#elephantsnature&home

[whereisbanana]

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[whereisbanana]

THAILAND

HOSTEL SITUATION

Since I was brought on by a friend I didn't have to much say so in my trip to Thailand (besides the Elephants). I got to my hostel around 1 am and of course EVERY one was asleep. I don't have an international plan so I couldn't phone Gabrielle and my driver called the number on the door. It took him 3 times till someone finally picked up and came and unlocked the door from me. Now I am only going to tell the truth about this hostel and nothing but the truth. The hostel had a vintage feel: Quils, typewriters, old looking vases, what looked to be a meat churner, etc. It was super cute, kind of how I would like a room in my future house to look. The breakfast was mediocre, it had the basics, eggs, salad, toast, grapes, and oats. Nothing too fancy or special. I made oatmeal every morning because it was filling. Now the scary part. My second night in the hostel I awoke to a few bite marks on my legs...and when I say a few I mean my whole leg was covered in tiny bite marks. This looked like a case of bed bugs. I immediately notified the owner of my situation and demanded something be done about it (reimbursement, new room, return deposit, etc.) but after further examination she said it could not have been bed bugs. She pulled up a picture on google and found the most severe case of bed bugs. The picture had boiling bites. Of course mine did not look exact so she insisted they were mosquito bites. I had two mosquito bites on my arm and you could clearly see the difference between the two. But whatever, she gave me a new bed and said we could wash our clothes. We washed one load of clothes, but since we put our used clothes in our bags we thought it be best to just wash them all to be safe. This caused havoc. We asked for more money to wash our clothes and the receptionist told us she couldn't do so. We talked with the manager and he said there was nothing he could do about it. I remember his exact words were "That's not my problem". I just want everyone to be safe while traveling and have a nice stay. So if you're ever in the Bangkok NEVER stay at Bangkok Bed & Bike. Just save yourself the trouble. They didn't have too many reviews on Hostelworld.com anyways so just make sure you do your research. I have provided you with some pictures of my "Mosquito" bites below.

F O O D

In Asia you'll find yourself eating Rice and Noodles with every meal. Gabrielle & I wanted to escape that tradition and find something else. We came across a place called Farm to Table  it was the cutest place every. Although we went through a sketchy ally it was well worth the walk. They had a dozen different Teas you could choose from along with salads, pastas, and ice creams. I highly recommend this place if you're ever in the area. 

One of our excursions included a trip to the spa. Infinity Spa was hands down amazing. When we arrived we were greeted, seated, and given a "Welcome Drink" which was a mix of Natural blend green tea, fresh lime, and blue butterfly flower. We drunk it so fast and it was indeed relaxing. When it was almost our turn we were moved upstairs were they washed our feet and included a mini massage. Gabrielle got the deep muscle massage while I got the Thailand traditional "Thai" massage. Just for the record, those are two DIFFERENT things. If you're looking for a nice massage of the shoulders and body then you should get the deep tissue massage. If you're looking for something different and new then you should get the Thai massage. I didn't know what the Thai massage consisted of but there was pulling, tugging, and some massaging lol. Overall a great massage if you've never had one. Once we were done we went back to the lobby where they had sticky rice and mangos waiting for us with another glass of "Welcome Drink". BEST SPA TRIP EVER! 

DAY OF TEMPLES

Gabrielle was in charge of planning our itinerary for our "Day of Temples". She had about 5-6 different temples to visit but we ended up visiting two. My advice is to really give yourself or party time to examine and see everything. Also factor how long it'll take to walk, the temperature, and breaks in between. We did none of this and we were sweaty, tired, and exhausted. The temples are BEAUTIFUL. We toured the famous Grand Palace along with Wat Pho. If you would like to see more pictures from my trip to Thailand please click here

ELEPHANTS! ELEPHANTS! & TIGERS!

We booked our tour with Tours with Tong a tour guide I found on Tripadvisor She had a bunch of good reviews so I thought I we should try it out. We did alot of communication via email (deposit, date, etc.) The Elephants were 3 hours away and transportation was included so the driver picked us up around 5 A.M.  Once we finally arrived we were greeted with two majestic creatures. Both female, one 15 years old the other 23. Our tour guide asked right away who would be ok with going under water a lot and I immediately said "I am"! 

We prayed with the monks and afterward gave them food as a thanks for their blessings. 

Being with the Elephants is an indescribable experience. After feeding them a tub of rice, fruit & veggies we roamed around while they continued to eat grass in the fields. We went into the river for a dip, gave me them a mud bath for their skin, a Tangerine facial, went back into the river, another bath with a scrub brush to remove the dead skin, and had a water fight. BEST DAY EVER!

I hope you enjoyed this post about Thailand. Next up Bali, Indonesia!