a girl in the world

Sawasadee-ka! I’m en-route to London now – with a stop in Dubai. The sun is rising (it’s 6:30am) – another timezone, another airplane, and another amazing amazing holiday.

I don’t know where to start. Thailand was everything and nothing like I expected. We arrived in Bangkok at night. All lights and sounds and hot hot heat. It smelled like Asia – a combination of diesel, old fruit and open sewage. It’s the same smell that hits me when I land in Cairo or Manila. But this time, it felt different. G was there – all smiles and hugs and laughter. Discovering a place with a significant other changes things a bit. It provides a cocoon of safety, of intimacy, of friendship. Everything is more comical, decisions are more arbitrary and perspective is doubled – you see things through each other’s eyes, with a paradigm different from your own.

Bangkok is messy, polluted, madness. Not as dirty as Cairo but just as hard to get around in. We went posh our two nights there – dining in gorgeous hotel rooftop terraces. During the day, we rode river taxis to the Grand Palace and temples. You know a place is congested when the water taxis are more time efficient than cabs. I couldn’t get used to the heat – such humid, humid heat. Late afternoon thunderstorms became a welcome relief. They come out of nowhere and are so so beautiful.

We decided to skip Cambodia last minute due to time restrictions. We were a little too ambitious thinking we could make the 8 hour overland journey there and back within 2.5 days and still enjoy it! Ha! Instead we flew up to Chiang Mai for two nights. I loooooove impromptu travel – we literally booked flights and changed routes the night before. I guess Asia is an easy place to be indecisive – thank goodness!

Chiang Mai is charming. Old world, small, cheap cheap cheap and very easy to sift through. We stayed at a 15 pound per night guest house along the moat (SK House). It was clean, large and full of other backpackers. It was my first taste of backpacker life and I loved it. Our street housed several make-shift front-yard restaurants serving home cooked food. They reminded me SO much of the sari-sari stores in the Philippines – plastic chairs, make shift outdoor wet kitchens, fish sauces and plastic plates. So charming! We dined on egg fried rice, sticky rice, pad thai and curry. Manila mangoes every single day. And cheap drinks on roadside chill out bars by night. Time slowed in this place – lazy, quiet, hot hot afternoons and lazy, quiet, mild evenings. We wandered dark neighbourhoods and sheltered under food stalls when the rains broke.

Elephant riding through the jungle was a fun novelty. A bit commercial but good fun nonetheless. Elephants are massive – their ears are pink spotted and they poop perfect spheres of crap the size of volleyballs! Ours was 40 years old and stole bananas and sugar canes along rest stops. =) Their snouts are a little gross – wet, dexterous and the size of half my face! Really fascinating.

White water rafting down elephant-shit infested rivers was the highlight of Chiang Mai. We were doing fine until the guide tried to tip the boat mid rapids and we fell out. It was the one time all week when I felt serious fear. Were we really going to swim these rapids with only our lifejackets? Rocks, gushing water, twists and turns! It’s like the Kali River Rapids Disneyland ride but for real. =) Thank goodness for lifejackets and helmets. G got his leg stuck between a few rocks, which scared us a bit. But we survived – bruised, smiley and refreshed. =) And our stomachs held out – even after swallowing poo water, we didn’t get sick!

Koh Samui was our last stop and our longest. And rightly so. This is what I pictured Thailand to be – warm beaches, white sand, palm trees. And it did not disappoint. We had an interesting adventure our first night – landing in a terrible guest house that was recommended in The Lonely Planet. Do not go to Matlang Resort. It’s in a great location but so poorly maintained. Damp and dirty, with lizards and ants in the bathroom. We had to laugh about how markedly different the real thing was compared with the review in the guide book! The next morning, we rented a jeep, hauled our things out of there and moved into Shades Bungalows on Bo Phut beach. At 850 baht per night, it was a steal and so much nicer. Still basic, but clean and dry.

Bo Phut is a fisherman’s village – situated on the north end of Koh Samui. The waters are calm and so so warm. Too warm, says G. It’s like wading in bath water and in the 37 degree heat, water so warm leaves you craving something more refreshing. After a night at Shades, we moved into Zazen resort for four days of pure indulgence. PURE INDULGENCE. Buffet breakfasts with coconut bread, mangoes, pineapples, dragonfruit and mangosteens. Orchids on the bed, in the bathroom, on the sofas, in every nook and cranny of the room. Down pillows, outdoor spa treatments, Balinese showers, pebble floored bathrooms. It was perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Lonely Planet called it the best boutique hotel in Thailand. Our last four days were spent lazing around the beach, napping, eating and basically indulging in absolute nothingness. =) We kayaked to dinner down the shore, played billiards in open air bars and drank champagne through warm humid candlelit evenings. Rinse and repeat. Day after day after day.

We also took a day trip to Koh Tao. Amazing clear water and very friendly fish! They surrounded us with no fear! I think they thought I was food – they shockingly nipped at me, hoards of them while we stood in the clear blue water. Pictures will be the only way to describe this place so I will stop trying. =)

Travel that touches both extremes of the spectrum – humble and luxurious – stretches you. It helps you to appreciate the simple things like clean showers or a warm smile. And at the same time motivates you to reach and work for the finer things in life, like week-long splurges at places like Zazen. Perspective. Perspective. Perspective. It brings wisdom and joy in the most unexpected ways. It is the reason travel is so good for you.

There is so much more to purge when it comes to my thoughts on Thailand. I’ll post more on my opinions regarding the sex trade – my observations and feelings as we partied with the locals. And also my thoughts on how Thailand reminds me of my Philippine upbringing. So much to sift through and process. It will take me a few days.

For now, time to nurse my crispy tan, time to catch up on work emails, time to do another load of laundry and maybe get some sleep.

Thank you Thailand. We’ll definitely be back!

Full gallery can be found here.