Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
My last blog update
So I decided to stay in Thailand, it's the last 3 weeks of my trip (in fact 3 days and counting) and I still don't feel as if I done Thailand properly.
I arrived in Bangkok at the beginning of February which is not as scary or overwhelming as people had told me but maybe as I'm from London hustle and bustle doesn't both me. I loved it so much with the noise and things going on and spent most of the day exploring the temples and markets. The next day I joined the Stray tour to go up to Koh Chiang, this is one of my better decisions as I met a really nice group of people and although I have seen so many beautiful places its always better when I have someone to share it with. We took the train up the North of Thailand and spent the night in a remote town, the next day we went to see the historical town which was full of old temples and relics it was one of the most amazing sites I've seen in we cycled around the park and it was just both breath taking and spiritual.
Later that day we got back on the train to Chiang Mai and the journey itself was pretty cool (even though it was 10hrs), we made our way through the hills and rainforests watching it all go by.
The next day I went elephant trekking and white water rafting, we first went to an elephant show at a sanctuary for rescued elephants and then we went for an elephant trek through the forest. I was more nervous about his than I thought as its bloody high on top of a fully grown elephant and it doesn't feel all that secure! Still it was great and we laughed all the way round. Finally we went White water rafting which and had fun chasing the other boats down the river and having splashing fights (FYI our boat won).
The next day the rest of the tour moved off and I was sad to see them go but hoped I had made the right decision for me. So to keep myself amused I booked a private Tuk Tuk to take me to a Tiger sanctuary and also to see the long neck tribes. The Tiger sanctuary was great if not just to get up close to Tigers, they were all babies and hand reared by hand so were very tame.
The most interesting part of the day was visiting the long neck tribe and the other tribe that had decided to take refuge in North Thailand from Burma. The huts which were all located about 2hrs north of Chiang Mai had set themselves up as a type of tourist center. They had obviously realised that there was money to be made from inviting tourists to their homes. They did actually live there but as I wandered round it felt more like a market rather than experiencing them in their own environment. But I suppose that was to be expected, meeting these amazing tribes comes at a cost and if they have been exposed to tourists and the western world then they are obviously going to react as such. Still they had kept to their traditions and were welcoming in people taking photos and spending time with you. The end of the day I spent at a snake farm which was probably the most untourist place I had been to and very unregulated. I felt rather nervous through the 'show' and even more so when they singled me out to put a snake around my neck!
I left Chiang Mai the next day and after a day stopping off in Bangkok I made my way to Ko Chang an Island off the North East coast. I spent a couple of nights in complete seclusion when I got there and watched the most amazing sunset next to the sea but the solitude is only good for a couple of days so I decided to head down to Lonely Beach (the most ironically named place Ive been to). The huts I stayed in were great and I did a good dive there on the 2nd day but the area had a a bit of a 'sleazy' feel to it…there were a lot of Western men with Thai girls and the bars felt less friendly and more about the sex trade. Interesting place to people watch but not really the kind of place I want to spend my last few days in Thailand so I headed off to another small island called Koh Mak…
This island could possibly be my favourite place in Thailand (but there is a lot of competition here). It's a really small island and I stayed at a place called Monkey island which was so lovely and friendly and I immediately met a great group of travellers who I hung out with for 5 days. We hired scooters, went to secluded beaches, tasted fresh seafood next to the ocean, had massages and pedicures and I went diving 4 times. Each night we headed to the beach shack to watch Mr Tees Thai Ska band, just so much fun and relaxation with some great interesting people from Australia, England & Canada.
So this is my final blog. Im on a coach on the way back to Bangkok, I have 3 days left and I fly to Hong Kong tomorrow. Im ready though, the last 6 months have been more than I ever expected and I honestly couldn't sum up for you how I feel about it in a sentence but Im tired now and miss all my friends and family. I have no idea if Ive changed or grown but I know what I want when I get home, there will be more to my life than work and I now know there is a whole world out there still yet to explore and Im not scared to do so and will do so. The biggest challenge has been travelling alone but then Im sure that I wouldn't have had half the experiences that Ive have had (both good & bad) if I had been with a group plus the number of friends I have made is crazy.
- comments
daddy Great blog julia xx