Thailand wrap-up

Up next on our Thailand itinerary was the northern city of Chiang Mai. The trip started of with an overnight train ride from Bangkok. I'd booked 2 tickets just before Johanne arrived, but all they had left were an upper and lower bunk on the sleeper train, not 2 lower bunks like we'd prefer. Johanne of course insisted on taking the upper bunk, which I'd already had the pleasure of trying out on my train from Hat Yai to Bangkok. Actually, the upper bunk really isn't that bad, just a little "snug" and brings out a bit of claustrophobia to those inclined (me included).

So, Johanne hauls herself up there and proceeds to have a mini-meltdown, while I'm laughing so hard I'm almost crying. She seemed to be having, umm, shall we say a bit of difficulty turning around on the bunk bed, which just made it even funnier. You had to be there, but trust me, it was hilarious!

We'd booked ourselves a room at the 3 sis (short for sisters, who could resist with a name like that!) bed & breakfast and ended up upgrading to their newer rooms in the "lodge" part of the place. My budget was definitely blown on this trip, but boy was it great to have a little luxury & not have to double/triple check the room & bed for bugs everyday!

We had a few things planned while in Chiang Mai, like a cooking class and a day trip in the surrounding area. The cooking class was great fun and made us discover some excellent Thai food. Although, I have to say that after that day, I will be staying away from spicy papaya salad. The "medium" spicy version our teacher suggested we make almost had me in tears, and I wasn't convinced I was going to survive ;-) I am not going to risk that again! Johanne and I were dubbed good Thai wife material because of our strong arms and ability to pound the crap out of ingredients in the mortar & pestle (merci MWM!).

Our 1-day excursion was completely disorganized & probably way overpriced for what we ended up doing, but we still had fun. It's amazing what a stress-free life will do for your attitude :-). I think Johanne enjoyed watching me freak out while riding an elephant. I was completely petrified, more so than for anything else I've done on this trip so far. For the first 15 minutes of the ride, I was convinced that the only thing keeping me from falling off the elephant and plunging to my death (OK, so I may not be stressed but I'm still dramatic) was holding on to the back bar of the "seat". It doesn't sound scary, I know, but trust me. When the elephant is trudging up and down hills on a narrow path, it becomes very very scary. For me anyways, since Johanne was cool as a cucumber and laughing at me the whole time.

The day included other activities such as riding a bamboo raft down the river and trekking to a waterfall. "Trekking" to a "waterfall" must be taken with a grain of salt. It was a 10-minute walk (uphill, but still) to a little trickle of water over some rocks. I think the waterfall only appears during the rainy season, but for some reason, the tour guides still think it is worthwhile to go there. It was funny to see them proudly point out the waterfall, with all of us just scratching our heads wondering what we were looking at.

We also visited a few hill tribes, including the "long neck" Karen tribe, where the women wear multiple brass rings around their neck to make it longer. Although I'm curious to see the villages and see how the locals really live, it just feels wrong somehow. It feels like gawking and somewhat like being at a zoo. It goes both ways for sure, as the tribe "villages" are mostly markets aimed at getting the tourists to buy stuff. Still, I find it uncomfortable.

The rest of our time in Chiang Mai was spent walking around town and visiting temples, shopping and getting foot massages. The best of all worlds!

After booking a few flights and scrambling to find accommodation, we set off for the beaches of south Thailand. Our first stop was in Phuket, more specifically on Patong Beach. After an initial "mishap" of being switched hotels on arrival, we settled into a beachside hotel on the very busy Patong Beach. It was no busier than an all-inclusive resort in Mexico, Cuba or the Dominican Republic, but there were supposedly more quiet beaches around, so 2 days there was plenty for us. Also given the fact that Patong Beach is very popular with the sex tourist crowds, with men young and old "renting" themselves Thai girlfriends for their holidays, we felt a little out of place. Even while trying to adopt a "live and let live" attitude, it was disturbing to see a whole family of men (father, 2 sons in their late teens, early twenties, 1 young son under 5), each with their own "girlfriend". When not taking care of their respective men, the Thai girls would play with the little kid. Sets a great example, doesn't it?

We left Patong Beach and headed 10 km south for another beautiful stretch of sand called Karon Beach. We stayed at a nice resort a bit further away from the beach, but it was quite worth it for the extra luxury it afforded us. My days of "lifestyles of the rich and famous" were quickly running out... The beach was nicer, less busy and a few more waves in the crystal clear water. We did nothing more than spend the day at the beach sleeping (Jo), reading (Janie) and swimming (both). Paradise! After 3 more days of this, it was time to move on & get moving! We took a cheap mini-bus to Krabi, a few hundred km away. Here is were we planned a few excursions, like going to Ko Phi-Phi, made famous in the movie "The Beach". We stayed in Krabi town and made 2 days trips from there: the first was to Ko Phi-Phi and surrounding islands for some sun & snorkeling. Johanne and I both being slightly scared of fish, I was really impressed how well we took to snorkeling. After initial "panicky" moments, we both settled into it quite well. I saw one of the fish from Finding Nemo, so I was happy :-)

The next day trip was a snorkeling/kayaking trip around Hong Island, another beautiful spot in the area. I was really nervous about the kayaking aspect of the trip, since my previous experience with it many years back did not go well (fell in the sea, couldn't get back on & had lifeguards sent after me. Quite unnecessarily I might add. Very embarrassing). We started the day off with snorkeling, which wasn't half as nice as the previous day, since the water was choppy and unclear. The kayak tour involved kayaking around Hong Island. Johanne and I were paired off and pushed into the sea with no instructions whatsoever. Whatever, we're both smart girls, so we could figure it out. After only a few minutes, it was very obvious that something wasn't quite right, since we kept veering to the right. After a few more minutes of experimenting, I determined that it was Johanne's fault ;-) She was obviously paddling way harder on one side than the other. The woman doesn't know her own strength! 10 minutes into it, Johanne already had a burst blister, we were both exhausted and I had no clue how we'd make it around the whole damn island! But at one point you just get over it and keep moving. An hour or so later and we were done. I was again impressed at how we both mostly kept our cool and didn't yell at each other (too much). We may make a good "Amazing Race" team after all!

And after our short stay in Krabi, it was sadly time to head back to Bangkok and say goodbye to Johanne. I was already feeling bummed, even before leaving Krabi, but I was fairly miserable by the time we got to Bangkok. We spent our last day shopping at the weekend market buying last-minute souvenirs, enjoying one last movie at the amazing Siam Paragon cinemas, and a nice meal in a proper restaurant.

I won't dwell on it too much, but saying goodbye the next morning was no fun at all. For the first 3 months of my trip, I always had this nice little break with Johanne to look forward to whenever I got homesick. Now that the trip is over, it's going to be a long while before I see Johanne again, or any of my family & friends from home (next up: traveling with Melissa through Africa!!!) Plus, even if I enjoy traveling on my own, it was nice to have a compatible traveling partner for a while.

The next 4 days were spent feeling low and holing up in my way-too-expensive-yet-still-shabby-and-depressing hotel room in Bangkok. I watched at least 10 movies on cable, I do not exaggerate. But since my visa expired on Feb 7th, I had to get my ass in gear and start moving again. By the time I got around to making travel plans again, the worst of my blues had passed and I was ready to move on. Next stop: Laos!