A Month In Thailand

Hard to believe that a month ago I was in Panama with a severe bronchial and double ear infection.  Now, I sit at a train station in Northern Thailand awaiting a night bus to go to the Bangkok Airport.

It has been a whirlwind of a trip.  I both try to travel slow (stay in a place for a week) and do a lot of activities.

I started south.  The islands and coast of Thailand are about the best I’ve ever been to, and match that with amazing food and the most ridiculously amazing and cheap massages might make it the best.  I spent a week in Bangkok (busy, dirty, polluted, scam filled, great for reading) then headed North to Chiang Mai and Pai.

Budget: I spent about $22 a day, including lodging.  $27 if you want to include the flights. This included a massage every three days, tours, meals, trinkets and cabs.  Very, very cheap.

The best Curry: Massaman Chicken Curry in Pai.  Just amazingly fresh and flavorful.  They chopped up a lot of the ingredients for the order, needless to say, I went back three times.

The best Beach: Railway Beach, Krabbi.

The best Hostel: Pak Up, Krabbi.  Cheap ($5 a night) and included rainfall showers, elegant design and a stray poodle named ‘dirty’ that would pretend you were not there.  $5 massages next door, a row of comfort food nearby and some amazing local food ($.66 for a curry) a short walk away.  Boats to the beaches within a block.

The best Museum: Thailand Creative and Design Center (TCDC). Has every imaginable design book in the world (well, not really, but kept me more than busy for a full day).  Free with a passport.

The best Massage: All of them.  From $5-$10 an hour, you are in bliss.

Best Activity: Motorbikes in Pai.  Pai is amazing.  Amazing.  Crested Butte in a foreign land.

Best Adventure: Zip Line Tour, Chiang Mai.

Best Dinner Experience: All You can eat BBQ, Chiang Mai.

Think a warehouse sized dining area, open air, with unlimited amounts of chicken, beef, seafood and all the fixings with a per table grill carried by teenagers in flip flops. Add ice cream.

I’m not going to do justice, the photos start. Love you Thailand, I plan to be back.

One last photos?  Here you go.

Oh, and you want a postcard? Let me know here.