North Thailand - The Best Bits

North Thailand was the first part of our 3 month Thailand and Cambodia trip where we spent a month travelling around the main areas of the north. 

We did Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Chiang Mai and Pai and here's a list of the best parts and the must do's that we did if you ever find yourself heading over to that corner of the world. 

Bangkok 

Everybody knows of Bangkok right? The big crazy capital city of thailand. When we first stepped our feet out of the cab from the airport I was a little over whelming. The place is mental, the humidity is unreal and don't get me started on the traffic. Now I'm bit a huge fan of crazy busy places but each time we came through to Bangkok as a link destination I kinda liked it. It was lively, smelly, hot and at times (usually in tuktuks) bloody scary. But it was exciting and I enjoyed it a lot more when we came through after spending time in Thailand getting used to the weather. There's so much to see and do there. 

1. Thai boxing - On a Wednesday night outside the MBK which is the main shopping centre in the city, there would be a Thai boxing match that you could watch for free of the young up and coming boxers. It started around 6pm but you had to get there around 5pm so try and get a spot to sit. It was right outside of macdonalds too which is always a bonus. I didn't think id like it much but it was really cool! And when the girls came into the ring my god it was terrifying. The perfect resting bitch faces I've ever seen. They can throw a punch! 

I'm not sure it it's on all the time but if it is id definately recommend checking it out! 

2. Snake Farm - For those like me who LOVE snakes you must check this place out. It's also over by the MBK area near the Lumpini park and it's ran by the Thai Red Cross. They extract the venom from some of the deadliest snakes and make anti-venom out of them. Fascinating stuff! They have loads of open pits full of snakes and they also put on an great snake show where the crazy handlers pick up cobras (which still have their venom) by there bare hands and all sorts. I managed to become a volunteer and got to have a Burmese Python wrapped around me. Normal girls would be fan girling over Channing Tatum but me, loosing my shit over being smothered in a snake. They also have a great museum up the top which was really interesting explaining the anatomy of snakes and stuff. It was only about 300baht (6 quid ish) so a good afternoon if you fancy something a little different. 

3. Lumpini Park -We checked this place out the same day as the snake farm as it was just over the road and it's Bassically just a huge park with a small lake in the middle where you can rent out little pedal boats and walk around. The cool thing about this place is that it was FULL of these huge monitor lizards. It was like walking with dinosaurs, they are huge like atleast a metre long. You could see them swimming and catching catfish and eating them under benches. We even saw one eating a turtle just on the grass as you're casually strolling passed. But they're not friendly so don't go up to them for a cuddle, they can bite pretty bad I've hard and I'm not sure if this is correct but I heard they're also venomous. Oh and there's also a shit load of pigeons. 

4. Reclyning Buddah Temple - I think  it's real name is Wat Pho but it's Bassically a bunch of funky temples and in the main building there is this humongous golden Buddah statue just chilling on it's side and all around is just buddahs and incredible temples. It's a must see and cost I think around 200baht. 

5. Koh San Road - If you've been to Bangkok and you haven't been to or even heard of this road then what the hell have were you doing? Koh San is one long road which is where all the backpackers and tourists gather in their hundreds every night for the cheapest buckets of drink, loud music, street food, fake makes, market bargains, laughing gas balloons, henna tattoos, dreads, massages and stalls selling big creepy crawlies you can eat. Scorpion on a stick for tea? By day it's pretty chilled but by night it's something you need to experience. 

Kanchanaburi 

Kanchanaburi is a small city about 3.5 hours north of Bangkok which is where we only spent 2 nights and we only ended up going for one main reason, Erawan Falls. It's also home of the bridge the Death Railway sits on over the River Kwai which is pretty famous. It's a nice spot with lovely floating restaurants. It's also home to a safari park which my best friend volunteered at with a big cat programme and it's also home to a tiger temple near by too (but please don't attend the tiger temple if you know the background of what goes on there). 

1. Erawan Falls - One of, if not THE most beautiful place I've seen in Asia so far. It's a 7 tier waterfall in a national park where you can walk all the way to the top and swim in each level. The water (especially at the top tiers) is a white-ish baby blue colour and as you get lower it's crystal clear or a beautiful emerald colour. It looks like it's been photoshopped but it's the real deal. There's also fish that come up to your feet and nibble the dead skin off which is an included natural foot spa. It is a national park so you do have to pay to get in which is again around 300baht I think but it's worth every single penny! You can't take food passed the first level but you can take water bottles you just have to get the marked with a number and have your name written down so they know you haven't littered. You can also keep any food you want at the entrance where it will be looked after or you can do what we did and eat it at the bottom for some energy to climb to the top. It is quite the trek in the humidity but take lots of water and take a dip in the levels as you go to cool yourself down. 

If you go from kanchanburi the local bus is 50baht pp or you can do a day trip I believe from Bangkok. YOU MUST GO HERE! 

Chiang Mai 

Chiang Mai is another lively city in the north which is well known for the old town and it's also the best place to do a ton of tours and attractions like cooking classes, elephant days and all sorts. There's also some great night markets too. 

1. Art In Paradise 3D Gallery - This place was great fun! It's Bassically this big 3 story building with big images painted in weird angles that allows you to take some wacky photos where it looks like you're in the picture, hard to explain but there's some hilarious ones and it's a good afternoon attraction out of the heat. I wouldn't go If you're by yourself though as you can't really take a selfie and get the same effect. I think it was around 300baht again to get in, so about 6 quid roughly. 

2. Elephant Discovery - I am totally obsessed with elephants, I think they're the most beautiful, incredible animal on earth, so a trip to Thailand wasn't going to be the same without spending some time with these majestic creatures. We did a lot of research on what tour to go with as a lot of people know, some tours or sadly most tours aren't exactly animal cruelty free which is heart wrenching, but this company were different. They actually used the money from customers to rescue elephants from the city tours to bring them back to the jungle without them being chained up or made to do things for entertainment. With the base being almost 3 hours drive away from the city they really were out in the country. The elephants were totally free roaming, the mahouts (elephant grooms) never used hooks or chains on them, if the elephants didn't want to do anything they didn't have to. They were ridden bareback for a maximum of 30 mins a day and we got to bathe them, swim with them and learn the voice commands and typical elephant behaviour. Lunch was included and so was all the photographs taken by a photographer which they burned onto a disc for you before you got driven back to the city. We also got to have cuddles with a tiny 2/3 month of baby elephant. It was a wonderful experience and probably the best day of the whole Asian trip. Please please please do you research before doing an elephant day. This trip was around 2,400baht pp. 

3. International Food Truck Park - This was a little golden find whilst wondering around. It's near the night bazaar and it's inbetween two shops both called 'Pink Pussy' and it's a little park with food trucks and hay bales and benches and they have live bands playing really awesome acoustic covers. Really nice for a chilled evening of good vibes. 

4. Night Bazaar Market - Great place to get some good bargains! At the bottom floor they had all the artists and their incredible art work. We ended up just standing there for ages watching these Thais put paint to canvass. Amazing talent. It's just your standard night markets but you can litterally find anything and everything. We did our Christmas shopping there to send back to the UK. 

6. Deejai Pool/Garden - This place was linked to a hostel we stayed at called Deejais which is just down the road from this place. It's a bar with a lovely garden and treehouse with hammocks and a salt water swimming pool. The food is amazing and still fairly cheap, run by westerners and if you're staying at Deejais hostel you can use the pool for free whenever you like. Good for chilled days and topping up the tan! 

Pai 

Pai is one if my favourite places we came to. It's this little bohemian town hidden in the mountains near the Boarder of Burma  I believe and it's just a really lovely, chilled out place. It's situated about 2.5 hours northwest of Chiang Mai and the road there has 727 bends so take a sick bag on the bus with you! 

1. Get A Moped - Pai is best done on the back of a moped as a lot of things to see are waterfalls and natural things. In the main walking street you'll find tons of moped rental shops which costs you around 180baht a day to rent and you just need to hand over a passport as a deposit which you obviously get back at the end, just don't demolish the bike or loose it. Make sure you take a helmet too. Don't be a pleb that thinks they're too cool to wear a helmet because it's not cool if you end up in hospital. 

2. The Canyon - This place has the most incredible views. It's on the main road on the right hand side as you dive towards Chiang Mai out of Pai (you can't really miss it) and it's free! Again just be careful because, well you'll see when you get there. You'll be walking on a path about a foot wide with a 50m drop either side. Not for the faint hearted but you can still get an incredible photo without almost dying. 

3. Waterfalls - Off the top of my head I can't name the waterfalls but there's quite a few there. Make a day of it on your moped and do the falls and canyon. And even just the scenery around Pai is breathtaking. Some of the roads to the waterfalls can be pretty bumpy and hardly even there so try not to wreck your ped. Wear your swimmers, it's great to take a dip inbetween the sites during the heat of the day. 

4. Walking Street - The main walking street is very easy to find as it's the street at night which is just lined with street food stalls and bars. It's really cute with bunting and lights and although it's the main place to be at night, it's not crazy like the streets of Chiang Mai. Going back to the street food, it looks really decent and we ended up trying bits of it for dinner one evening. Unfortunately it didn't end well atall and we ended up both getting a horrendous bout of food poisoning which left us in a really bad way for days. We're not entirely sure what made us so sick as we had different  food but we both did have a smoothie from a smoothie bar and we reckon it was that. We were seriously sick and as much as I loved Pai my memories are slightly tainted from being so unwell. So be really careful with the street food or smoothies especially ones with ice in them. I've read a lot of other blogs where people have also been very sick with food poisoning from the street food of Pai. But don't let that put you off too much, there's still great places to eat around the walking street that isn't street food. Check out The Wishing Well I think it's called. Great food. 

5. Fluid Swimming Pool - This place was great for the days after we were sick to just chill out next to a pool with great music. The food here is also amazing (try the nachos!) and you get a mat to sunbathe on too. Really clean pool and nice bar area with little shared huts you can chill out in too. It was only around 60baht to get in for the whole day. Id get there fairly early-ish if you want a good spot because it's very popular. 

Happy travels, Laurie. 

16 things you would usually take for granted but miss terribly when backpacking Asia

We all want something we can't have right? But here's a list of some pretty normal day to day life things that you wouldn't often think too much about until you are backpacking somewhere very different to your usual surroundings. 

Whilst I'm here, this is about Asia. 

1. A wardrobe - living out of a backpack can be quite annoying after a long period of time. You're forever pulling the entire contents out of your backpack for that one top you want to wear which is always right at the very bottom. Your clothes come out creased and knotted and your underwear are NEVER to be found. 

2. Your own bedroom/space - living in hostels is so much fun (usually). You get a new room every few nights, clean bed sheets all the time and you get to meet some cool people. But after a while you crave your own space where no one can see you change or where no one else is farting or snoring in your room. 

3. Toilet paper - if you've been to Asia you'll notice that hardly any toilets have toilet paper in them. You either have to pay for it or you're supposed to use the "bum gun". You heard. It's a spray gun to wash yourself after you do your thang. They're painful like a jet wash and they just leave you walking around afterward soaking wet and waddling like you've had an accident. Always keep some toilet paper in your bags ladies! Or when you finally find a loo with some, go for gold and store a big handful of it in your bag. 

4. An actual toilet seat - back onto the loo topic but Asian toilets are quite often a funny little squatting hole that you pee in and then throw a bucket of water in to "flush" whatever you just produced. For a dude I'm sure a number 1 is fairly simple. Ladies find something to hold onto and balance! And try not to pee on your feet! 

5. To be able to drink from the tap - I miss just being able to grab a glass and fill up where ever you see a tap. But if you do that here you'll probably get very sick. It's advised in some places to even brush your teeth with bottled water and unless it's a proper restaurant to not have ice in your drinks. Better to be safe than sorry! I learnt the hard way. 

6. Air conditioning/breeze - Asia is hot, like really hot. It's not just roasting but the humidity is a killer. I find myself just wandering around local supermarkets that have aircon just studying tins of dried out fish and other local stuff just to pretend I'm buying something so I can cool down. And when a sudden breeze hits you it just the best feeling ever. 

7. People than speak your mother tongue - I find it fascinating that people can speak a second if not third language and I'm very jealous that I can't. I totally respect anyone who tries their hardest but when there's a problem or a stressful situation there's nothing more frustrating than nobody understanding you. That's not their fault atall though. 

8. Alone time - I like to have my own space at times. A place where only I can be and being in dorm rooms can get quite frustrating after a while. Even just being able to go for a walk alone is refreshing but here I'd probably get very very lost. 

9. TV/Movies - I'm used to bit watching tv everyday as even back in England at my seasonal job we don't have tv (although my boyfriend had a tv we watched movies on) but not actual channels. I miss being able to sit down on the sofa with a good cuppa watch some shitty reality tv show. 

10. Wearing a jumper - for those that know me we you know I'm always wearing a jumper. Usually because I'm ways cold (apart from here) but I just love to be in a big baggy jumper that I can just curl up in. It's way too hot to wear a jumper here apart from to bed sometimes if the air con is right above my bed. I love being able to snuggle in a big jumper! 

11. Paying for things on card - you can't really pay for things on card here in Asia (not that I've seen anyway) unless you're staying in a really posh resort or hotel. When the pay wave thing came out in Australia I was amazed at it. I loved just being able to tap my shopping onto my card (although they can be quite dangerous when buying clothes, makeup  etc) Here you have to work it out and and always have enough cash in your purse. I suck at math so I leave the money stuff up to the boyfriend. 

12. Working out currencies - this mostly goes for Cambodia as they have two currencies (riel and US dolla) and trying to work out the conversion from pounds to Aussie dollas to Thai baht to Cambodian riel and US dollas it's a massive headache. Again, left that to Callum to work out. 

13. People talking to your in the street - more like pestering you! But usually you'd walk down a street and no one would say hello of bat an eyelid that you've walked passed (unless you're from Bognor then everyone know everyone in town) but here Asia you are constantly pestered for tuktuks, to buy stuff, for weed, food, money, massages. You name it. No such thing as a chilled stroll though an Asian town. 

14. Being able to cook for yourself - I love cooking, I love being in control of my meals and how I cook them. As great as eating out is, every meal of everyday can get tedious and I really miss just making my own food. Especially I miss sweet potato so bad! 

15. Heinz ketchup / BBQ sauce - 

I like my sauce. But nowhere in Asia does BBQ sauce and you'll be extremely lucky to find heinze tomato ketchup. Here it just tastes like sour, bitter tomatoes mixed with... Poo. Not nice. Or you mistake the chili hot sauce that is usually in an almost identical bottle *cries*. 

16. Having clean washed clothes - 

Being able to wash your clothes on a regular basis and whenever you like is something I really took for granted. The best feeling is when you get your clean, fresh smelling clothes back from a laundry service out here. It's often to go quite a while without washing your clothes, usually until you're in the very last pair of pants or you bikini bottoms when you're nowhere near the beach then you cough out some money from your budget to wash everything, and it's just the best! 

Featherhead.