It's been a couple days since I lasted posted, so this is going to be a little lengthy, because it's been quite a couple of days!
On Monday, we woke up in our hotel room bright and early - about 3am for some of us - caught the end of the US v. Portugal game (bummer) and got ready for the day. Breakfast at the Chatrium was amazing! Shana already mentioned the jams, but seriously? I need cases of the banana passion fruit delivered to my home! After that, we were picked up by a private tour bus, and started out exploration of Bangkok. Our tour guides name was Pen, and although I think she may have swindled us a little bit, she was a great guide. We first went to Wat Traimit, which is known for it's five and a half ton Golden Buddha.
We walked the beautiful grounds, and learned all about Buddhism in Thailand, which, unfortunately, I recall none of it. Next, we headed to Wah Pho, which houses the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand. The size was awe-inspiring.
Pen then took us on a tour of the city, which, of course, took us to a gem store and silk shop, among other things. Pen then insisted we had to go to the tallest building in Bangkok and have lunch at the top. The views were stellar, but the restaurant was a mediocre buffet. To add insult to injury, the thing cost us 800 baht per person, a total rip off, especially when we had better Thai food the night before for about 150 baht per person, and that included beer! Needless to say, we were eager to get back to the hotel.
We took the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai Monday night. The train station, itself, was quite an experience. Combine hundreds of backpackers (who are not known for their cleanliness), Thais, and stray cats, with stifling heat, and you get the ambiance of the station: sweat and cat urine. So, we headed across the street to grab a beer and wait for our train.
When we booked the tickets, second class was our only available option. This meant we were in public cabins with public bathrooms. The train sleeper cabins looked exactly like the Hogwarts express, except no magic, and substitute a friendly woman selling treats for an older Thai woman pushing orange juice on you like drugs. Shana and I took one room, shared with one of the conductors and two of his lady friends... A little awkward. Luckily, Melanie and Dana's bunk mates were two girls from the UK. If I remember correctly, Dani was from Liverpool and Rachel was from Belfast. Regardless, good people! We compared experiences of living in the US versus the UK over some beer. Had we not had the pleasure of hanging out with these two, I can't say I would have enjoyed the train. None of us thought we'd be cold in Thailand, and we froze our asses off on this train! And the blanket they gave you was pretty light weight, which made rough sleeping for all of us. Also, the toilets. My god, the toilets. They only word to describe the bathrooms is "wet". And one of my worst nightmares nearly came through when, at 3 or 4 in the morning when I woke up to relieve myself, I found myself stuck in this tiny, shaking, box of wet and stink. Thankfully, Melanie just happened to head to the bathrooms at the same time, so I scared no strangers trying to claw myself out of this cesspool, and only sufferd a 90 second panic attack. The train rocked me back to sleep like a child, after that. In the morning, we took in the views of rural Thailand as we neared Chiang Mai.
After we arrived, we said goodbye to our traveling buddies and exited the train, where we were mauled by tuktuk drivers. Overwhelming doesn't even begin to describe the experience! We finally realized that we had no idea where we were going, and had no other traveling option, so hopped on a tuktuk and prayed. The experience was exhilarating!
We found our guest house, and got freshened up. The MD House cost us about $8 a night, so it's not luxury, but it does the job. We were starving after our travels, so we went on the hunt for some delicious Thai food. Luckily, we didn't have to go far - Nature's Way was just down the road, and has been our favorite spot so far. The food is prepared in healthier ways, and focuses on organic food prep. All it took was a banana smoothie to realize I was in love. I mean, check out Shana's curry, served directly in the coconut:
After lunch, we headed out to do some shopping. Haggling is part of the fun here, so we were able to find some great steals. When we finished shopping the streets, our feed needed some lovin. We were dead set on trying out the feeding fish massage, so we found a place and headed on in. What a feeling! Super strange, so ticklish... One time is plenty enough for me! But, they were running a special for an hour long foot massage, so we of course said hell yeah! Best decision ever! These women know what they're doing. And for around $7, we decided this needed to become a daily luxury. Maybe not the fish part, though...
When we finally got to our rooms, we crashed, which is what's happening to me at this moment. So, if you've stuck with me this long, great job, and thanks!! Today's adventure will have to be told tomorrow.
-Julie, forever a lover of banana smoothies 🍹
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