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

Canada Day

Happy Canada Day!!

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

'Tis The Season to be Working...

Now that I'm back from Thailand, it's time to start working again! Just like any typical university student during the summer, I got myself two part-time jobs (and possibly a third one), and I'm working all summer to be able to make up for the lack of work during the school year.

I'm back at the Goldeyes this summer, working as a Fan Services Rep: basically, I stand around at the top of my section with a sign that reads "Please wait for a stop in play". That means, I stop people from going to their seats while a player is at bat. It's the easiest (and most boring...) job I've ever had! I'm getting paid to watch baseball and stand around. It's not my favourite way to pass time, but it's money!

I'm also still working at Bodegoes (it's a restaurant in the Exchange district). I haven't been getting a lot more hours than when I was in school, but let's hope I will soon!

I may be working hard, but I have a feeling this summer will be a good one.

And Now I'm a Redhead!

I dyed my hair red!
I've been wanting to dye my hair red again for almost 2 years. In grade 11, I had dyed it red and I loved it! I dyed it back to brown for my graduation pictures and I had wanted to dye it back ever since, but I never got around to it, and now that I'm back from Thailand and its blazing hot sun, I finally did it!
It's going to be a lot of work to keep it nice and red, but I'm loving it!

Happy Monday!