Thailand (Chiang Mai, Pai and Bangkok)

We left Koh Phangan on the 16th of January and started our trip up North for Chiang Mai. We were so exhausted from our last party at Eden on the Bay that both of us fell asleep on the ferry back to Surat Thani. Our Ferry was scheduled to arrive at 6pm, but we only woke up at 7:30, all alone on this huge ferry in the dark. We walked down to the empty parking lot to find out that the bus we planned to catch had left about an hour before. This was just the start to our trip up North. I hope you enjoy it!

Chiang Mai was a complete change in environment from the island lifestyle. Everything was much cheaper and we spent our days exploring the town, buying clothes and booking a trip up into the jungle for the following day. We hiked up and spent time in the village with the kids where some of the locals offered us Thai massages. The sunset from the top was phenomenal, with a sea of clouds lingering in the valley and kids running around. We were all at ease, ready to drink some local Chang beer, watch the kids sing for us and play card games into the night.

The next morning we trekked on elephants, went bamboo rafting and swam in the pool by a waterfall on our way down the mountain. We made new friends, Annika and Sarah, who would be joining us on our travels to Pai, which is one of the most beautiful, magical towns in Thailand. It is a small hippy town in a valley surrounded by all kinds of adventurous spots that one can visit. We rented scooters and drove to the canyon, visited the waterfall, hot springs and meandered through the valley between the farms in the area. At night we got to see an interesting night-life, geared for tourists with markets all around the streets and live music at some of the restaurants. After 3 exciting days in Pai we were ready to take the train back to Bangkok for the final stop of our trip.

Bangkok is a crazy city, we explored the streets, went to markets and partied with some friends from back home that we bumped into. We had some bank card issues as we couldn’t draw money no longer, thus we had a fixed amount to spend on our last night, which we decided to blow on a ping pong show. A day over our visa requirement we flew back to South Africa, transformed and ready to take on the new year.

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