Tag: Thailand
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Chiang Mai Part I
Upon arriving at the Chiang Mai airport, Omar and I said our (temporary) goodbyes and parted ways, me to the Friends For Asia guesthouse and him to a hostel. The rest of that weekend was set aside for meeting the FFA staff and fellow volunteers and various orientation activities, such as Thai language lessons, lectures on culture, safety, and visas, and a big lunch for everyone to meet each other. After the lunch on Saturday, we visited a couple temples in the city (see my previous post for pictures of those). The real treat of the weekend though was the…
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KL, Phuket, and Chiang Mai
Here’s a quick update because it’s been two weeks since I’ve written anything and it could be a while before I have time to write anything more. Kuala Lumpur I flew from Langkawi back to KL for a few days to take care of some errands, the most important of which was getting a 60-day tourist visa for Thailand. I slightly fouled up the application process my first time at the Thai embassy – I didn’t have a photocopy of my passport – and the embassy was closed the following day because of a national holiday, so I stayed in…
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Byeland
Koh Phangan As I predicted in my last post, the rest of my time in Thailand was a pleasant continuation of the previous few weeks: lots of eating, motorbiking, massages, lounging around, reading, and Skyping with friends and family. The one exception to this life of leisure was a hike from Chaloklum (a fishing village on the north coast of the island) to Bottle Beach, a secluded stretch of sand accessible only by boat or a trail through the jungle. The blurb about the hike on my Koh Phangan map simply said the trek took “about an hour” and had…
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Full Moon and Beyond
I’m not going to mince words here: Full Moon was a shitshow. It was the shittiest of all the shitshows. Imagine tens of thousands of kids, many of whom are incapable of holding their liquor, partying on the beach. It was loud, obnoxious, dirty, and seemingly never-ending. And fun! Around 12:30, I snagged a water taxi from Haad Thien (where the Sanctuary is) and set off for Haad Rin. Normally I wouldn’t go to a party that late, but seeing as how I had to make it to sunrise, a late start seemed appropriate. The boat ride alone was almost…
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And The World’s Your Oyster…
Here we are three weeks into the trip and I haven’t written a damn word. Mostly I blame the heat. And the constant distractions. Who has time to write when you’re spending your days eating and drinking coconut shakes and getting massages? Life is tough. Singapore Let’s backtrack a bit. About three weeks ago, twenty hours of flights and airports culminated in an arrival in Singapore, the city that’s somewhat famous for being the reluctant stopover for Southeast Asia backpackers. It’s not that Singapore is a bad place; it’s actually very clean and modern and safe. The reason it’s a…
