winter travels.

Greetings everyone! I am freshly back from my two-week winter vacation in Thailand and Cambodia. I had an amazing time and will never be able to relay all of the incredible experiences I had. However, I will do my best to give you a day-to-day synopsis of my adventures and share some of the most memorable moments with you.

Sunday, January 18th

I left the Incheon airport around dinner time and arrived in Bangkok at 9:10pm. The airport is quite large and only two years old. It was crazy thinking about the protests that tied up thousands of travelers for days that happened only several weeks ago. It was nice as far as airports go, but I would not want to spend more than a few hours there.

As soon as you collect your luggage and go through immigration, you are immediately swarmed by taxi drivers and other seemingly nice Thais who want to offer you a ride. I was headed to Sukhumvit On Nut Guesthouse which was about 30km away and I had directions with me. I wanted to try to take the public bus because I knew it was much cheaper than taking a taxi all by myself. This task was not as easy as I had hoped it would be. Finding the bus stop itself was a challenge. Everyone I asked simply offered me their own service or pointed me in the direction of the 150 baht express airport bus (which is about $4 USD). That bus was fairly cheap, but I knew the public bus would be even cheaper and more adventurous! I stopped at a little convenient store to buy water because I was already feeling the sweltering heat. At the checkout, I asked the clerk about the bus stop and she gave me the information I needed. I headed back outside to the correct bus stop and waited about 30 minutes for the free airport shuttle. This shuttle would take me to the nearest bus terminal. It was confusing because I was not sure where to get off, but it became clear once we arrived at the terminal. I was the only foreigner riding the bus, but it didn’t bother me. The Thai passengers were friendly and seemed happy to share their transportation with me. Upon arriving at the terminal, I knew which bus I needed, 552, but it was not there. I tried to ask a man working there if another bus would be coming (it was after 11pm at this point). We weren’t able to understand each other but his profuse head nodding and finger pointing led me to believe another was on its way. Forty minutes later the bus finally arrived. However, I had to sit on the bus at least another 30 minutes before it even left the terminal! The bus driver had surprisingly good English and knew exactly where I needed to get off. The bus ride was at least another hour, but only 34 baht ($1 USD)!

Luckily, the guesthouse that I was staying at had 24-hour reception. When I arrived, it was almost 2am, so I just wanted to sleep. Unfortunately, my roommates had the same idea and were already fast asleep in the dormitory we had to share. This meant I had no light to change, so I just crawled into my top bunk and slept in my clothes.

Monday, January 19th

I woke up bright and early, ready to go. Why change my clothes now? I just had more traveling to do after all. I took the public bus back to the airport for another 34 baht. This time I had a one-hour domestic flight to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Chiang Mai is the 2^nd largest city in Thailand, but much less crazy than Bangkok. The atmosphere is completely different; the people are more laid back, the air is clearer, there are fewer traffic jams, there is greenery within the landscape, and gorgeous mountains surrounding the area. Originally, I wanted to go to Chiang Mai to visit Bo Sang during the annual umbrella festival. Later, I found out that I missed the festival by 2 days, but I am so glad that I still went. Chiang Mai is an amazing hub for mountain trekking and other outdoor adventures. The first day I was there, I decided to go to Doi Suthep after checking in at the hostel. I walked toward the mountain and eventually got on a red truck taxi, known as songthaew, which is basically a covered pickup truck with benches. They are cheaper than regular taxis since they can accommodate more people at the same time. The fare was generally around 20 baht (maybe $.60 USD).

Doi Suthep is a beautiful temple on top of the mountain. The drive there was rather long and all uphill and windy. I was the only one on the truck so it was a nice private tour. The driver dropped me at the top and told me to meet him back at the truck in one hour. It was enough time for me to climb the 309 stairs up to the actual temple, look around, and visit the many vendors selling goods in the area. The temple was built around 1383. It was quite a change after seeing so many Korean temples. Although both Korean and Thai temples have Buddhist roots, the colors and architecture are drastically different.

I got back to the hostel (Spicythai Backpacker…the best hostel I have ever stayed in) around dinner time. I talked to two Irish guys sitting outside in the hammock and we decided to hang out for the evening. We took a songthaew to the famous Night Bazaar where we ate spring rolls, green curry, and pad thai. There were so many vendors and items for sale. It was a bit overwhelming and since I was with two men, I didn’t actually buy anything. I just browsed and thought about what I might want to look at the following day. We ended the evening by having a drink at a local bar. I ordered a Mai Tai, but it was really strong and did not taste good. I should’ve gone with a beer!

Tuesday, January 20^th

I had not made any previous plans for this day, so I decided to book a tour through the hostel. They set me up on a one-day trekking adventure with Panda Tours. It was about 1,500 baht for the whole day, including lunch and all transportation. I was picked up from the hostel and told that I would be alone for the morning and meet up with others later. So my driver, who called himself “Number 1,” and I set off. Our first stop was the orchid and butterfly farm. It was not nearly as interesting as you’d think it would be. There was no entry fee, but the people there try to get you to buy overpriced souvenirs. The butterflies were lacking, but the orchids were quite impressive.

Next, we drove to see the Karon Longneck hill tribe. You have probably seen photos or watched a documentary about these women who wear brass rings around their necks. As they get older, they add more rings to make their necks appear longer. However, research has shown that the necks are not elongated, rather the shoulders and rib cage are pushed down, creating an illusion. These rings are not only worn for decorative purposes, but also as protection. Some women also wear rings beneath their knees, which served as protection from snake bites.

The area we went to was known as an “eco-agricultural zone.” As I understand, the area is owned by the Thai government, but is neutral land for hill tribe peoples. Many of the Longneck’s, for example, are from Burma. They do not have Thai resident status, but are able to live in this particular area and are protected. I asked my guide if he thought these people were happy. He said that he thinks they are since they do not have to worry about being kicked off this land, civil wars, etc. I do not know if I believe him though. All of the hill tribe people looked so solemn and were passive. The children did not laugh and play as most children do. They simply stared. Or tried to sell their hand-woven goods.

Throughout my trip, I had to get used to being approached by all sorts of people wanting my money: children without shoes, blind women, homeless families, people crippled by landmines, and so many others with various conditions. It is such a complicated dilemma: to give them money/buy their goods or just pass them by. It is a double-edged sword; if you do not buy something, they will continue to suffer and search for money in other, less desirable ways. If you buy something, you help them temporarily, but reinforce their behavior of using tourists as a crutch. I constantly had to ask myself which was best and I have yet to give you the correct answer. I did decide though that these are people who at the very least want attention. So many tourists are rude and completely ignore these sellers. Some even yell at them, curse, or say unnecessary things. I understand their frustration of being constantly approached to buy things that they do not want or need. I tried my best to be polite and compassionate. Rather than just telling someone off, I would ask them how they were doing or why they were selling their goods or what their name was. This approach worked well for me. When I told them I was not interested in buying their stuff, they more respectfully took my response and appreciated being treated like a human. I had some very interesting conversations with several vendors and even played games with street children selling books. At one point, I had a group of about 6-8 pre-pubescent teens around me playing “Johnny, Johnny” laughing and not even thinking about selling their stuff. They were able to act like kids again.

Back to my one-day trek. After visiting the hill tribe villages, Number 1 and I stopped at Tiger Kingdom where I was able to pet/play with tigers! For 500 baht, I was able to spend 15 minutes in a cage with 4-6 month old tigers and 15 minutes with full grown tigers. This facility has only been open for a year or so and they have a reputation for treating the animals well. I was hesitant to visit a place that used animals as a tourist attraction, but I was impressed overall.

Next, Number 1 and I drove to our trekking spot. We parked the jeep and "trekked" to the meeting point. After so much hiking in Korea, I felt prepared for the hike. However, it was simply a downhill walk that was a bit of a let down. The scenery was gorgeous though. We met up with some other tourists who had visited Maesa Elephant Camp in the morning. We ate a home-cooked thai lunch and prepared for the afternoon. First, we went whitewater rafting. It was fun, but not as thrilling as I had hoped. The water was quite low so the rapids were only class I and maybe II. As soon as we finished the whitewater rafting course, we got off the tube and hopped on a bamboo raft. I wasn't anticipating the bamboo rafting to be so exciting. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip. It's a really relaxing way to float down the river and take in all of the beautiful flora and fauna.

Lastly, before heading back to Chiang Mai city, we stopped at another hill tribe village because the people I met up with hadn't visited the one I stopped at earlier. It was a typical hill tribe village, living a fairly normal life, but also trying to sell endless souvenirs to the passing tourists. I bought a small bracelet from the smallest woman. In general, Thai people are short, even compared to Koreans, but this woman took home the grand prize.