Thailand – Bangkok & Chiang Mai

I arrived in Bangkok around 6:00 AM on Wednesday, February 12th.  I took a 45 minute taxi ride from the airport to the hostel I was staying at for a couple of nights, Once Again Hostel in Samran Rat. My first impression of Thailand is that it is similar to Sri Lanka, just a bit more developed. The driving is also crazy, but I made it to my destination. I plan on staying in shared dorm rooms while traveling. Shared dorm rooms are significantly cheaper than private rooms and are great for meeting people.

I wasn’t able to check in until 2:00 PM so I took a stroll around the block. Stores were opening and there were street vendors already getting food ready. A restaurant that I found didn’t open till 10:00 AM, so I grabbed a cup of coffee and relaxed for a bit. I then went to this restaurant for what I’ll just call breakfast. I had a feast. Shrimp pad thai, stir fried greens with jasmine rice, and iced tea. It was all so good and was only around 350 baht (~$10 USD). 

After breakfast, I went back to the hostel. The heat was starting to kick in (it got up to 95 degrees) and I was feeling jet lagged. Once I checked in, I took a cold shower and that woke me up. I felt ready to take on the day (with no plans). I stopped in at a bookstore & cafe right next door to the hostel, picked out a book about the universe and had an espresso shot. I made it about 30 minutes until I crashed. I went back to the hostel and took a cat nap which ended up being 3 hours long lol. After my nap, I went down to the common area and met Jakob from Hungary and Alex from Germany. Alex, Jakob, and I grabbed pad thai from a popular restaurant just down the street from our hostel (yes, I got pad thai twice in one day and will definitely not be the last time). The streets were bustling at night with street vendors posted up on the sides of the roads. The smell of the stir fried noodles and vegetables and barbecued meats spread through the air and I built up an even bigger appetite. Alex shared some of his thai roti that he got from a street vendor and it was so good. While at the restaurant, we met Sean from Scotland. He was also staying at the same hostel. Alex, Jakob, and Sean and I ate our pad thai at the hostel roof top, which has a nice view of the city skyline.  Alex started playing Green Day and Foo Fighter songs on an acoustic guitar that was just sitting there. It was a chill first day in Thailand. 

I woke up around 6:30 AM the next day and didn’t get the best sleep, but was ready to take on the day. I went to a park about 10 minutes away from the hostel and went for a run. People were running and doing yoga at the park and there was also an outdoor gym that was 30 baht (~$1.00 USD) for a one day pass. After I got back to the hostel, there was a street vendor outside of the hostel that was making crepes with egg and minced pork. I just had to stop there for breakfast and am glad I did.

The night before, plans were made to go to a train market, but those plans fell through. I met Connor from Canada who was staying at the hostel and we made plans to visit The Grand Palace and The Reclining Buddha. I was surprised by the detail at every inch and how sizable these temples are. I got a camera for the trip and just had to pull it out. I felt like a pro, but we’ll just have to wait and see how they turn out lol. 

I was hoping to take a quick cat nap once I got back to the hostel, but ended up sleeping for 4 hours lol. It was 7:00 PM when I woke up and I started chatting with Lily in my room. She’s from Canada. Lily got in yesterday and was in Bangkok for just another night.  We met up with Sean from last night and Stephen from Ireland who was also staying at the hostel. Sean, Stephen, Lily and I went to Chinatown. There is a main street that we walked down with flashing lights, street vendors, and tons of people. We stopped to have some pad thai (big surprise). After Chinatown, we took a a taxi to Khaosan Road, a street that is well known for partying. Music was blaring from different bars and it was packed with people. The four of us capped the night off with a drink at a bar at the end of the street. I had a Chang, one of Thailand’s most popular beers and will be my drink of choice while here. 

The next morning, I had breakfast from a street vendor just outside of the hostel. They were making thai roti and since I was staying at the hostel, it was free. I also set up travel plans to Chiang Mai, my next destination. I was planning on taking a sleeper train, but unfortunately had to book well in advance. I ended up booking a flight through Bangkok Airways for $80.00 USD. I then met up with Stephen from yesterday in the afternoon. We had talked about taking a Mauy Thai class the prior night and found a Muay Thai gym not too far from our hostel. There is an app called Grab that is similar to Uber. They offer scooter rides and you just hop on the back of a scooter. Stephen and I each took a Grab scooter ride to the Muay Thai gym and I’ve never had more fun during a 5 minute ride. We started the class off jumping rope for about 10 minutes as a warm up. Stephen and I had not taken any kind of fighting class in the past, so the main instructor pulled us aside and we jumped into the ring. The instructor showed us how to punch, side kick and front kick, knee, and elbow. We then went over to the punching bags and started to work on what we just learned. After that, we each started sparring with a trainer. Each individual session of activity was 10 minutes long, and we would get water breaks in between. The class was about 2 hours long and by the end of it, I was exhausted. It took a lot of cardio to keep up, but it was a great workout. After the class, Stephen and I had dinner before going back to the hostel and I got all my stuff ready for my 8:00 AM flight the next day. 

I woke up at 5:00 AM the next morning, checked out of the hostel, and took a taxi to the airport. BKK airport was busy, but check-in and security was quick and easy. I arrived at the gate and they started boarding shortly after. Passengers had to take a bus to the airplane. It was only an hour flight to Chiang Mai from Bangkok, which is much better than the roughly 20 hours of flights from Minneapolis to Bangkok.  I got a breakfast as well, which I’ve never had during a domestic flight in The States. 

I touched down in Chiang Mai and the first thing I noticed was the luscious greenery and the mountains. It was another beautiful day with blue skies. I grabbed my checked bag and took a taxi the hostel I was staying at, Give Me 5 Hostel. The hostel is right in the center of the city and the airport is tucked away in the corner, so got a nice tour during the taxi ride. My first impressions of Chiang Mai is that it is similar to Bangkok, but noticeably less busy. I spotted out lots of American chains, like Pizza Hut and Starbucks. I had to wait a few hours to check in, so I sat down in the patio area and met Jordan and Alice from England. I also met Erin, who is originally from Detroit, but lives in Colorado now. She is visiting Thailand and is attending a massage school. After chatting for awhile, everyone went their own way and I checked in. I dropped all my stuff off and went for a little stroll. There were temples near by, restaurants, massage parlours, and shopping stores. After a quick lunch, I got a Thai Massage for 300 Baht (~$9 USD) and it was very relaxing.

I went back to the hostel and got ready for the night. I met up with Alice and she was with her friend she was traveling with, Lily. I tagged along with Alice and Lily to Phaploen Night Market for dinner. The night market was lively with street vendors and live music. Jordan and his friend Ben that he was traveling with met up with us and we hung out for awhile. We then went to Chiang Mai Night Bazaar, the most popular night market in Chiang Mai. It was massive with tons of stores and street vendors. We met up with some other people that Ben and Jordan knew and had some drinks. After the night markets, we went to a bar to cap the night off. 

Lily and Alice had plans to visit the Sticky Waterfall the next day, a popular waterfall that is about an hour and a half drive from Chiang Mai. I had planned on visiting the waterfall while in Chiang Mai, so I tagged along with them. Jordan and Ben joined us, as well as James from our night out. James is also from England. We all got into a Rod-Daeng, a red truck with a back door, two big open windows, and a bench on each side of the interior. Once we arrived, we walked down a set of stairs that lead to the base of the waterfall. The slope of the waterfall is about 50 degrees and upon first glance, I didn’t think it was possible to scale this waterfall. We started the trek up, and surprisingly, the rocks were really sticky. We walked up each level and got a nice view of the waterfall below us and the mountains in the background. The current coming down the slope of the rocks wasn’t very strong, but we were getting splashed by water which helped with the heat. Some areas of the waterfall are a bit slippery and steeper, but there are ropes to hold on to. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the top and the view was well worth the climb up. There is also a cold spring near the waterfall that we stopped by. When I got back to the hostel, I tried to book a shuttle to my next destination, Pai, but there was no availability on the day I was planning on leaving. I ended up booking another night at the hostel and was able to book a shuttle to leave a day later. 

With an extra day in Chiang Mai, I dropped off my dirty clothes at a laundry service just across the street from the hostel. They offer a 24 hour return service (wash and dry in the sun) for 60 Baht (~$1.80) per kg. I then planned a trip to Doi Suthep, a 5,499 ft tall mountain west of Chiang Mai. I started at the base of the mountain and hiked for about 15 minutes to the first temple, Wat Pha Lat temple. It was around 3:45 PM when I arrived. The sun was shining through the trees and below a small body of water by the temple is a bed of rocks that you can climb down to. I took some photos of the temple area and then went down onto the rocks to relax for a bit. From the rock area, there is a beautiful view of the city peaking through the trees. There was a dog that made its way on to the rocks and was looking at the beautiful view with the rest of us visitors. 

I then hiked up to the Chiang Mai Wildfire Control Center which is about another 20 minutes. From there, I got a Grab scooter ride up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a temple that lies at an elevation of about 3,500 ft. The Grab scooter driver dropped me off by the street vendors outside of the temple and offered a ride back to the city in an hour. There is a giant set of stairs that lead up to the temple and I spent about 45 minutes exploring. I was amazed by the view of Chiang Mai at the edge of the temple. After exploring the temple, I went back down to the street vendors and grabbed dumplings and toasted corn. My Grab scooter driver took me back down the mountain during the sunset and I got some more views of Chiang Mai.

I took it easy during my last day in Chiang Mai. I was looking for something to do at night, and stumbled upon a Thai Boxing event at Chiang Mai Boxing Stadium. I went to a night market near my hostel, had dinner, and took a Grab scooter to the stadium. The stadium was packed by the time the fights started. There were 6 fights and the event was a couple of hours long. Each fighter had their own walk out with blaring music and flashing lights. There were a few knockouts and it was really entertaining.

My first week solo traveling has been a blast. My next stop is Pai, a small town in the mountains of northern Thailand. Stay tuned!