Chiang Mai, Thailand

On May 31st we began our short visit to Chiang Mai, in the northern part of Thailand. Our first stop was the Wat Doi Suthep (the Temple of Doi Suthep) which is located at the top of a large hill.
We had to climb over 300 steps to reach the temple, but luckily we didn’t need our temple clothing (covered shoulders and legs) until the top of the climb!

The temple was beautiful:




We saw this really interesting tree where the fruit grows out of the trunk and not the branches!

I learned that there are different Buddha poses depending on which day of the week you are born on. In the photo below the days go from right to left, starting with Sunday. Wednesday has two poses, one for the day and one for the night. If you want to make a donation to the temple, then you must put your donation in the bowl corresponding to your Buddha pose.

I was also given the opportunity to meet and be blessed by a Monk! Monks are not allowed to directly interact with women – or to even touch their skin. So the Monk’s helper, who was seated beside him, interacted with me, and said a blessing for happiness, luckiness, healthiness and prosperity. They tie a cotton white string around your wrist as part of the blessing.

Me being blessed and getting my cotton string tired to my wrist:

It was very interesting!
After relaxing by the hotel pool in the afternoon, I spent the evening at a Thai Cooking Class! The class started in the market, where our cooking instructor explained all the different spices, vegetables, and various ingredients we would be using.
Different types of curry paste:

All the important vegetables:

We then went to his cooking studio, where we each had our own cooking station.

This is my station:


In total we made 4 dishes… some of them easier than others!
Hot and Sour Prawn and Chicken Soup:

Chicken with Cashew Nuts:

Yellow Curry with Chicken:

Pad Thai:

They were relatively easy to make, except for the Pad Thai!! During the making of the Pad Thai a number of people’s wok’s became engrossed in fire! Pad Thai is interesting, you cook the noodles with the sauce, chicken, tofu and other ingredients first, and then you push everything to the side of the wok, and fry the egg on the empty side. Then you have to push the noodles and other ingredients on top of the fried egg and mix everything together. 
This is me pushing my noodles to the side to make room for the egg:

After cooking all the dishes, we got to sit down and enjoy all of it! The food was delicious!! We got a souvenir cookbook to bring home with us with all the yummy foods! I am so excited to make Thai food once I get back to Toronto!!

Bangkok: The Grand Palace

On May 30th we woke up bright and early to start our day out at The Grand Palace.
We loaded into a small boat to take us over the river:


The Grand Palace was established in 1782, and the complex consists of the royal residence and throne halls, the famous Temple of the Emerald Buddha, as well as a number of government offices.
In order to gain entrance into The Grand Palace your shoulders and ankles must be covered.  As we arrived, everyone took out their pants and t-shirts from their bags and pilled on layers of clothing. This led to a very very sweaty visit, as it was around 35 degrees Celsius! For those who didn’t have the proper attire, they could rent appropriate pants or shirts… but it wasn’t ideal! Kate rented a bright Hawaiian T-Shirt for the visit, and another guy on our tour rented some MC-Hammer looking pyjama pants!
Once we were inside the complex it was breathtakingly beautiful! There are gorgeous buildings designed with incredible detail, and most of them covered in gold.







Below is a photo of The Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha. Inside lies the famous Emerald Buddha. When I walked in I couldn’t even find the Buddha… I had assumed it would be large, but I finally spotted it almost at the ceiling on a very tall throne. The Emerald Buddha is about 45 cm tall. We all had to sit, and make sure we pointed our feet away from the Buddha.

The Buddha is dressed in seasonal costumes (one for the summer, another for rainy season and another for winter), and the costumes are changed 3 times a year in a ceremony presided over by His Majesty the King. Unfortunately we were not allowed cameras inside, so I couldn’t take a photo of the famous Buddha.

There are galleries surrounding the Royal Monastery, with walls painted with scenes from the Ramakien – painted during the reign of King Rama I. All of the scenes tell a story, and they used these scenes to pass on history through generations.


By the time we finished admiring the complex, the entire group was soaked in sweat. The heat was excruciating!! We were dying to take off our layers of clothing and get back into shorts and tank tops! As we left the complex you could see everyone stripping off layers and sighing in relief!
We took a little boat tour through the canals, and it was very interesting to see people’s houses, built on stilts in the water:

After a relaxing afternoon of a Thai Massage and swimming by the hotel pool, we boarded a 15 hour overnight train ride to Chiang Mai (in the north of Thailand). The sleeping quarters were very interesting, different than sleeping trains I’ve used in Europe.
The sleeping train was one long cart, without any separate rooms. Originally when we boarded the train there were seats for us, but as night fall came, the seats folded down into bunk beds.



It was a pretty good train ride, and in the morning we were all ready for our day in Chiang Mai!

Bangkok: Floating Markets and Cobra Snake Show

On Sunday May 29th Kate, Sydne and I set off to see the Damnoen Saduak Floating Markets, about 1.5 hours outside of Bangkok. These markets were an incredible sight! We took a small motor boat to the main market area, and then hired a paddle boat to take us through the markets. There are tons of vendors in boats, and stands along the side of the river selling souvenirs, fresh exotic fruit, and even food cooked from floating kitchens in the small boats!


I hopped out of the boat quickly to meet a very terrifying (but friendly) snake!

Back in the boat we got into a little traffic jam!



We purchased fresh coconuts and the coconut juice was delicious! Actually all of the fresh fruit was amazing! I wish we had this variety of fruit in Canada!
Next to the floating markets, while walking in the streets we ran into an adorable elephant! We became instant friends:

I’ve never seen such an adorable little elephant in my whole life!! And he was just hanging out in the street! Incredible! I love Thailand!
After the Floating Markets, we went to see a Cobra Snake Show… which was absolutely terrifying!! These snake men are crazy! The show consisted of a number of different acts. One act had a man fighting with a cobra snake (which is one of the deadliest snakes in the world!), and another act where a man caught three different snakes – one in each hand, and the 3rd one in his mouth!

We were seated in the front row, and where we were seated there was no protection between the stage area and the seating area. It didn’t seam like a big issue… until the jumping snake came out!! It literally jumped about a meter from our seats and we all jumped up screaming and running for cover! Absolutely terrifying! We kept a safe distance from the stage area for the rest of the show!
Here is the man fighting with the Cobra snake. He was stuck in a deep concentration the entire time.. one wrong move and he could have been bitten… and die within the hour.

This guy was crazy enough to give the cobra a kiss!!


After his impressive fight with the Cobra, he held on to it very tightly and brought it into the audience… me and the cobra became friends:

I may have been smiling… but I was TERRIFIED!! I was comforted by his very strong grip of the cobra’s head. I had faith he wouldn’t let go!
I also learned a very interesting fact…. did you know that Cobra snakes have 2 penises? Fascinating!

All in all a very informative and fun day filled with new (and somewhat terrifying) experiences! I am absolutely loving Thailand so far! I can’t wait for my Contiki tour to actually begin!

Bangkok: Khao San Road

On Saturday (May 28), I met up with two of the girls from my Contiki tour and we set off for the day in Bangkok. We started off with Thai massages…. and they were amazing!! They were so relaxing, and it was exactly what I needed! What made them even better was that 1 hour only cost 180 Baht (about $6 CAN)! It’s totally unbelievable how cheap everything is here!
See below for the price list. Prices are listed in Thai Baht, and 30 Baht = $1 CAN

We spent most of the day exploring the side streets, and Khao Sarn Road, which is basically the “backpackers ghetto”. There are tons of cheap hostels/hotels, restaurants, and lots and lots of street vendors selling a wide variety of products – including clothing, fake id’s, tattoos, pirated CD’s and DVDs, books and jewellery!


There are also tons of bars and restaurants… some of them targeting the younger, underaged crowd:

Tuk Tuks are very popular here… they’re basically a 3-wheeled open-air taxi cab. I haven’t taken a ride in one yet, but I’m sure I’ll have the chance before I leave!

Later that day I was hungry for a snack, so I bought (from 7-Eleven) a “Grilled Pork with Sticky Rice Burger” sandwich. It’s basically a burger patty in between two rice patties. Very interesting…. but surprisingly tasty!


The remainder of the day was spent eating delicious Thai food and wandering the busy streets!

Kate, Sydne and I out for dinner:

They have PINK taxis here!!! Amazing!!

All in all I’m loving Bangkok so far!! Tomorrow I’m off to explore the floating markets outside of Bangkok with Kate and Sydne before my Contiki tour starts in the evening! I’m super excited!!