Chiang Mai

My last destination in SE Asia was Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand. I booked a ticket from Bangkok to Hong Kong way in advance, so rather then visiting Bangkok for the third time this trip, I decided to check out Chiang Mai since everyone was raving about it. I was pretty excited too, because I heard it was a great place to just relax.

The best thing about this city was you had the option to do a ton of activities, or you could do nothing at all; either way was fine. I booked a couple nights at A Little Bird Guesthouse, inside the Old City. Good choice too. Not necessarily for the comfort (the mattresses were wrapped in plastic), but the staff was awesome and it was a great place to meet other backpackers. I ended up staying there for 10 nights! The longest I had stayed in one place, that's for sure.

So what did I actually do there? Well, here's 10 things...

1. Got my teeth checked and cleaned.

It was only 600 baht (20 USD)!

2. Tried Thai cooking at the Asia Scenic Cooking School


Som Tom by me!

Thai food is pretty easy to cook if you have all the ingredients! This was a fun class, but the full day with 7 courses was pretty exhausting (should have gone with the half day/5 courses). Our group couldn't eat everything we cooked, so we took our last two courses in take out boxes. We received a nice recipe book in the end, which I have not put to use yet in the States.

3. Visited Several Wats

Wat Umong
I liked this one because it was in a forest, with some pretty interesting spaces to wander around. There were meditation buildings, a fish pond, underground tunnels with Buddha statues and wall drawings, and some funny dog posters illustrating vices to avoid.




Remnants in the Forest


Buddha in the Tunnel




Emaciated Buddha


Did You Get That?

Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep
This is the wat to go for the view of Chiang Mai city. Really nice, but super crowded. It was one of those temples that had vendors lined up along the front and the path to the temple. Touristy = yes.


A Little Dance Performance in the Wat Area


Inside with the Stupa


View of Chiang Mai

Mystery Wat



I can't remember the name of it, but most notable was this fake Donald Duck statue in front of the temple. Oh yeah, he's eating noodles!

4. Got Massages

SO worth it. Especially after walking all the time. I meant to get one every other day, but I only went three times.

5. Ate Muesli with Yogurt and Fruit


Papaya in Your Muesli and Yogurt? Yes, You're in Thailand!

This was a big deal, because western breakfast food was usually more expensive, and after eating mainly fried eggs for breakfast in Burma (probably 20 out of 25 days), it was refreshing to eat something more tasty and healthy.

6. Went to the Sunday Market


Nicolai Takes a Look at the Awesome Wooden Frogs

This was the mother of all markets in Chiang Mai. It spanned...I don't even know how far it extend, but it's HUGE. Great place to by some unique souvenirs, clothes, and food too. I went with 3 other friends, but ended up losing them amongst the crowds. I made out like a bandit though, with some goodies to take back to my family.

7. Ate McDonald's

Yeah, yeah I know. I had McD's breakfast in Singapore. And now, Fish-O-Filet in Chiang Mai. But I was with other Americans! We all caved in!

8. Jungle Zipline

I tried zip-lining in Nicaragua before, but I had more fun with this one. The guides from Jungle Flight were nuts! You can tell they have fun doing at their job and love doing it. We zipped to about 22 platforms...it was pretty rad. I felt so free up there doing the Superman move. At times, I kind of forgot how high up we were, but then I'd look down below and quickly up again. It's friggen high.


Our Crazy Guides


The Gang

9. Doi Tao Lake and Bua Tong Waterfalls

I kind of ended up in these places by accident. Some backpackers at the hostel were going to Doi Tao Lake, and ended up having an open spot, so I tagged along. It was about an hour motorcycle ride to get from Chiang Mai to Doi Tao Lake, but unfortunately, we got pulled over by the cops for not various reasons (not having a helmet on, no motorcycle license, and probably just being farang). Once we got to the edge of the lake, we had a little boat waiting for us to take our group to to these simple, but charming, floating bungalows. We only spent a night there, which consisted of kayaking, lots of food, beer, and skinny dipping under a bright moon.


Little Bungalows on the Lake


View of Doi Tao Lake


Dining Area

The next morning, we shipped off, but stopped by along the Bua Tong Waterfalls before heading back to Chiang Mai. I've never seen such clean, clear waters, rolling over limestone rocks. It was pretty amazing. We walked to down to the first series of falls, and it was great. And then we followed the stream down to an even better spot. It just got better and better each time we walked down to the next section.




So Clear!




Moto Caravan on the Way Back to Chiang Mai

And last, but not at the most least...

10. Met Some Awesome People!

My experience in Chiang Mai would not have been great if I hadn't met these people...


Nicolai (Denmark)

I met him in my dorm on my first day and after late night conversations of design, music, and life in general, I felt like he's a homie. I'm glad he was there for pretty much the whole duration of my stay in CM.


Carmen (UK)

A cool lady from the UK who had similar traveling/backpacking style as I did. She was laid back and up for whatever. We went to Doi Suthep together, but some how along the way, we got dropped off at the zoo and then ended up in a tourist village, thinking we were going to see a real Karin tribe. Ah well. We eventually made it to Doi Suthep and had a good laugh about it all.


Jesper (Sweden), Carmen (again), and Debi (UK)

Jesper was the most ambitious person I met on the trip. He biked (as in bicycled) all the way from Chiang Mai, Thailand, to Malaysia! That's at least 1,000 miles. He was a total sweet heart too. On our last day in the dorm room together, he surprised Carmen, Debi, and me with slices of cake from the bakery. How sweet is he?

Debi was a burst of energy and totally fun to be around with. She was a good shopping buddy in the markets; but too bad we never made it to the vintage stores!


Dave! (UK)

Dave worked at A Little Bird Guesthouse while I was there, and he was great at making everyone feel welcomed and like they were already a part of the guesthouse community. He was nice enough to let me tag along on the lake/waterfall excursion.


Sam (Belgium) (Ok, not his best picture. He looks maniacal here.)

Sam is definitely an interesting fellow. I couldn't guess where he was from initially, because he had an accent, but I would have never guessed he was from Belgium. He's really good friends with Dave, and for a second, I thought he worked at the guesthouse too, but he was just a long term resident. But he was a great resource on where to go in Chiang Mai - actually took me and another friend, Kyle, up to Wat Umong.


Jason and Kyle (US)

Alright, I already had an affinity for these fellas when they said they were from California. I had a blast hanging out late at night with these two, in search of a good hamburger in Chiang Mai...only to end up at McDonald's. How American of us. But seriously, McD's fries never tasted so good.

Other than these activities, I spent my time just walking around the city or hanging out at the guesthouse. I'm sure I could have done a lot more, but after 5 months of backpacking, I was pretty over doing stuff. Chiang Mai was the perfect place to end my backpacking trip.

Singapore

I wasn't too excited to see Singapore itself, having heard there is not a lot to do except shop and the food was not as good as Malaysia. But my friend Simon just moved there, so it was a good reason to go (and to get another passport stamp!). The city is so modern and clean! Such a contrast to most of the SE Asian cities I had been to (aside from the metropolitan capitols).

I spent the first couple nights in the Chinatown area, at a hostel called Pillows & Toast (how cute is that name?). It was in a great location and pretty comfortable. I ended up staying in a dorm room and met a nice British fellow, Daniel, who came with me to eat dinner with Simon. I totally loved the hawker stalls in Singapore. I wish we had those in the US (well, we have food courts, but I wish there were Asian food ones).



In the Chinatown neighborhood...


Sri Mariamman Temple


Buddha Tooth Relic Temple


Chinatown

I couldn't leave Singapore without visiting it's mascot, the Merlion, a hybrid of a mermaid and a lion. But I was so disappointed there was construction around it! I took a picture of the mini one though.


The Majestic Merlion...Caged


Mini Merlion

Simon knew some friends in Singapore already, so he invited me to a housewarming party. Only it turned into a Valentine's Day party. With games. Now, I don't celebrate Valentine's Day normally, so I didn't even know what to expect. But we ended up playing games that involved having partners; it was pretty silly and fun. I had a good time meeting people who actually lived in Singapore.


Party in Singapore!

I stopped by the Singapore Art Museum, which was pretty awesome. The exhibits were pretty interesting, especially the one featuring Chinese painter Wu Guanzhong. I said hello to Walter the rabbit too.


Singapore Art Museum


Walter the Rabbit at the SAM (by Dawn Ng)

And finally, Simon and I went to Sentosa, the man-made island that was supposed to be "the southern most point of continental Asia". It was basically a tourist destination, with a Universal Studios and a Sentosa theme park. It was pretty laid back for a tourist place. I ate durian cendol for breakfast, met a super nice monkey, and tried out the luge ride.




Sentosa Beach


The Southern Most Point of Continental Asia

And that was pretty much Singapore!

Ku Ku in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I was feeling pretty burnt out from traveling in Myanmar, so going to Kuala Lumpur was a relief for me. Modern conveniences everywhere: light rail transportation, malls galore, and all the American fast food joints right around the corner! Not that the city didn't have more things to offer. I checked out the National Art Museum, Islamic Art Museum, National Mosque (pretty cool, because they actually allow non-Muslims in during off-prayer times).

But really, the best thing about KL were the people I met (in chronological order)...

1. Weizhen



I met Weizhen while staying at the Reggae Guesthouse 2 in Chinatown, KL. It was my first day there, and she was heading out to the Batu Caves by herself, so I asked if I could tag along. Even though I had been traveling alone for a while, it's always nice to make friends in new places. It turns out we were in similar places in life, so not only was it nice to meet another solo female traveler, but also nice we understood each other pretty quickly. She was visiting from Taiwan, stopping over in KL on her way to Burma (where I just came back from) so we had some tips to share over our train ride out to the caves. She ended up showing me around Chinatown and went to check out some other hostels in the area, since I didn't book enough nights at RGH2. I only hung out with Weizhen for only a day, but she left a great impression on me.


Batu Caves


Jalan Petaling, Chinatown, KL

2. Memoria



I was fortunate to have met Memoria in Koh Tao, Thailand. Who knew we would cross paths again? I didn't plan to go to Kuala Lumpur, but I'm glad I did; and even better was knowing a familiar face there. He lives in the KL area and was kind enough to take me around a couple days. First night, we went out to some local hawker stalls in a suburb of KL and had some yummy grilled cuttlefish and fish. M taught me how to eat the dish properly with the curry and veggies: scoop some curry onto the rice, top a spoon of rice with the chili sauce, pickled veggie, and fish and eat! Then eat a bit of the fresh veggie. Didn't think there was an order to it, but there was. Afterwards, we went in search for teh tarik (pulled tea), Merdeka Square, and we tried to get a good view of the KL skyline from Sky Bar. Not a shabby night at all.


Merdeka Square


Petronas Towers


The following day, we took a ride out to the Berjaya Hills and visited Colmar Tropicale, which reminded me a little bit of Leavenworth, WA, only we were in Malaysia. The drive there was gorgeous...lush green hills with nice, clean air. I couldn't believe where I was. Memoria rolled down his car top, so we had an awesome convertible ride...until the rain came in. It was pretty hilarious. We thought we could ride it out, but it started pouring and we were getting drenched. It was all good though. We made it to the top of the hill and had a nice stroll around the "neighborhood".


Colmar Tropicale, Berjaya Hills, Malaysia


3. Sunshine Bedz KL Crew



I stayed in Chinatown the first couple nights, but after seeing there was not much of a nightlife there, I decided to check out the Bukit Bintang area (more known for it's shopping) and found myself at Sunshine Bedz KL . But it wasn't just any hostel...it felt like home away from home, like I was going to my aunt's house. The staff there was awesome! Isabelle, her daughter Alexandra, and co-manager Patrick were super welcoming and fun to hang out with. Having kaya toast for breakfast and chatting with Isabelle in the morning to hanging out with Patrick and Alexandra in the wee after hours at night were definitely highlights of my stay in KL. If I ever go back there, I'd definitely stay again...or at least make a visit and say hello to the family.

4. Dave


Yes...that's a shark behind him. Did I mention this is in a club?!

I couldn't have asked for a more awesome person to hang out with on my last day in KL. After I moved to Sunshine Bedz KL, I wasn't feeling too social at the time, but knowing that my backpacker lifestyle was coming to an end soon, I decided to go hang out in the reception area. I'm glad I changed my mind, because I wouldn't have met Dave or had as much fun if I didn't! He's from Baltimore, but had just come in from Australia. We were both thinking of going to the top of the Petronas Towers, so we decided to join forces and take on KL the following day. Another American, Esther, joined us as well. We ended up ditching the 3 hr wait line and skipped over to the
KL Craft Complex, which was pretty neat (my fav were the bird traps). Afterwards, we went for some Indian food at a nearby mall food court.


Petronas (Towers Day Time)


Esther + Dave + Indian Food

After that, Dave and I snagged a pair of KL Tower tickets for later that night, then went on to the Berjaya Times Square to check out the rollercoaster. Unfortunately, you couldn't buy a ticket just to ride the coaster; you'd have to pay for the entire park fee, which was kind of pricey. Had to pass on it, even though it looked pretty fun.


Berjaya Times Square

And then...part 2 of the day: night time! It was my last night in KL so I wanted to go all out. Dave was up for it, so we started off at the KL Tower.


KL Tower. We thought the view would be nice at night, but the souvenir shops' bright lights created reflections on the windows, so we barely got a nice night view :/

We walked back to Jalan P. Ramlee to check out the bars/clubs, but they all had a high cover (which included a "free" drink).(Alcohol is not cheap in KL since it is a Muslim country.) Fortunately, we ran into some other people staying at our hostel, who had gotten to one club free. We followed them back in and it turned out to be really fun! Our new friend Paula (Scotland) hung out with us until the club closed. We spent the rest of the night hanging out with Patrick at the hostel, and even made a run to McDonald's, in time for breakfast at 4am! Thanks to Dave for stickin' it out the whole night!


with Paula and Dave

Back in the States

So...I didn't do that great of a job of keeping up this blog during my SE Asia trip. I was just caught up being wherever I was. It is a lot to process and write about everything and anything, because you are just THAT excited about where you are, and you want to share it with everyone! To tell you the truth though, you just had to be there.

But now that I am on (f)unemployment, I have the time to catch up on my thoughts and write some entries for the remaining countries. Stay tuned...

One Backpacker's Wishlist...

When I was in Myanmar, I compiled a list of things I am looking forward to when I get home...

1. Showering without flip-flops on all the time, and without the hot water cutting out (actually, a shower with hot water would be a bonus already! It's such a luxury here.)
2. Not having any attention: not getting stared at, asked "where are you from", "are you married"...etc.
3. Wearing a nice dress and a pair of heels. Can't wait to feel like a lady!
4. Doing some yoga. Haven't really been able to do it yet, not even in Thailand. That might change when I get to Chiang Mai.
5. Using my MacBook Pro. I miss that lil guy! This netbook with Windows Starter 7 does not even compare.
6. Running. It has been almost 8 months since I ran :(

Food-wise, I can't wait to eat:
1. Stuff that isn't fried.
2. Mozzarella and any other good cheeses.
3. Dark chocolate...not Asian chocolate!
4. Fresh veggie salads, with a simple olive oil dressing.
5. Pasta done well. (Specifically from La Spiga in Seattle)
(The weirdest craving I had was for Tootsie Rolls, which is strange because I don't even like them.)

Yeah, not very long lists, but there were just simple things that I missed. I had to wash my own dishes from breakfast at a hostel one day, and as I was washing the dish, I was really enjoying it! It had been so long since I washed anything myself (except for maybe underwear), so it was a nice feeling being domestic and all.

All of these will be within my reach in a mere couple weeks...

What's in da Bag?

Thought I'd take a photo of what I have been packin' in my 65L bag + little day pack. It's been interesting living out of one bag basically. This totals probably 14kg or so. Mainly clothes, but, as you can see, a crap-load of miscellaneous things as well.


Yes, I brought a hair dryer. It came in handy for drying clothes FYI.


12 tops, 6 bottoms, some acquired along the way

I did have to ship stuff back to Hong Kong a couple times to lighten the load and make more space. We'll see how my return luggage shapes up, after combining everything together.

I Survived...25 Days in Myanmar

I left Yangon, Myanmar yesterday, after 25 days in the country. I have to say I feel pretty relieved right now. Towards the latter half of my stay, I finally got burnt out on traveling, mainly because traveling in Myanmar was just draining. It was not as easy to travel there, compared to the other SE Asian countries I had been too, and it finally took it's toll. By the 19th day in Myanmar (18.5 weeks/4 months into my trip to be exact), I just wanted to go home. We scrambled through 12 cities total during our 25 days. Maybe if we hadn't pushed to go everywhere, I wouldn't feel this way, but honestly, I don't think I would go back to Myanmar to spend more time there. Well, maybe to go to Mrauk-U, but that is a whole different travel situation.