Somewhere but Nowhere: To Thailand!

Disclaimer: I wrote this over the course of 2 weeks and a few writing session trying to piece everything together while enjoying my trip in the Philippines.

We landed in Thailand late in the evening on the August 26^th. Once we procured a taxi we proceeded to stop at every other parked taxi on the side of the road so our driver could find out where he was going. Our hostel was difficult to find and away from all of the commotion of Bangkok but once we arrived our minds were put at ease by the hospitality of the staff and comfort of having a bed for the night. The food situation was another story… everything was closed by the time we arrived and we went to bed with our tummies rumbling.

In the morning we caught a domestic flight to Krabi, where we enjoyed the quieter beach area known as Ao Nang to the more famous and rowdy Koh Phi Phi (pronounced Ko Pee Pee). Our first full day we signed up for an island hopping tour complete with snorkeling, swimming, dinner, and an amateur fire show. Kendra and Sarah were kind enough to satisfy my craving and throw a Frisbee with me on the most beautiful sandbar. The sandbar connected two small islands with one large island. The water was beautiful and the temperature was mighty fine! We even saw the fin of a harmless black tip reef shark! Frisbee success.

Finally put it to some good use :)

Poda Island!

Traditional Thai boats

The next day Kendra and Sarah decided to have a beach day at Koh Phi Phi so I rented a scooter in Krabi and went for some exploration. My main goal was to find the Tiger Temple also known as Wat Tham Sua. I did some research before heading out and looked at a few maps but… nobody ever gave me an actual map... So here’s to adventure! Vroom Vroom! I followed some signs… went on some long roads and found myself driving along a nice stretch of smooth road surrounded by thick vegetation and trees. I kept noticing signs for a national park, which I knew the Temple was near. Unfortunately the temple was on the other side of the park but I decided to go for a two hour nature hike while I was there. It was a rough uphill trail with many biting ants and bloodsucking mosquitoes but I made it out alive. On the bright side there was a beautiful 7 tier waterfall AND I got to see a poisonous snake! Win. After another hour of driving and daylight gone by without any signs of the temple I was losing hope on reaching my destination. I would make a turn and ask for directions. Sometimes people would point other times they would just shake their heads. With about 3 hours of daylight left I began to see signs for Wat Tham Sua!!! Hurray! There was a beautiful temple being built at the bottom of the mountain and in front were donation boxes. It was unique because it was not just a general donation but you donated for specific statues or structures to be built! With limited daylight left and a long drive home it was now time to climb over 1,200 steps to reach high place of prayer. I decided to use the steps as my form of prayer and meditation. Focusing on each step and breath as I climbed I was able to reach the top with only a brief stop to look at the view about halfway. My secret: keep a steady pace. Once I got to the top I was in awe. Not only by the giant golden Buddha sitting at the top of this mountain but by the breath taking view! I set a time limit for myself and enjoyed every second of it even when it started to rain lightly. It was a very enjoyable experience. I even got grabbed by a monkey at the bottom of the staircase. Successful day J Even found my way back to Ao Nang!

New construction

View from the staircase... I started down there.

Small Buddha statues at the top of Wat Tham Suea

I like this guy.

The large Buddha statue :)

The sun came up again, the weather was fair, it was time to do some deep water soloing! This is where you rock climb over deep water so when you fall you just go for a swim. I had no idea what to expect. It was crazy! First you take a boat to the island where the perfect climbing rock surface is… then you get in a smaller boat that takes you closer to the ladder… then you get in the water and swim to the ladder. The ladder is wooden steps connected by rope which means it swings while you climb it. Brutal! The effort it takes you to get out of the water and climb the ladder takes a large amount of energy. Then you have to climb! Vertical… sideways… whichever way you can manage. I’ve never climbed on real rock before and have a lot of techniques to learn but it was still enjoyable. At one point I remember using my but as an anchor and climbing on my hands and knees to get higher… it got a bit awkward. The more I did it the more I ended up enjoyed it. At first I thought I was crazy. It was a real challenging but I made a goal to climb three feet and once I reached the top of the ladder I met my goal. I was scraped and bruised by the end of the day but it just showed my efforts. We were even given a bit of snorkeling time. That night I filled my belly with street food and curry then we ended up at a Reggae bar watching the most talented one man fire show and intense games of Connect Four.

Night market in Ao Nang!

Chicken

Great sweet treat! Tasted like a marshmallow

Deep Water Soloing

In the morning we flew back to Bangkok. That night I had my first sushi bar experience even though I don’t eat sushi and we relaxed in our new hostel. The next morning we woke up early for a long drive then a tour of one of the many royal palaces and a few temples. We even stopped to take pictures with a well trained baby elephant and got to feed the bigger elephants at one of the temples. At night we tried to go out and experience Bangkok but forgot to bring out IDs and forgot that the city was still under Marshall Law. Oops. We tried.

Kendra and Sarah left around noon the next day. I was on my own and decided to go shopping for some new clothes. WOW. I took the sky train to a shopping mall with 6 floors of madness and over 100 small shops on each floor, most catering towards women. I said OMG out loud when I stepped into the mall. That was a first. Unfortunately, or not, I only found one store that I liked. Go figure. Fashion is not my thing. Once I left the crazy mall I found an electronics mall and got myself a new pair of headphones and a watch for relatively good prices. I am happy with my purchases.

My next stop was Terminal 21, a themed shopping mall with another 6 floors! The escalators had departure and arrival signs along with the destination of the floor you were on: London, Paris, Istanbul, San Francisco (2 floors), and Hollywood at the top. Represent USA. Dominating 3 floors!

I was shopped out and ready to leave Thailand early the next morning for my crazy layover in Singapore!

I would like to spend more time in Thailand someday maybe head north for a few weeks. We shall see what the future hold for travel... when I get there :)