Thailand, the Gateway to South East Asia

Breaking Free

I felt a crawling sense of panic as I said my final goodbyes to Becky and Dammy. This was it. I was finally off, doing what I came to this region to do. Yes, I had been travelling for the past 2 and a half weeks, but I was with people. It suddenly dawned on me as they both left the hotel to continue on their day, that I wouldn’t be seeing them, or anybody familiar for the next long while. That every decision that needed to be made travel wise from that morning onwards was solely down to me. My own enjoyment and experience was going to be decided by me and me alone. For a split second I contemplated staying with them and continuing on travelling to Cebu with them, but I quickly disregarded the idea. If I kept on that train I would never leave. I packed my stuff slowly, with careful consideration, showered and got the hell out of there. I was Bangkok bound and terrified.

Starting Point

Bangkok was exactly how I left it last summer. Big, smelly and crowded. It put me at ease. It wasn’t home – very very far from it. But it was familiar and that was all I needed. My home here was Parinda Hotel. I probably spent a bit more than I really should have considering that I was on a budget. My stay here cost me about 8750 Baht (€228.40 for 5 nights – about €45.68 per night). I stayed longer than I needed to. I had increased and increased my hotel stay, until I realised that I had essentially been in the city for a nearly a week and had done next to nothing with my time. I lazed around the hotel. I went for long, long walks. I went around familiarising myself with Thai food. I worked out in the gym. I was being a scardey cat, but didn’t want to admit it. I bit the bullet and paid 941 Baht (€24.80) for my train ticket to Chiang Mai for the next day.

Planes, Sleeper Trains and Automobiles

Finally, I was on the road to become a ‘real’ backpacker. I had my sleeper train booked (no South East Asia trip is complete without one), my hostel booked (The first hostel I had ever booked) and my bag on my back. Note here, I ended up buying a new backpack double the size, because a 40l bag was just not going to work for me for 6 months. I don’t know who I thought I was kidding. I tried, I failed and I learned my lesson. I ended up shipping my original pack back to my sister in Spain. Buying a new backpack was probably the only exciting thing I did in Bangkok. It was an Osprey Farpoint, just like the one I brought from home, however this new pack was 80l and actually cost me less money (4020 Baht/€107.25) than the backpack that I had brought from home (40l @ €123 euro). The only thing I was devoid of was a travel buddy, and I felt that keenly as I boarded the train. I walked past groups taking pictures of each other on the train because, come on – it’s a sleeper train. I made do with taking timed pictures of myself. It eased the growing sense of longing for a buddy. I could do this. Look, I even got a picture of myself on the train.

I made my first travel friend on the sleeper train. A guy called Kyle who was coming to Chiang Mai solely for an elephant trekking experience. We joked and conversated. Had the questionable train dinner and turned in for the night when they began to transform the beds in the carriages. The train journey from Bangkok to Chiang Mai took about 13 hours, most of which was spent sleeping. I said my goodbyes to Kyle when we arrived, and made my way to my hostel.

I chose the aptly named ‘Hostel by Bed’ based on the reviews it received and so forth. Having said that, prior peoples experiences will only ever be a guide, not a given as to the kind of experience that you’ll have. The hostel set me back about 405 Baht per night (approx. €10.57) and I stayed here for 9 nights. I could have definitely chosen a different and much cheaper place (hostels go from as little as €1 per night) but I was wary and opted for this Poshtel to ease me into the idea of hostels, shared living spaces and the like. I don’t regret my decision one bit because staying here was an amazing experience. I was greeted by friendly faces, and some wise words about life when I arrived.

Alone? Yes, But Never for Long

It hit me again that I was alone. But at this point, rather than being nervous, I was excited. I felt a zen like peace with my situation. Walking around Chiang Mai those first few days, seeing temples and sights by myself was a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I didn’t stay alone for long though. The ever present comments that people said to me at home “You’ll meet people” “Be grand, you’ll never be alone for long!” started to ring true. The first friend I made in Chiang Mai was a lovely Jamaican woman named Arlene who chased me down as I was leaving a restaurant. Happy for some company and to chat, I joined her, and not before long I had agreed to go on a tour with her the next day. Later, back at my hostel I would think back on my decision to agree to go somewhere with a woman I didn’t know, in a country that I was unfamiliar with. At that moment in time though, I was excited at the possibility of making a new friend and seeing some sights with her.

The White Temple and The Golden Triangle

That morning, I woke up on time, but contemplated bailing. Again, the previous evenings thoughts plagued me. I didn’t really know the circumstances of the tour; would it be just us? I couldn’t even really remember what it was that we were going to see. I left anyway and in hindsight, was very glad I made the decision to go. In total there was about six of us on the tour, and the tour was amazing. The tour guide, Tommy, was hilarious. The individuals on the tour with us were friendly also. On the agenda was a hot spring, the White Temple and the Golden Triangle. The hot spring wasn’t that impressive, on my journey I’ve seen and experienced better. The White Temple was very interesting, though I found it hard to believe that it was actually a place of worship. Later Tommy explained that the temple itself was a privately owned art exhibit.

Next we were on our way to the Golden Triangle. The Golden Triable is where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet at the joining of the Ruak and Mekong rivers. According to Tommy, our guide, this area was instrumental in Opium trade in the 1950s. Most of the worlds heroin came from this area until Afghanistan became the world’s largest producer. The tour included a trip to Laos across the Mekong river. Considering the current political situation in Myanmar, I didn’t even bother asking why a trip over wasn’t included. The trip to Laos itself was short. We crossed the river and stayed at the market area that was no doubt designed for tourists. Here we saw some snakes in jars that boasted enhancing male virility and then made our way back to Thailand, and subsequently back to our hotels. At this point I also said goodbye to Arlene as she was scheduled to head out to Bangkok early in the morning.

Over the next few days I visited a lot of temples, though I missed out on Doi Suthep. I also made the rounds on nearly all of the markets in Chiang Mai. I wanted to do some hiking and trekking also but was stymied by the fact that most of the tours required a minimum of two people for bookings. It was frustrating but I made my peace with it. One of the hazards of travelling alone, I thought. If not here, then another location I could join a group trekking tour hopefully.

Illegal Driving in Thailand

My solo streak was broken by the arrival of Barbara (Babs) and Evan (Ev). Babs is the younger sister of one of my best friends, Tom. Both her and her boyfriend Ev were travelling through South East Asia too, a fact that I was aware of before I left home. We had acknowledged that at some point our paths would cross, and Chiang Mai was looking to be the first location wherein this would happen. I spent two afternoons with them, one doing some temple and museum hopping and the other illegally driving motorised scooters (moto).

If you came to Asia, and did not ride a moto, did you really come here? Hiring a motorised scooter in South East Asia is a well-known pastime that most engage in when they arrive. They can be rented from as little as 300 baht (approx. €7.81) per day, and generally (if you’re not being absolutely stupid about it) are a safe way to travel and one of the best ways to see some of the beautiful landscapes. Technically, because it is a motorised vehicle you need an international driver’s license to ride it (they cost about €15 to obtain in Ireland), but you can rent one without it. Some establishments may ask you for your passport and will not give it back to you until you return the bike (I’d be wary of these places).

We rented motos and decided to visit a Karen tribe up in the mountains. The ride there was both terrifying and exhilarating. I’d never been on a motorised vehicle with only two wheels before, and I had scary flashes of the bike just skidding out from under me, launching me across the road. We were pulled over and fined 500 baht (approx. €13.02) each for driving without international driving licenses. We paid the fine (or bribe..), and the officers let us continue on to our destination. They even assured us that we’d be safe and wouldn’t cross any checkpoints again from there on… We made it in one piece and took a look around the tribal villages.

I learned a lot about the different tribes in the Northern part of Thailand and their origins however the whole experience made me a tad uncomfortable. In essence, these were people going about their daily lives and selling their wares. The quite clearly lived at or below the poverty line. It felt like I was in a human zoo, and I was unsure of whether the members of the tribe were really willing participants or not. I found myself wondering how much of the 500 baht entrance fee went towards maintenance of the village, and the people themselves. After walking around and interacting with the tribe and spending some money on their crafted goods it was time to leave. We left on our motos, back down the mountain, enjoying the sweeping views again, stopped for lunch and saw a man and his pet elephant!

I parted from Babs and Ev that evening and once again I was solo.

Onwards from Chiang Mai

I didn’t envision I would spend so much time in Thailand. I thought I’d be spending two weeks maximum. I had already been here before. I had already seen lots. I was wrong. By the time I was ready to depart from Chiang Mai and continue on to the next town, I had already been in Thailand 14 days. Suddenly that 30 days visa free didn’t seem like it was going to be enough and I was panicking a bit. If 30 days wasn’t enough for Thailand, what would be enough? Even more importantly, how would this alter the course of my trip? Either way I’d need to get out of Thailand at the 30 day mark, so I had until then to figure myself out. From Chiang Mai I decided to head to the smaller and lesser known tourist destination of Kanchanaburi. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to learn and I especially love learning about history. It's important to know our past to ensure that we as humans do not make the same mistakes (this is a good philosophy in theory, but reality unfortunately is not always the same). Military history in particular is a topic I really enjoy. Kanchanaburi has a rich and heart breaking POW story and I wanted to explore it. I packed my backpack, and hefted it onto an overnight sleeper train back to Bangkok and from there the plan was to get a bus to Kanchanaburi.

To prevent this from being too long, I’ve split Thailand into different parts. I’ll be back soon with the second half of my adventures in Thailand

Until next time..

Babs.