! When we arrived we got a motor bike and motored around for a while... until we found a place to stay.
This is the Island...
We ate every meal on the beach...
We just relaxed all weekend... and went kayaking... which is where I got a little sunburned... on the areas where the spray on suntan lotion blew away in the wind rather than onto me... We eventually had to head in because a storm was heading our way... as you can see blow...
I just love this next picture...
Sunday we returned to Rangsit... but, not in the same way that we came... We took a boat back to the mainland and then found a van taxi for even cheaper... however, little did we know that we would be stuffed to the brim in this van... I don't think the driver anticipated the size of one of the women who took up half of one bench... So, Erik and I were squeezed in the back seat because... But! we got to watch a movie... it was an action film... I don't remember what it was called... but the fact that it was an action movie was perfect because it was as intense ass our ride back... This was the craziest taxi driver of all. The ride back was supposed to take at least 3 hours... well, it was raining, and we got home in 2 hours. He was going to fast that were flying... except for ll of the bumps, which caused Erik to keep hitting his head on the ceiling :) haha. Oh my... it was a fun ride... and the best part was that I didn't even get car-sick.
The next week Erik had final exams… so I decided I needed to adventure somewhere… but I just couldn’t decide where… I was choosing between Puket islands or Chiang Mai and mountains/jungle. Because I was sunburned and already had been to an island, I finally picked Chiang Mai… so I booked my ticket… and left that same day.
It’s a good thing I know myself well enough to know that I should always leave at least an hour earlier than recommended… just in case I get lost… because, it usually never fails… I took a sung tow (back of a truck) to the bus stop… and then I got on the bus that Erik told me to look for… but then when on the bus, I was told in sort-of-English, from what I could understand, that I was on the wrong bus… so I got off at the next stop and just took a taxi… I got in and said, the airport… and the taxi driver said, international airport? … and I said, yep! So, I thought… ok, I’m set now… no need to worry… but then after we had been driving for about 15 minutes in the car, the driver started to ask me where I was going… and I said Chiang Mai… and then he had an “oh no!” look on his face, and said that I must go to the domestic airport… I know my ticket said international airport… but I thought… what do I know? … and so I said ohhh ok? …and we turned around and drove for another 45 minutes to the domestic airport… but it really didn’t look like the same airport that I had flown into Thailand on, which I know was the one I was supposed to be going to… so I asked if Air Asia flew out of here before I got out of the taxi, and the airport security man either couldn’t understand me or didn’t know the answer… anyway, finally I had to call Erik and ask what the name of the airport was… and it turns out I was right, we were at the wrong airport… so, we had to drive another 45 minutes back to the first airport we were heading to … Through all of this, I thankfully still arrived perfectly on time. Ha, never underestimate the power of being prepared. Also, another note to self… if you think you know what you’re doing, but someone tells you you’re doing it wrong… don’t be so quick to believe them, even if they have much more experience or authority… they might be wrong… hmmm, I guess that means: trust your instincts.
When making my travel arrangements, I wasn’t really worried about traveling alone through Thailand… in fact, I was pretty excited about it… but then my confidence started to falter as I began talking to different people along the way to Chiang Mai…
1.) Some of Erik’s friends were surprised that I was going by myself.
2.) When the taxi driver concluded that I was traveling to Chiang Mai by myself, he exclaimed (something in Thai) which I took to mean… oh my goodness! By yourself?!
By this point I was still pretty confident…
But then the 3rd discouraging interaction started to get me nervous…
3.) An airport official was trying to direct me to where I needed to go and he asked me if I was going alone, and I said, “yep,” and then he said, “what?!” And asked about my plans, and I said I didn’t have any… and then he looked even more incredulous… and said, “what?! But, you’re arriving at 9pm?! What are you going to do?” And I said, “… hmm, I don’t know, I’ll just find a place I guess.”
Well, as you can imagine… after that I started to wonder if it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be…
But! Luckily the perfect person plopped down on the plane next to me. She was my age and from Germany… she had been traveling by herself for the past 6 months in Australia, New Zealand, Laos, Vietnam, and some other places… She was still alive, loving life, and hadn’t had any mishaps… and whoosh, just like that, my confidence was back. I knew I was right… traveling alone is as easy as you make it. Ha!
I did have a name of a possible place to stay written on a sticky note… but I didn’t know where it was, or if they had any rooms available…
When I finally arrived to Chiang Mai, this girl and I took a taxi from the airport to an internet café in the middle of town… and I asked the person working if they knew where Daret’s Guesthouse was… and magically it was just 3 blocks away, so I walked over there, and they had a room still available. Lucky me, it all worked out perfectly! It was so cute, there was even an open air café connected,… which was so handy because the food was so great! But what was even better were the fruit shakes… my favorite was pineapple passion fruit… but pineapple banana was a close second… no dairy included! Just real fruit, water, and ice… heaven.
That night I walked to the night market, and explored...
The next morning I woke up early and signed up for an all day Thai cooking class... the Instructor came and picked me up at the guesthouse... I was the first one picked up... so I was kind of wondering what I was in for... next we stopped at a hotel and picked up two lesbians from Australia who were on holiday, and then the next stop we picked up a heterosexual couple from Switzerland who were on holiday for a year... a year!? It was quite amusing having a wide variety of statuses... single, homo, hetero... everyone was really nice... and we learned to cook amazing food! First out instructor took us to a market to get supplies... pictured below...
Chips of all sorts! duran Chips! Yum! Jack fruit chips! Banana Chips!
Dried Octopus anyone?
Pink Eggs?!
Mangled Pigs Legs and Meat... hmmm I really wonder how food safety works in other countries...
Ok! Here were are cooking/chopping away!
I even got to use a mortar and pestle! So fun! I've always wanted to use one for a serious task!
Woks are fun! I've got a lovely bunch of woks... there they are a standing in a row, small ones, big ones, some the size of your head... have you seen the lion king? no? well then you won't get that association.
We ended up making so many things! Chicken in Coconut Soup, Papaya Salad, Pad Thai, Green Curry with Chicken, Fresh Spring Rolls, and Mango Sticky Rice. And we got to eat each dish after we had prepared it... what a wonderful day! That night when I had gotten back to my guesthouse I rested for a little while, went out and explored a while, and then went to the cafe to have a fruit shake and read my book, but while I was down there two other people who were traveling alone started chatting, so of course I joined in, and what luck that turned out to be...
That's how I met Rawi... doesn't he look nice.
I ended up hanging out with him for a lot of my trip... what a refreshing person. He ended up being the son of Daret (of Daret's Guesthouse) but he had actually grown up in California, but was back in Bangkok on a Fulbright scholarship, doing research of sorts... and he happened to be in Chiang Mai for family matters... I'll just say that he has a lot of ventures, dreams, and ambitions in all sorts of different areas. Just the sort of person I find interesting and fun. Anyway, he turned out to be even more of a blessing than I had imagined because his family also owned the pharmaceutical company in Chiang Mai... which was helpful... I may have downplayed the seriousness of my burn and it's side affects... I'll include that info in a different post I think, if ever. Also! He spoke a lot of Thai! Which is handy... in Thailand.
The next day I went Zip lining through the Jungle treetops... and I love heights, so that was lovely. I really do love heights... that wasn't sarcastic or anything.
A little bit more of the jungle...
The ride up the mountain to the jungle took about an hour and a half, and a girl in the back seat of the van threw up on the way up... that was great.
But, really, the zip lining was fun... unfortunately I didn't see any tigers though... darn!
When they dropped me off back at the guesthouse I went out exploring again, and found tons of markets... even a flower market :)
That is where I ran into these three little girls... :) They were so cute, and defintely not too shy because they just kept switching poses and wanting me to take more pictures and then demanded to see them on the screen... hmhm, it was funny.
Alright Day 3 or 4 in Chiang Mai:I went on a day trekk where they first took us to a tribal village... 
Next we rode elephants through the jungle... I kind of felt bad about it though... they were so cute... but who knows if they really wanted to be ridden... I'm pretty sure they didn't have a say in the matter. This one below kept wrapping his trunk around my leg... :) it was the baby.
Next, we hiked through the jungle to a waterfall, it rained the whole time we were hiking through the jungle, but it felt so good because it had been so hot before...
Next we rode elephants through the jungle... I kind of felt bad about it though... they were so cute... but who knows if they really wanted to be ridden... I'm pretty sure they didn't have a say in the matter. This one below kept wrapping his trunk around my leg... :) it was the baby.Next, we hiked through the jungle to a waterfall, it rained the whole time we were hiking through the jungle, but it felt so good because it had been so hot before...
After that we went river rafting, and bamboo pole rafting... which was fun and relaxing...When I got back, it was nearly time for dinner and Rawi wanted to go all out for dinner so we went to this nice restaurant on the river... and got a whole bunch of amazing food... ohhh my was it ever good. and at the end we even got coconut ice cream! So so exciting!
The picture below is at the restaurant... did I mention that Rawi was a photographer?
OK it seems that I have forgotten about a day in this description... because the big dinner was my last night in Chiang Mai... so these pictures below are from a forgotten day...
Rawi and I at the Night Market...
Some Thai Culture...
At the Park...
The Egg Man Cart... The man is sitting in the shade of the tree, if you can see him...These egg people just walk around with two baskets on a stick which they carry on their shoulders... their supplies are in one of the baskets and then they fry the eggs up in the other basket, (when someone buys one)
Woman Selling Something...
A Relaxed Saleswoman... (under the umbrella)
Rawi and I found a man That raises cock fighters...
This is the Champion apparently... I didn't catch his name...
Oh Son Cran... The Thai New Year's Festival...Listen... this is not an exaggeration... for New Years the entire country (besides the rioting parts) have a nation wide water fight.... it's chaos... people line every street with huge water bins, ice, buckets, cups, water guns, water balloons, hoses, and they throw water at each other and every single passerby... people on foot, motorbike, even cars... tons of people also ride in the back of trucks with water bins and drive around splashing people all day... and one of the best parts of all this is that it isn't just one day... this goes on for 3 official days (but this year in order to avoid more rioting the king declared that it start early so it went on for 5 days.)
This festival was one of the most ridiculously fun/funny things ever... I wish people in the US conglomerantly celebrated something so intensly...
Here is my water festival experience... walking through streets that are so crowded you have to weave through people, lined with at least 4 bands playing on stages on every block, people handing out coconut ice cream (that I could actually eat because it doesn't have dairy!!) being drenched every second... and also being smothered with a menthol white clay mixture and/or talcum powder... So I ended up walking through masses of people with my eyes closed while hundreds of hands were either smearing things on my face or drenching it with water... :) fun huh? it was actually a lot of fun...
... it's a bonus if the water is clean :) haha, I think/hope it usually was...
After I flew back to Bangkok Erik and I hopped on a bus to a city 6 hours north in the (Issan?) area... and that is where we spent the Festival days... this was Erik's weapon of choice...
It was a ridicullous time... 
My face at one point was entirely white with clay.. but Penueg kept giving me his shirt to wipe it off ... that menthol is stingy! Wiping off my face was a poor choice I think though because it just kept me as a target for more... bad strategy.
We are all soaked in this picture (these are some of the people Erik went to school with.)
Well, That is almost the end of the Thai adventure... The last adventure was catching a bus from the town we were in, in enough time to get back to Bangkok from up North, then to Rangsit to pack up, then back to Bangkok airport. (I left Erik in the town to enjoy the rest of the festival.)
It was a lot of fun... and such a good experience... :) but I was glad to be back...
That seems to be one of my trends... I love going everywhere I have been going... but I still really enjoy coming home... so I hope that trend upholds through my flight back to Minneapolis... I am pretty sure it will. I am actually already so excited to be back! But, I am still sad that it is finally so nice here in Copenhagen, and I won't be able to continue to see it get even nicer!
Also... I will be graduated from college in a week... a week!? Holy moly, I seriously didn't think I could endure to see the end of it... but I have! or almost have... Such a mixture of contradictory feelings I have about that... some of which I do not care to acknowledge.
oh my! The world that people call "real" is supposedly happening next. I don't fully know what that means... but, I guess I'm about to find out. I have a feeling that it mean what ever you want it to... with concrete factor of some definite bills. oh nuts.
ahhh!
I'll be ok. I think. Yep!
:)
Alright... I guess I should maybe clean or study for a final exam I have tomorrow morning... ish. hmm maybe I'll clean.
p.s. It's almost 10pm here, and it's not dark yet :)
Have a wonderful day!
More Forest!
So Enchanted by this Point...
Here we stumbled upon the first cliff...
