Hey, everyone! I have successfully made it to my final country in Asia – Thailand. My time in Chiang Rai had one action-packed day, but otherwise was pretty chill. It has been a good entry into the country, dipping my toes in the waters and seeing what it’s all about. I’m enjoying it so far!

A few housekeeping things:

1) If you’re interested in my art, have a look at my merchandise on RedBubble!
2) If wanting to read my first novel, Eclipse Me, you can find the link here.

Huay Xai to Chiang Rai

While seemingly everybody else crossed the border from Huay Xai to the Thai border the final evening of the slow boat, I seemed to be the only one to wait until the next day. Initially, I was going to do it that night but then I realized if I crossed over, I would be overstaying my visa-free stay by 1 day. My flight out of Thailand leaves 2nd February and had I entered that night, I would have needed to be out by 1st February. So I spent an extra night in Laos.

I went for dinner but otherwise relaxed at my accommodation. The next morning, I made a move to head to the Thai border. I thought there would be more people trying to head there and we could share a tuk tuk, but no such luck. Had I not seen one other white girl, I would have thought I was the only tourist in town. I had a hard time figuring out how to get to the border but eventually, an employee at the accommodation pointed me in the right direction. I grabbed a tuk tuk to take me to the border. Once there, I got stamped out of the country, and waited for a bus to pick me up to take me across. It took a while.

One cool tidbit about the border crossing between Laos and Thailand is that the lanes change. In Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, everyone drives on the right-hand side. But Thailand is on the left. So there was an X-shaped intersection where we crossed over to the left-hand side. Neat!

Twelve countries later, I had arrived at my final immigration checkpoint… and he was telling me my arrival card wasn’t showing up in his system! Ruh-roh. I connected to wi-fi (luckily they had it there) and filled it out again. When I returned to his desk, it showed up and everything was fine. I then waited again for a tuk tuk to take me into town, where I would take a bus to Chiang Rai.

There was a lot of waiting involved that first day. And a lot of commuting. Tuk tuk, bus, tuk tuk, bus… It gets old, honestly. I’m sick of these long commute days. Not many left, though.

After a few hours, I arrived in Chiang Rai. I had gotten most of my new-country-chores done: withdrew cash from ATM, exchanged Lao kip to Thai baht. But I had to get a SIM card. I found a 7/11 and we tried for five minutes to get it to work. They had to take a photo of my passport (common) and then of my face. But my face was not registering in their system. We tried for probably five minutes, if not more. Eventually, I decided I’d go somewhere else and figure it out later.

I checked into my accommodation – a private room – and then went to find myself a SIM card. I managed to find one at a cell phone shop. Hallelujah!

I didn’t do much that first night – my main objective was to find khao soi, a northern Thai dish my brother raved about. The employees at my accommodation recommended a spot nearby. It was VERY tasty – I ended up returning there my final night in Chiang Rai, too. Of all the khao soi I’d tried, that was the best spot, I think.

I walked around town and found maybe the most beautiful clock tower I’ve ever seen. I checked out the night bazaar. Afterwards, I returned back to my accommodation. The next morning, I’d be waking up early to join some other travelers on an adventure.

White Temple

When on the slow boat, Selma had recommended I try out an app called Nomad Table. It is an app for travelers who are looking to do group activities together, or sometimes even just share the cost on a ride, etc. I found a group of people who were interested in going to some of the iconic spots around Chiang Rai and decided, hey, may as well split the cost with them and meet some fellow travelers. So Omer, Hailey, Zoe, and I met up the next morning around 8am.

Omer is from Israel, while Hailey and Zoe were traveling together from Minnesota. It isn’t often I bump into Americans, especially Midwesterners, so it was nice to chat with them. They had been in Thailand for three months and were heading to Vietnam the next day.

After half an hour, we arrived at the White Temple. I have seen photos of it before and have heard much about it. My brother even has a poster of the inside of the temple (which you won’t be seeing in my photos because you’re not allowed to take photos inside). Well, it was pretty cool to finally be seeing it with my own eyes.

The temple was… white. Yes. And it also had a lot of mirrored tiles throughout, reflecting the sunlight. The temple sparkled in the early morning sun. It was truly beautiful and photos don’t do it justice.

Even at 8.30am, the temple was busy with visitors. It was difficult to get photos without people in them.

Inside the temple structure sat a wax figure monk. At first glance, I didn’t know it was fake and then after staring for a few seconds, I was like, “…whoa.” The paintings on the walls of the temple were incredibly detailed. Have a look on Google to see it. I was in awe.

The thing about the White Temple is that it is… well, a non-traditional temple. There is a section near the entrance that looks like a pit of hands reaching out for help. Lots of things take traditional temple structure but then kind of skew them in an unusual way. Inside the temple, there are what looks like a dragon’s face but then in the pupils, you’ll see Osama Bin Laden. All around the walls are cartoon characters. There are a lot of pop culture references joined in to juxtapose the “traditional” Buddhist designs.

Our group walked around the temple structure for some time, snapping photos and admiring it. Along the way, the four of us took turns chatting and getting to know one another.

There were other unique structures around the grounds of the White Temple. We had someone take our photo at one of those face-in-a-hole boards.

Nearby, we found a completely gold building. While walking over the bridge to get to the structure, we saw tons of koi fish and massive cat fish below. They were HUGE! And they were everywhere. Swimming on top of one another, basically. Fish soup.

Funnily enough, I bumped into Luka there. I introduced him to my new friends and we chatted for a few minutes before parting ways. We invited him to join us but he had rented a motorbike and had his own adventure planned.

Singha Park

The gang wanted to go to Singha Park next. I had seen it online and wasn’t completely sold but I decided, fuck it, I’m gonna stick with the crew today. It was lovely to be sightseeing with others for once. So much of my adventures occur solo.

We took a Grab to the spot and then hopped out. I stopped for a cigarette and then reunited with them. I looked around the place, which looked like a miniature county fair. People were selling knick-knacks, candles, etc. It was a little bizarre. I looked at Omer, who looked back at me and said, “…yep.”

The main activity of Singha Park was hiring a golf cart and driving around the grounds, stopping at various attraction points along the way. Initially, we were going to “walk to a viewpoint,” but good thing we didn’t do that because it would have taken forever. We split the cost of the golf cart and took turns driving.

We passed by a “Swan Lake,” which had maybe a dozen swans and plenty of fish. So many fish, it, again, looked like fish soup. One thing that blew us away was when we saw one of the swans eating out of the food trough and then dropping the kernels into the water. It was FEEDING THE FISH! The fish went into a frenzy, leaping over one another to grab the pebbles of food from the swan. What the hell?!

One of the next stops was a field of flowers. It was very… instagram-y. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have gone to Singha Park on my own, but we had a nice time together. We took turns taking photos with the help of Omer’s professional camera and artistic vision.

There was another field of flowers which I much preferred. This one was mostly pink cosmo flowers. And a beautiful view of the soft mountains in the background.

The park had a spot with a tea tasting, a spot overlooking the tea fields, even a zoo (which we didn’t go to). It was cute, but not incredible. I mean, definitely a fun time with the peeps but otherwise, I would have probably given it a miss.

Black House

After the park, we took yet another Grab to a restaurant. It was situated next to Black House Museum, our next destination. We had lunch, served by an incredibly joyful server, and then paid our entrance fee for the Black House.

The Black House is sort of an art gallery, made up of paintings, unique furniture adorned in animal horns, and over a dozen buildings. More than the art, I was impressed by the building structures. Most of the structures had the Khmer-style architecture, which I am fascinated by.

Our group split up, observing the art and buildings at our own pace, and then rejoining every now and again. The museum complex had, hands down, one of the coolest structures for bathrooms I’ve ever seen.

I really liked some of the paintings in the main building – I’ve included the QR code in the images, if you want to scan it and learn more about the art/artist. I still haven’t even done that LOL I probably should.

(Elephant bones bottom left???)

We spent maybe an hour walking around. The complex was pretty large and lots of unique structures. Zoe and Hailey took photos of a couple cows on the property. Cute! There was also a water buffalo with massive horns fringing the property.

Eventually, we made it back to the entrance. Omer had already been to Blue Temple, so he was taking his own Grab back to his accommodation. Zoe, Hailey, and I got a Grab of our own and told Omer we would see him later.

Blue Temple

The Blue Temple is newer than the White Temple. White temple started construction in 1997, whereas Blue Temple opened to the public in 2016. I imagine the success of the White Temple had something to do with it.

Hordes of people were taking photos all around the Blue Temple. And for good reason! The contrast between the blue and gold was truly stunning. Much like the White Temple, the inside of the temple itself was covered with beautiful designs. Such an impressive space. I really enjoyed it.

We walked around the temple, snapping photos along the way. There constantly seemed to be something new to admire. Lots of details that deserved our attention. Really lovely. What a cool space.

Because it was a small area, we didn’t spend as long there as the White Temple or Black House. White, black, blue. What, were we on a mission to see all the colors of the rainbow? Nah. After the Blue Temple, we took a Grab back into town. We all took a beat at our respective accommodations before meeting up for the night market.

Saturday Night Walking Street

After a shower and some brief chill time, our group met up once again. The evening’s mission was a visit to Chiang Rai’s Walking Street, a night market open on Saturdays. Aside from our core group from earlier, we had two others with us, too – Libby from New Zealand, and Sky from the UK.

We made it to the walking street. Throughout the kilometer-long walking street, we stopped periodically for food. I got six spring rolls for less than USD$1, which blew my mind. Never have I had spring rolls that cheap before. AND they were yummy! I also got sweet potato balls, ice cream, a brownie… we were all eating a lot that night, haha. And just enjoying the atmosphere of the space. It was crowded, but not intense. Lots of people, lots of things to look at. A fun experience. It was nice to bond with the others.

I think we started the night around 7pm and I went back to my accommodation around 9.30 or 10pm.
A fun day with new friends, but at that point I was ready to expire.

I intended to do some other things while in Chiang Rai. I considered going to a nearby hot springs/onsen, checking out another temple, etc. In the end, though, I didn’t do much the other two days I had in Chiang Rai. I got a massage. But otherwise, was doing some studying for my PADI Advanced Open Water course, which I will be taking in about a month’s time. I also caught up with friends and family. A few phone/video calls, which was nice. Very chill.

I initially was planning to spend two nights in Chiang Rai, then go to Chiang Mai for two or more nights. But, in the end, there was nothing really calling me in Chiang Mai. Once upon a time, I was going to go volunteer at an elephant sanctuary for a few days. After some research and the ethical-ness of it all, I decided against it. It seems the general consensus is that elephants do not really want to be in close proximity to humans… they don’t want to be bathed, they don’t want people taking photos with them… I don’t think they even really want us to be hand-feeding them. So, instead, I’ll just try to spot them in the wild!

Miscellaneous

So, weed is legal in Thailand. But guess what? NOT VAPES. It is honestly hateful at this point. How can weed be legal but not nicotine vapes? This is truly driving me crazy.

I learned that Thailand uses a different calendar system than most of the world. It’s currently 2568 B.E. right now, with B.E. standing for Buddhist Era. So, I guess I’m writing to you all from the future.

In Thailand, the end of a sentence usually ends in “kah” if a woman is speaking and “krahp” if a man is speaking. Sometimes, in answer to something, a woman might just say to me “kah!” I suppose it is sort of similar to the Filipino “po” ending – sort of a polite, respectful response.

Reflections

Yesterday, I took a bus from Chiang Rai to Bangkok. It was a long journey and was also delayed by a few hours because the initial bus I was supposed to take broke down. Ugh. That was the first time I’ve had a major(ish) delay during all this crazy bus/train commuting the past 10 months. And by major… it was just delayed by 2.5 hours. Long ass day, though. Long.

I ended up hopping into bed at 2.30am. I was exhausted! Today is a nothing day. I am in-between spots (Chiang Rai and Khao Yai) and so I wanted to use it as a day to blog and otherwise not do too much.

My first impressions of Thailand are that the people are generally quite warm and the food is very tasty.

At the moment, I am kind of looking forward to what’s to come. There is a certain anxiety because I have a long journey south. I have a few days to break it up – tomorrow I am going to Khao Yai for a few nights. Hopefully I’ll see some wildlife at the national park there. But then I have a lonnnnng journey from Bangkok down to Koh Lipe. At least that will mostly be on an overnight train, which should be substantially less painful than an all-day bus affair. I’ll be able to sleep!

I think more than anything, I am looking forward to being back in the water. I just want to close my eyes and when I open them, I want to be at the beach, with waves lapping over my feet – and a snorkeling reef steps away. Soon. I’ll be there in less than a week.

Until next time, sending you all my love. x