Holidays

Happy (belated) New Year 2552! It may be 2009 back at home, but here the Thai calendar tells us that it’s 2552, and who am I to question the Thai calendar? So I’m wishing you all a fantastic, fun and love-filled new year, whether it’s 2009 or 2552 or something in between.

For Christmas, I went camping, hiking, elephant-riding and bamboo rafting in the northern part of the country (Chiang Mai & around there). It was probably one of the best weekend trips I’ll have this year. Lauren and I loved Chiang Mai right away – it didn’t take too long before we started wondering how we could get jobs there instead of BKK. Then Lauren, Sarah, Mel and I had a nice Christmas dinner at an Italian restaurant before Lauren and I started our 3 day trek through small villages in the countryside. Our group included 6 Australians, 2 South Africans and 2 Frenchies, and most of us were ridiculously cold the whole time (except when sweating our asses off while hiking a small mountain). My nose nearly froze off my unsuspecting little face at night. On the second afternoon we found out it was a whopping 18⁰C – which is around 65⁰F. We all felt pretty silly for feeling so cold at that totally average temperature, but there it is. We froze. So apparently we’ve adjusted to the heat here. But other than that we had a fantastic 5 days of trekking around the region. If you plan on spending any time in northern Thailand, I definitely recommend a trek with Mr. P (who, by the way, claims he invented “same same, but different.”)

baby elephant

young boy from the village that hosted us on our first night

Mr. P

After Chiang Mai, Lauren & I got on a bus back to Bangkok (another 12 hours) for 2 days of teaching before our new year holiday. Then we (plus Heidi this time) traveled again for 20+ hours like this: taxi-minivan-coach bus- songtaew (basically a pickup truck) -minibus-songtaew. Every 3-5 hours we arrived at a shady little stop in the middle of nowhere and were told either to put on a sticker or pay 200 baht for the privilege of shuffling to a new mode of transportation (though we’d paid everything in advance through a travel agent… whatever). It’s hard to explain, but basically traveling within this country is a serious pain in the ass. I’ve resolved to fly anywhere more than a couple hours away. Anyway though, Lauren, Heidi and I got to Phuket and spent 4 days scuba diving, snorkeling, laying on the beach, and the now standard activity of avoiding bars filled with prostitutes. On New Year’s Eve, we hit up a few bars before landing at the beach just before midnight. We were treated to a beautiful impromptu firework show going off all around us. It was another lovely holiday away from BKK. But, FYI, Phuket is nowhere near all it’s cracked up to be. I’ve seen far better islands in my few short months here, so I recommend that all future travelers skip that tourist hot spot in favor of some nicer ones.

Happy New Year from Koh Similan #8

Then I spent a surprise week in Chicago celebrating the life of my Nana. Though due to unfortunate, sad circumstances, it was good to be with my family and catch up with some friends while I was home. I thank everyone for their letters, emails, fb messages and visits. And I especially thank some of my truly special friends who put together a very unexpected and generous gift for me. Everyone’s kindness will be remembered forever.