Would You Rather: Travel Edition

Shane, over at Sea Salt Secrets has posted a couple of "Would You Rather: Travel Edition"s and I decided to try it out! I'm about to go on a pretty incredible trip (more on that later), so it seemed appropriate to do a travel quiz! I'm taking her question from her fourth edition and you're welcome to try it out as well!

Would you rather...
Visit Hogwarts OR Narnia?
Hogwarts. No hesitation. I mean, Narnia is cool and all.... but I'm way too much of a Harry Potter fan to not go to Hogwarts, even if it's just for an hour!

Get dumped and eat the cost of your ex's trip OR spend an entire 2-week vacation with someone you can't stand?
I would much, much rather spend the extra money than deal with someone for two weeks... Even if it means not having a single penny on my trip. Nothing can ruin a vacation more than a terrible travel-"buddy."

Live in Africa OR in Antartica for a year?
Africa! It's such a vast continent with amazing people and culture that I would love to discover and be a part of. Although.... I'm not sure if I would be able to deal with the lack of snow...

Be captured by a wild tribe in the jungle or by pirates at sea?
I would totally pull a Elizabeth Swan and get along with the pirates. Plus, pirates are usually found in some pretty gorgeous places of the world, so the landscape would be a big plus!

Live in extreme luxury for a bit with no freedom to do what you want OR on the lowest travel budget imaginable, with the freedom to travel anywhere you like?
Considering I survived perfectly fine with absolutely no money in Munich for about 4 days and still had a great time, I think I'll take freedom over money. That should be an automatic choice for everyone, anyway... but our society is a capitalist one, so it's not so obvious.

Attend the Royal Wedding OR the Olympic Games?
Hands down, the Olympics. Rio 2016? Pyeong Chang 2018? Tokyo 2020? Beijing 2022? All amazing places I would love to visit, let alone be part of this incredible sports event!

Dine at the hottest new restaurant before it gets big OR a hole in the wall ethnic restaurant with amazing food OR a familiar classic with grandma's comfort food?
The small ethnic restaurant. The best food I had in Thailand was the street food, which was not only extremely cheap, but unbeatable, and impossible to replicate.

Live one life that lasts 1,000 years OR live 10 lives that last 100 years each?
I would much rather live 10 completely different, full lives with amazing people around me than 1,000 years of roaming the world alone. I could be a travel photographer, an athlete, a doctor, a marine biologist, a musician, a pilot.... so many things I could be!

Wake up with a regrettable tattoo on your butt OR with a random stranger in your bed?
Hmm.... If it was a tasteful tattoo.... No. Scratch that. Tattoos are forever and there's no way I would go through the pain of laser removal on my butt. I'll take a stranger any day! Doesn't mean anything happened between us either!

Travel wide or travel deep?
That's a tough one. As much as I would love to see every corner of the world, I think that experiencing the culture and the people is more important to me. Living like a local, learning the language... That's what I want.

There it is! Of course, there isn't one "right" way to travel. Go out and explore the world! It's beautiful out there.

Thailand Part 5: Khao Sok National Park and Conclusion

Last but not least... Khao Sok National Park! A hidden jewel in Thailand that I was able to discover thanks to ThaIntro.

It's a national park in Thailand which mainly consists of this big, beautiful emerald lake. We only spent one night there, but it was an amazing experience. On the lake, there are floating bungalows. It was like being in a little cottage village.
In the lake in front of the bungalows was a giant log in the water where we could hang out and sit on and I spent almost all day on that thing.
Needless to say, everyone burned. Myself included. Actually, I may have gotten a minor heat stroke..... And yes, I wore sunscreen. SPF 60, thank you very much!

 

 

 

So here we are, at the end of this amazing trip. I never thought I would have been able to do this alone, but I did and now that I think about it, I wouldn't have it any other way. Every day, I met incredible people, and discovered a new country and experienced things that most 19-year olds don't get to do.
I am so grateful to everyone I met that made this trip as amazing as it has been, I miss you all so much!
I have gained so much confidence from this trip. After you travel by yourself in a country that you know nothing about, and make it through without a scratch, you feel like you can do anything.

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Thailand posts:
Part 1: Bangkok // Part 2: Koh Phangan // Part 3: Kho Phi Phi // Part 4: Chiang Mai // Part 5: Khao Sok

Thailand Part 4: Chiang Mai

After leaving Phuket, I got on a plane to head to Chiang Mai. It was a short 2 hour plane ride, and in that time, I met a german guy who was sitting beside me and we talked the whole plane ride. He had no plans, so I suggested he come check out the hostel I was staying at and he did! So we made our way to the hostel, which was by far my favourite hostel on my trip. It cost me 3$ a night! There was a little patio in the garden where everyone would hang out and at night we would play music, drink beer and talk. I made a lot of friends there, simply from hanging around the hostel.
Once we got settled in, we went for a walk to see some temples, and came across a parade! It was so random but the floats were incredible. Then we walked some more and found a beautiful temple, one of the oldest in Chiang Mai. I couldn't go in, because I wasn't dressed appropriately (women have to cover their shoulders and knees, but with +35 degrees Celsius, there was no way I was wearing pants.) He took my camera and took picture for me, though.

 

When you're in Chiang Mai, you can't not go see elephants. This is the place to go for that. And considering they are my favourite animal, I had to go see some! So I booked a tour and the next day, they picked me up and brought me to an elephant sanctuary called Baanchang Elephant Park. Right away, they got us in Mahout (elephant trainer) clothes, and we fed the elephants. Then we learned how to ride them and the different command words. After lunch, we went on an hour-long ride on them! We sat on their necks and let them guide us around the park. After that tour, we went into the water with the elephants to bathe them and had a little bit of a water fight with the Mahouts. It was by far the most amazing experience I've ever had. You can just feel the intelligence coming from these creatures and their personality too!

 

Having no plans the next day, I decided to walk around Chiang Mai with more friends I met at the hostel. We went and got massages from women ex-prisoners. They have a rehabilitation program in one of the prisons where they teach women how to do thai massages so they have a job when they get out. And by the way, best massage I got in Thailand by far. The next day I headed out with more friends on mopeds to find water falls in the mountain. Even if it didn't seem like we did a whole lot, I still have a lot of fun just driving around and exploring Chiang Mai. We found one waterfall where the water was deep enough to sit in and the water was nice and cold, so I eagerly jumped in!

    

I miss Chiang Mai so much... I made so many great friends and how so many memories of sitting with everyone at night and hanging out, and of course, the elephants!

Thailand posts:
Part 1: Bangkok // Part 2: Koh Phangan // Part 3: Kho Phi Phi // Part 4: Chiang Mai // Part 5: Khao Sok

Thailand Part 3: Koh Phi Phi

Koh Phi Phi is probably one of my favourite places in Thailand, along with Chiang Mai. It's one of those places that sucks you in and you don't really ever want to leave...
After Koh Phangan, I headed to Krabi for a night on my way to Koh Phangan, where I did some rock climbing and met a few Canadians! We ended up at the bar of my hostel and played beer pong against some Americans (and won, of course! When it comes to Canada vs USA, whether it's hockey or beer pong, we always win ;) )

The next day, I went on a bus to the pier, and met a girl from England and a guy from Belgium. We talked all the way to the pier, and then on the 2+ hour ferry, we kept talking. Finally, when we arrived on Koh Phi Phi, we all decided to follow her, because she had a reservation in a good hostel. She had booked a double room, which was the smallest room they had, and so I decided to share the room with her (Because when you're backpacking through a country, rooming with a total stranger is honestly not weird!) and the Belgian guy booked a room with his friend right next to us. We ended up spending our whole time together and I had such a great time with them!

These signs were everywhere. Koh Phi Phi was one of the places that was hit during the tsunami.

The island of Koh Phi Phi is an interesting one. Where most people are is called Tonsai Village, which means "tourist" village, and that's really what it is: hostels, hotels, restaurants, bars, convenient stores, tour shops, tattoo shops and souvenir shops. There are more tourist than locals there. I'm not usually a fan of very touristy areas, but I really loved this place. 

Notice the Irish pub in the background? (And yes, that's a REAL monkey!!!)

The day after I arrived, I went on a boat tour, that eventually made its way to Maya Bay, where the movie The Beach was filmed. Honestly, it was a beach like any other, but the way we got there was really cool. We arrived to this sort of round rock face by boat and in front of us was a rope ladder, which connected to a boardwalk. This boardwalk lead us into what looked like some sort of hidden summer camp with wooden cabins and everything. The path continued onto the famous beach. (I didn't take many pictures because we were all soaked...)

  

On our second night, we were out late for dinner and suddenly, all the bars around us started closing.... Confused, we asked our waiter and he told us that the military announced a coup d'état, which included a nation-wide curfew: 10pm-5am. So even though we were on a tourist island, very far away from Bangkok where all the protests were happening, they still closed down most of the bars and shops out of respect. It was a little strange the first night, but the curfew was a lot less strict there. They left us tourists alone and we were free to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted.

Finally, it was time to leave. I needed to head back to the mainland, to Phuket to catch a flight to Chiang Mai. I didn't want to leave, but I had no choice. So with a heavy heart, I said goodbye to my new friends and made my way to my least favourite place in Thailand. After a 2 hour ferry ride, I had to pay 5 times the normal price for a taxi to my hostel. Everything in Phuket was insanely expensive because of the intense amount of tourists there. The taxi dropped me off at the beginning of this insane street and told me to go "that way." That insane street is called Bangla Road. It's basically the red light district all in one street: strip clubs, night clubs, prostitutes, ladyboys, drugs, ping pong shows (don't ask...) who are all harassing you. So after an hour of walking in circles, I finally found my hostel. The A/C was at 15 degrees Celsius at night and you couldn't turn it up... So I nearly froze to death and got no sleep... But, the best part of Phuket was the sunset on the beach.

After 4 amazing days in Koh Phi Phi, Phuket is barely even in my mind. It's definitely a place I recommend and if I ever go back to Thailand, that will definitely be on my list of places to visit.

Thailand posts:
Part 1: Bangkok // Part 2: Koh Phangan // Part 3: Kho Phi Phi // Part 4: Chiang Mai // Part 5: Khao Sok

Thailand Part 2: Koh Phangan

(Disclaimer: I went to Koh Phangan twice on this trip, so I apologize for the confusing timeline...)

After 5 days in Bangkok, I finally made my way south. My mom had told me that there was a woman she knew (well, her sister's husband is our plumber, so close enough) who owns a resort on the island and we both thought it was be a great way to get me some ocean air and relax for a couple days before I continued on my adventure.

I spent the night on the sleeper train, which was super cool since I had never been on a train before! Other than the fact that I nearly froze to death because Thai people love their A/C, it was really comfortable and I managed to get some sleep on this 12 hour train ride. In the morning, I arrived at the train station, where a bus picked me up and brought me to the pier, then on to a ferry, which brought me to Koh Phangan.

It was exactly what I needed. Some time to relax by the ocean, the air was much cooler compared to Bangkok and a nice big bed to myself, rather then the rock hard hospital bed. Pretty much every hostel I went to, there was a book exchange shelf, where other travellers leaves books and take others. It's a great concept! It ended up being really useful: I found a Lonely Planet guide for Thailand and planned the rest of my trip.

The sunsets, by the way, were absolutely amazing.

I stayed 2 nights there, then made my way to my next destination.

My bungalow at Sea Flower Bungalows

About 2 weeks later, I returned to Koh Phangan with my ThaIntro group. We were at a different resort, on a different part of the island. Not only was I was with a group, which made the resort like a small village of some sorts, but we also had some pretty cool activities! I got to hold a monkey, and we did an elephant trekking, though the latter was really, really not that great.

Let me explain. Also, keep in mind this is about a week after I went to an elephant sanctuary, which I will blog about soon. We were sitting on these metal seat on the elephant's back, and we were 3 on there. The seat is only really made for two people, so it was really squished and the elephant just did not want to go. The mahout (elephant trainer) kept kicking his ears, and even yanked on his ear with a bullhook to get it to keep moving, and it was completely disheartening. Yes, it was nice to feed them and be around them, but riding them like that wasn't.

Anyway, I spent a lot of time in the hammock outside my bungalow, reading, relaxing, and despite the whole elephant thing, it was an amazing way to end this trip. Koh Phangan is definitely one of the places in Thailand you need to go to if you want a nice beach getaway. There are also huge beach parties (full moon party), which I didn't go to, but I heard they are absolutely amazing. After that relaxing few days, I made my way back to Bangkok so I could fly home!

Thailand posts:
Part 1: Bangkok // Part 2: Koh Phangan // Part 3: Kho Phi Phi // Part 4: Chiang Mai // Part 5: Khao Sok

Thailand Part 1: Bangkok and the hospital fiasco

How to start...
About a week before I was supposed to leave, I started feeling really sick, and it kept happening... The day after the half-marathon, I made my way to the airport with my stomach completely upside down. I felt so incredibly sick in the airport, that I ended up deciding that I couldn't get on the plane. I spent a good two hours in the bathroom, waiting to throw up, trying and panicking. As I was about to board the plane, I nearly fainted and that was the last straw.
Later that day, I went to the doctor's office and they told me I had a bacterial infection called H. Pylori, which causes ulcers. Double whammy. So, I started taking medication, which made me even sicker. But a few days later, I started feeling better, so I rebooked my flight and a week later, I landed in Bangkok!

My first souvenir from Thailand...

Except that not even 24 hours after being there, I started feeling ever sicker than before. Fever, stomach pains, nausea, cold and hot flashes, trembling... So I made my way to the hospital, and they told me I had gastritis, on top of the ulcer and the infection, and you know, dehydration and lack of energy from not being able to eat... So I was hospitalized for 3 nights.
Before I go on, I should explain; the hospital was NOT scary at all! In 15 minutes, I got to see a doctor who spoke good english, was diagnosed and got an IV. Then my room was HUGE! I had a kitchen and a bathroom all to myself!

The view from my hospital room

Anyway, finally, I made my way out of Bangkok, but that's coming up in Part 2.
About two weeks later, I made my way back to Bangkok to start a tour called ThaIntro. If you ever go to Thailand, seriously, do this. (Originally, I was going to do it my first week, but because I was sick I had to push it to the end.)
Pictures are worth a thousand words, so here they are, with captions, of course!

We all dressed as hippies and went to an amazing Indian restaurant

Thai cooking class!

Floating market

Leaning Buddha

Tuk Tuk

Chatuchak Market: One of the biggest markets in Asia. This one has over 15,000 stalls and you can get anything! From knick knacks to furniture to puppies.

Bangkok is an amazing city. It's so fast-paced and full of life! Temples, Khao San Road, street food, the markets, the people... It's so different from anywhere I've ever been, in a really, really good way.

Thailand posts:
Part 1: Bangkok // Part 2: Koh Phangan // Part 3: Kho Phi Phi // Part 4: Chiang Mai // Part 5: Khao Sok