talesfromthaitrails

[talesfromthaitrails]

Hey Y'all,

These last 24 hours here in Thailand were jam-packed, so keep up. Seven of us hired a driver to take us 2 hours away to Pattaya, where we went go-kart racing. I came in second because I let my roomie win since it was on her bucket list. We then rented a speedboat to take us to Naul Island, and after a very choppy ride, we enjoyed the island beach for the next few hours. Two of the group members went paragliding, which I didn’t do because I was a bit skeptical about how safe it could be for only $30. I waited for them to return so we could do jet skis together.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to do the jet skis because the paragliding took longer than anticipated, and we couldn’t risk missing our boat back to shore. So, we returned to Pattaya, enjoyed the views, then raced back to Bangkok to shop at the Asiatique market one final time. We returned to the same vendors as before, bought more souvenirs, then raced back to the mall near the hotel to buy food and stock up on supplies to bring home. It was a packed day because we only hired the driver for 10 hours, but we ended up going over by 2 hours and didn’t want to pay more than that.

Anyway, I don’t know which day of the last 18 with my peers was the best, but it’s been good days after good days as far back as I can remember. I’m not sad to leave Thailand. I think I was more sad leaving the beach or Phatthalung than I will be leaving the country. While I had fun, I am definitely ready to go hoooooome. I hope Air Canada has a better day tomorrow because I don’t think I can go through another day of delays and poor service.

Bye for now! Maybe I’ll come back and post more from other trips I’ll be taking with my Air Canada refund, but for now, enjoy the attached pictures.

Ça a été amusant, au revoir pour l’instant.

[talesfromthaitrails]

Okay, so I am now realizing this week as a whole has been my favorite. When we got back from Phattalung, we had a leisure day, so we went into the city, did a bit of shopping, and went back to that Asiatique market. I went back to the same vendor, and he gave me another free elephant. The next day, we did temple visits in traditional outfits, and that was very fun. My roommate and I, as well as the rest of the group, looked great. Even though after a few hours we were very much over it—hot and itchy—it was still a memorable day, as the pictures and the temples we visited were beautiful.

The next day, we had the farewell river cruise, and it was very cool because we got to see one of the temples we’d seen earlier, and it was lit up at night. It looked completely different. I envy people who have condos on the shoreline and get to see it every day. The cruise and the food were good too. These 48 hours were very packed, as you can see from the pictures, but I loved every moment of it. Tomorrow is the last full day, and it’s a leisure day. There are whispers of some of us going to the beach; I hope that happens because we haven’t seen a beach yet since we got here. Moss and Soom gave us great advice and some pointers to help guide us on the journey.

adieu.

Ps. Did I mention we seen elephants. Very rewarding to feed them, but very sad they were being clearly used and abused.

[talesfromthaitrails]

These next 48 hours have been my favourite so far. It was full of experiences I probably would never have had on my own, and I likely would’ve opted out. The first day started with a morning boat ride. Downside: we had to wake up at 4 a.m.; plus side: it was beautiful and very much worth it. Seeing the lotus field and feeding the water buffalo at the end was the cherry on top. I don’t remember what we did after that. The next day was another early morning, but this time we went to a cave. I again do not know what I expected, but that was not at all what I thought. I’m glad I never looked it up because I definitely would’ve opted out.

A cave with bats, snakes, large and hungry fish, and we had to lie down to get in for like 5 minutes. Did I mention the abundance of bats in that cave? That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience because I will never sign up for something like that again. We also went to a hot spring, and even though there were supposed to be monkeys there and there weren’t (which was disappointing), as we were leaving, we saw all the monkeys on the side of the road, and our driver stopped for us to see them. I may not be an animal person, but this was fun—feeding the monkeys whatever we had left to eat.

After this, we were brought to this really nice restaurant by the shore, and it was finally the first time there was enough food for me to eat till I was full. Thankfully, Moss and Soom noticed I hadn’t been eating much on this trip, so they ordered me wings, fries, and a drink. I appreciate them noticing and helping me out. I think that was a highlight experience, too.

The last 48 hours have been great, but I am dreading the train later, so ciao.

[talesfromthaitrails]

Today was the real long day. Starting off at the market with about four hours of cooking and selling Pad Thai was both an unforgettable and uncomfortable experience. At first, it was a slow start; we were all tired and nervous about selling food we barely had experience cooking, and there were soooo many bugs—bugs I can’t even name or identify. I’ll add pictures so you can see what I mean.

I appreciate the help of the locals for stepping in, aiding us, and giving us feedback to improve. I think after maybe the seventh batch, my group finally got the swing of things. My group did very well under pressure, and I think Emily and I did well at plating and collecting the money. Compared to the other group (even though it’s not a competition), we sold way more plates. I’m glad the proceeds as well as the leftover materials from all the groceries we bought went to help and provide for the community. After selling, we were provided lunch, which was a nice gesture, but I couldn’t eat anything since I don’t eat pork or seafood. That has been my experience since I got to Thailand—I’ve been surviving off an omelet and tea in the morning and chips and gummy bears the rest of the day, and sometimes, when permitted, the hotel will have something reasonably priced on the takeout menu for me to buy.

After the long day of selling and passing through the market, we got to see some performances by the kids in the community, as well as hear a bit about the market and its creation. I’m glad the owner siblings created this market in honor of their brother who had passed, doing something positive for the community and the children.

Crazy enough, even though we spent alllllll day standing, Kitti decided this would be the day we climb that mountain. I clearly did not know what I was in for, let me tell you now. Moss, Kitti, two others, and I aimed to get up to the top of the mountain in 30 minutes or less, but let me tell you—it took me an hour. The group had left me and all; I was not prepared for those just over 1,000 steeeeep steps to the top. I was so hot and tired, I definitely did not think I would make it to the top, but I did. It may have taken long, but it got done, and I was very proud of myself. At the top were these other few folks, some who had passed me on the way up and others who had been there a while. One of them was 79, and he told us he climbs every day, and with him was his daughter, who joins him once a week. Very inspiring, but I think for now I will just admire mountains from the bottom—I don’t know if I’m mentally prepared to sign up for another hike anytime soon.

Au revoir.

[talesfromthaitrails]

Today was the day we headed to Phatthalung. I don’t know what to expect, but I hope the hotel is as nice as the pictures. This 13-hour sleeper train to get there is going to be the second longest mode of transportation outside of the 14-hour flight to Japan that I have ever been on. I’m on the upper bunk, so I’m not completely happy about that, but I hope it works out for the best. I’ll come back later when I’ve arrived. The service on this train is sooooooo choppy; I think I’m just going to sleep so I don’t suffer separation anxiety from my phone lol.

I’m baaaaaaaaaack. That train was long, cold, and uncomfortable, but the sunrise view with the mountains basically made up for it. I think my roommate and I have set our minds on hiking one of them already. Turns out we both like mountains—she likes to climb them, and I like to just look at them. This Dursit Princess hotel is a lot nicer than the one in Bangkok, so I’m kind of excited to stay here for the next few days. We really bonded with Moss (who we later found out was named Moth) on the trip. He’s been a fun addition to the trip, and we’re recruiting him to guide us on that mountain trek. Hopefully, he comes with us; Kitti is determined to go regardless.

That train was cold and uncomfortable; I am dreading going back. But luckily here, the beds are super soft and comfortable.

We went to a temple and stumbled upon a night market, and it was so cool. We saw performances and even got to bead bracelets with some little kids, and they were the cutest. We learned their names, and with the help of Moss, we had little conversations with them where we asked them questions, and they even tried asking us questions. I will likely never forget those kids, and I wish them a happy and long life.

Very tired after this long journey here and the full day of activities after. Tomorrow we go to the market and make the Pad Thai that we learned to make last week at PIM. I hope it goes well!

À bientôt!

[talesfromthaitrails]

I honestly don’t know what day it is. I am soooooooo tired and trying to keep up over the last few days. Since I don’t have in-person courses, nor does my internship start this early, I can’t remember the last time I was up and out of the house before 8 a.m. I’m glad this hotel has breakfast; I don’t know what I’d do without it.

The past few days, we have been to not one but two United Nations conference buildings, and let me tell you—it was amazing. I don’t think outside of this trip I would ever have had an opportunity like this, especially at this age. I didn’t know what to expect we would do here, other than maybe overhear some conference about a global issue I don’t understand, but I’m glad both days had specially curated programs for us to listen to and learn about global issues and sustainability.

Since I’m big on being sustainable and part of the anti-littering community, I’m glad not only were there displays of sustainability at the United Nations buildings, but I could also spot it all over Thailand, especially at our hotel. It’s so nice to see this part of the world so advanced in respecting the environment and its resources, compared to back home or in other countries on the west side of the world.

Things I’ve learned so far:

The United Nations is sooooooooo cool.

I’m glad I was able to wear sneakers instead of dress shoes with my outfit, as those dress shoes were uncomfortable.

Did I mention that the night market we visited was so cute? One of the vendors gave me a free elephant when I didn’t have enough for something else after I bought a magnet. This just goes to show how nice the people in Thailand are. Whatever you think about Thai people being nice, it is 10x nicer than that for sure.

Things are also going well with my roommate—glad that worked out.

Can’t wait to see what the rest of the week entails. I think we hit the sleeper train soon.

à demain.

[talesfromthaitrails]

Travel Day

Not gonna lie, today...well, I mean the last 27 hours...drained me. First, there was an Air Canada plane delay, and then it was just one missed flight after another. On the bright side, I got to go back to Japan less than a month after my last visit, and even better, I got to catch a layover in South Korea, which is stunning, might I add. So, after my delayed flight, missed connection, second missed connection, overnight stay in Japan, layover in South Korea, and a delay on the tarmac out of South Korea, I finally arrived in Bangkok, 27 hours later.

Things I have learned so far:

My travel group handles adversity pretty well.

Korean Air is a far better airline than Air Canada in terms of service, space, and food.

According to the Japan Airport staff, Air Canada may owe us some compensation for the inconveniences! :)

Bangkok, even though it's dark right now, looks incredible.

My assigned roommate is Kitti—hoping that goes well.

Even though we’ve technically lost our first leisure day, I’m looking forward to the next 15 days of this trip.

Allons-y :)

[talesfromthaitrails]

Very excited this week to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I switched the whole direction of my schooling and program to pursue this trip and I am looking forward to the adventures and bonds I will make on this journey.

Countdown: T-MINUS 5 days until takeoff!!!!!!