by Marian Antony
For 3 weeks in December and January, Tabitha and I escaped from the cold, cruel weather of Japan and basked in the glory of pineapple shakes, pad thai, and that famous Thai smile.
We started our journey in Bangkok, where we stayed at a very homey hotel called Shanti Lodge. It was close enough to the city without being congested and overcrowded with backpackers. If you stay there, you have to try the Mueseli with yogurt and fruits. It is the best breakfast we had during our stay.
Bangkok is definitely a crazy city, where everyone is trying to hustle you into buying their shirt, take their tuk-tuk or come to their restaurant. Stay strong and you will be fine! We checked out some temples, and the two that I found most impressive were Wat Po (reclining Buddha) and The Emerald Buddha housed in the Grand Palace. We went to a Golden Buddha near China/India Town but it was pretty unimpressive and hard to find.
We also made our way to Khao San road, a mecca for backpackers and good shopping. You can get loads of Fuma, Fadidas, Fike, Feisel and so on. I suggest that you make this your last stop right before you leave because omiyage will be cheaper there and you don?t want to carry everything around with you for the entire trip. Down Khao San, we went to an awesome salon that had the cheapest massages, and they were pretty damn good?no no, not that kind of massage you sicko. To find it, walk down Khao San and on your left hand side is a side street with a bookstore and big ass jewelry store. It is located across from the jewelry store.
From Bangkok, we made our way to Chaing Mai. In Chaing Mai, we found the air to be cleaner and the people friendlier. We stayed near the airport, but there were plenty of good hotels in the night bazaar area. We rode elephants, went rafting, mountain biking and took a cooking course. I definitely recommend the cooking class?it was off the hook! We made 9 dishes and visited the local market. We went to Chaing Mai Thai Cookery School (I booked online) and the staff was so friendly. Also, if you want a good restaurant, The Antique House, located near the Starbucks and McDonalds at the Night Bazaar, had awesome food with a great atmosphere.
After all this hard work, we decided to head to the beaches. We flew everywhere we went; it was cheap and safer than taking buses or trains. I suggest you book tickets in advance, especially if you go during peak tourist season. We knew a lot of people who couldn't get flights around Christmas and New Years. We went to Karon, Phuket, and Krabi. I would not recommend Phuket because its very touristy and very expensive compared to Krabi. We tried to go scuba diving in Phuket, but ended up barfing our brains out after getting seasick. I never made it in the water . . . that was probably our worst day in Thailand. It was all part of the experience I suppose.
In Krabi, we stayed at the Mountain View Resort on Ton Sai Beach, where a lot of rock climbers head. Ton Sai was secluded and peaceful. If you want more of an exciting beach life, Raleigh beach is better. It was close to Ton sai, and we had to walk around some rocks to get there. It was only difficult when the tide came in and we had to walk back. Tab fell in the water a few times (once with my MD player), but you didn't hear that from me. The restaurants and atmosphere in Krabi were amazing though, and I felt it was a perfect way to unwind before heading back to Japan. The only bad part of Krabi was when I got sick off some spring rolls.
Our last day found us back in Bangkok where we did some shopping and ate the last of our fruits shakes, pad thai, etc. The entire trip ended with watching a Thai movie and then heading to the airport at midnight and sleeping in the cafeteria. By this time, we were broke and couldn't afford another hotel; it was an experience to say the least. So that's three weeks of fun in the sun all rolled up into one Origami article. I suppose I could tell you more, but hey . . . what happens in Thailand . . . stays in Thailand!