Chiangmai, Thailand

At the airport Sydney and I were able to sit with everyone before they boarded to head back home to the states. I don't really like goodbyes so it was pretty sad.

The way I felt waiting for Thailand is similar to how I felt sitting in Chicago in January. Sad that I just left everyone but looking forward for what was to come. 

At the airport we got onto our flight and we were row 34 so we're walking down and then we look at the numbers and we're at like 45... Turns out 34 was like the first row. Haha so we had to turn around and walk back into the line. It was pretty funny.

So we arrived late into Chiangmai so we got to our hotel and went to bed. 

The next morning we woke up early to start the day.

 We right away rented mopeds which cost $8 U.S. dollars for the entire day! It was so much fun. The mopeds were pretty quick and the streets kind of looked like race tracks. It felt like we were go carting, but on a different level. Also, I don't think Thailand really has speed limits haha. 

We went to a temple to walk around and then saw a massage place for $6 dollars (150 baht). We went in to ask if we could just do half the time but she spoke almost no English. We were all laughing at how hard it was to communicate. She was the cutest little lady. Finally we just decided to do the full hour because it was too hard to get across what we wanted. So she called up her friend to come over to give the other massage. They were giggling so much at first. Glad laughing is a universal form of communication. 

The massage room.

 

The cute masseuse playing with her dog.

After the massages we wanted to get lunch so we moped to a street and parked to just walk down. It was very local and the markets looked very gross and we definitely felt out of place.

This picture isn't from the super local market because that food was like fish with the eyes staring at you and the stench was so strong. This was just a common market.

 After awhile we just wanted to find any food that looked reasonably safe for us to eat. We finally found a place that was good and super cheap $1. It was the first time I realized how different of a culture I was in. 

After lunch we moped around and went to a market. It was pretty neat and the things they have are so cheap I just want to buy everything! Then we went to a fish spa where the fish eat your dead skin. Haha it was soo ticklish and felt super weird. Not sure how well it worked.

In the afternoon we met our tour guide mr. Dong.  The tour group could consist of up to 12 people but since it's not really a time of travel it was only Sydney and I on the trip! So he gave us the jist of our itinerary and then he left. We walked to town for dinner and again we were just looking for a place that looked legit enough for us to eat. There were a lot of food places but that looked very local and that could make us sick since we're not use to that food. Finally we found a place that was very good. 

The next day mr. Dong picked us up from the hotel and we drove to a local market to pick up some water and toilet paper. We were in a pick up truck in the back which had like a cover but open back. We only had a backpack with a sleeping mat, sleeping bag and our clothes. 

Then we went to a cave and had lunch there. 

Then we drove to a local village and that is where we started our trek. I had to go to the bathroom and dong just pointed to a bush and that's how the trip went. 

 We hiked for a little over 2 hours the first day. The terrain greatly differed from just walking on a dirt path to walking in the humid jungle, to walking up a mountain or walking through bamboo trees. It was actually quite difficult.

We got to the village and showered there and then dong gave us a tour of the local hill tribe village. The people there typically never leave and have never been to the city. Dong actually grew up in the mountains but went to the city to get an education. There are a lot of mountain villages with different languages. It was pretty surreal to see the communities way of living. The tours that go through their villages actually help them because the money can go to better education or better living.

 Our toilets we used.

















Then we had dinner and afterward the girls of the village came and sang and danced for us. It was the absolute cutest thing ever. One of the guys was drumming and the girls were in a circle around the fire doing a little dance for us and it was just great. 

Afterward we just went to bed in our bamboo hut. Around 5am we woke up from the roosters and animals. Sydney made a joke that like "alright guys we get it. We got the authentic experience, you can turn off the noises now." Haha they were sooooo loud it honestly felt like a joke.

 Picture is of where we slept.






But anyway we got up a little later and the local village ladies were literally waiting for us to sell to us their things. Normally in a bigger group they would be selling to more people but it was silly that it was just Sydney and I. Haha literally they waited like 2 hours for us to eat breakfast and they had all their things set up it was really cute. We bought a few things and afterward we set off for our hike.

Dong said this hike was more difficult but it was relatively similar because I thought the first day was hard anyway haha. We made it to a different village and had lunch there. Then we left for another 4-5 hour hike. This hike had amazing views. But also huge hills. We would be walking up a hill And then get to the top and 5 steps later was another huge hill and at times we had to use like the trees to grab onto it was so steep. Then when we got to the top we'd usually stop for a water break. Dong was a great leader. He'd ask us about America and things like that. It felt like Sydney, Dong, and I were just out for a hike together.

I only slipped and fell a few times. I was walking to go to the bathroom and all of a sudden a motorbike with 2 guys and guns came driving toward me. I got pretty nervous but they just smiled and waved when they drove by. Hahaha. Dong said it was just people from the village hunting.

Dong picking the wild mushrooms because they're really expensive in the markets. Haha he said that the local village people would call him lucky and are going to be jealous with how many there were.

 Eating some Thai chocolate waffers (so good) at the top of the mountain.

When we finally got back to the village I was exhausted. But it was pretty amazing what we were doing. I couldn't get over the fact that we were just hiking through the mountains of Thailand. Amazing. 

That night we had dinner and there was no electricity so with candles as lights. They also had little bathrooms but they were kind of gross so we peed just outside of the toilets. Haha goes to show how the village was. (these toilets were worse than the above pictured toilets.)

The next day we woke up and again the village people were there to sell to us! Haha Dong said they know we have money. The things they sold seemed a little more expensive than the things in the city but still obviously cheap. And these people were way cuter. They didn't really know English but they'd say "hellooo shopping." Hahaha again just me and Sydney and they set up so much. We felt so pressured to buy things. It was their sales tactic to make us feel pressured. 

Around 9:30 we left the village and had our last hour and a half to walk back to the car. It was pretty hot this day but the terrain was easy. 

I honestly can say that, that trip was not only the coolest thing I've ever done but my favorite trip as well. It was absolutely amazing to see the villages and live like that for just a bit. But also the hiking was fun and slightly strenuous. So worth it all though. 

When we got back to our hotel we finally had wifi so we caught up with that for a bit. It was really nice to get away from the internet though. 

Then we went out and decided to go see the Tigers. We got a taxi and the driver was so cute. Haha and it was really fun to experience the drive. We tried to negotiate with him the price but it was $200 baht each way which is $6 U.S. each way. We agreed and when we got in he was so ecstatic. Hahaha we drove past other taxis and he would like start laughing and waving to them and pointing back at us. As if he was getting the best deal ever. Haha I mean I'm sure we got ripped off but he was so happy it was hilarious.

 The Tigers were pretty cool to see. I realized that I don't think I've ever really seen a tiger before and if I did I was far away. Here we were with them. Pretty intense! To do this it was more expensive $420 baht which is still only $15!


















Got a picture of our 'taxi'... the least he could do was take a picture for how much we were paying him!

Us with Dong.

After we went back, we wanted to do our laundry so we walked with our laundry into the city but all the places wouldn't do it that night since it was kind of late already. The places were like people's homes with signs on the door that said 'laundry' haha.

So we got dinner at a more fancy Thai restaurant $100 baht so $3.50 for the meal.

Then we walked in the night market a bit. Literally the biggest market I've ever seen. It was the entire long street and then went into buildings. And soo cheap! I honestly could have shopped for days. But I contained myself because I knew I'd want to buy stuff other places and didn't want to get all my souvenirs there.

So far this has been an amazing trip. Chiangmai is wayy less touristy than I expected and English was not a common language everyone knew. 

On to the next 10 days