I didn’t intend to stay that long but it’s been almost a month in Thailand. That alone is already a pretty strong statement and I can say Thailand has been really good to me again. This time I decided to skip the South and the islands and focus on Central, and even more on Northern Thailand. That part of the country has so much to offer and is so diverse that it would have been easy to fill a 2 months itinerary.
First of all, I was surprised by how cheap Thailand still is. Having travelled the country in 2008, I expected the prices to be much higher. But food, accommodation and transport were so cheap, that it made the start of my journey an easy one. I am afraid that it will be tough to run on the same budget in all of the other countries I will visit.
Looking back at my first stint in Thailand again, it has become a lot more touristic. Especially Chiang Mai seems to have boomed even more during the last few years. The city is full of travelers and backpackers, all inclusive packages are on offer on every corner and every need of the mainly first timers is taken care of. That being said, the country still has enough beautiful places off that beaten track and you don’t even have to venture far. My little escape and a definite highlight were doing the Mae Hong Song Loop by motorbike. The beautiful vistas, the encounters with both locals and like minded travelers and the riding through more than 1860 curves were one hell of an adventure. Besides becoming confident riding a manual, I also finally improved my people photography with the help of French photographer Marie.
New skills acquired during my stay in Thailand – Riding a manual and people photography.
Another issue I want to mention here and which I have not written about before is animal welfare and especially elephants. As some might know, the North of Thailand is renowned for its many elephant camps and attractions involving elephants. I booked a day trip to one of these camps, the Baan Chang Elephant Camp, which was recommended in the LP (among one other camp) as well as by fellow travelers. The day still left a bitter sweet taste. I think they really care about the elephants and do good by buying them out of abusive ownerships. Still, the elephants have been chained and during bathing them, they sprayed water by command of the mahouts. They also have like 4 groups coming in every day and every group is doing the same program. Feeding, riding and bathing. The perception of all this is very personal, as others really liked it and would recommend it. I myself wouldn’t do it again but maybe I am just naive and have a too idealistic point of view. It would be great if yo could share your experiences with this issue.
Elephant Camp in Chiang Mai. A day with mixed feelings….
I regret a little bit not having spent more time in the Golden Triangle and in and around Chiang Rai. I sort of lost track of time in Chiang Mai and then my mind was already set for Laos. I think, the area must be really interesting and would be worth visiting. So please do so if you have the chance. However, thinking about this, I realized that it is important to accept that you will never be able to see everything the country has to offer and that you have to set priorities in order to not stress yourself. Especially when travelling long term, avoiding stress and listening to your inner voice is very important.
Travelling in Thailand is basically very easy. If you want to, you can have everything booked by an agency: Pickups from the hostel, packed tours, transports, accommodation – really everything. I can just encourage everybody to go out of your comfort zone and to go exploring by yourselves. It is more fun, more adventurous and last but not least it saves you some serious cash. Of course you need the time to do so.
So all in all, Thailand has been amazing. I met heaps of interesting people, explored some beautiful places, made great experiences, acquired new skills and saw awesome nature. It was the perfect start of my journey.
In every roundup, I will sum up my stay with a few quick facts. Here they are on Thailand.
Where I’ve been:
3 days Bangkok
3 day Kanchanaburi
2 days Ayutthaya
2 days Pak Chong and Kai Yai Nationalpark
5 days Chiang Mai
7 days on the road doing the Mae Hong Song Loop
3 days Chiang Mai
1 day Chiang Khong
Transportation used:
Train, Ferry, River Boat, Canal Boat, Tuk Tuk, Taxi, Rikscha, Bicycle, Motorbike, Mototaxi, Hitchhiking, Public Bus, Nightbus, Feet, Songthaew
Like:
Good prices, nice people, great nature
Don’t Like:
Not much. Maybe the occasional mistreatment of animals.
Average expenditures for accommodation:
180 Baht or 4,70 EUR
Types of accomodation used:
Single Room, Double Room, Dorm, Tent, Bungalow, Nightbus
Highlight:
The Mae Hong Song Loop by motorbike and the crazy Thai experience with my travel mate Remy
Lowlight:
Visit at Chiang Mai Ram Hospital
Photos shot and kept on file:
480
What’s next:
About a month in Laos
Below I put a selection of my favorite Thailand pictures. I hope you enjoyed my reports and the pictures. I will try to keep the updates coming regularly. In the meantime feel free to message me or share your thoughts about your experiences traveling Thailand or traveling in general. Thanks all for stopping by and the positive feedback. That really keeps me motivated.
Cheers, Philipp
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- Praying to the Golden Buddha.
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- Just opposite of Wat Arun. It’s worth to turn around sometimes.
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- Buddhist Monks waiting for the train to Kanchanaburi.
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- The bridge over the river Kwai. By the way: It’s pronounced Kwae.
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- … and another one.
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- Wat C.. by night.
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- Buddhas lined up at Wat Ratburana.
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- Annie and Diana from the US and Sam from Finland. Glad to have met you guys!
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- Monk Chat at Wat Chedi Luang. A very interesting hour of conversation.
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- Thai Lady in traditional dress. Shot at a Karen village close to Soppong / Cave Lodge.
when you visit Kalimantan aka Borneo and Sumatera (Indonesia), you’l see the same social life like shown above.
I will be in Indonesia in a few months. Not sure what I will do and see there since it is still a bit far away for me. Borneo and Sumatra sound really nice though. I have lots of good memories from Indonesia – going back will be wonderful.
Fantastic photos! I especially love the one with the dogs resting on stairs, and the close-up of the elephant’s face. Everything is so bright and vibrant!
Hey Nerija,
thanks so much for your positive Feedback. This really keeps me going. Sometimes I just don’t know whether or not my pics and my writing are any good. Feedback like yours is motivating. I actually like the one with the dogs as well. It was late afternoon and the light was brilliant. The closeup of the elephants face was actually taken with my old point and shoot camera. I didn’t want to bring my DSLR that day. I was surprised that this old piece can still take some nice pictures. I have some more pictures of that day but decided not to put them up. If you wanna check that Camp out, look for Baan Chang Elephant Camp on Facebook. They have lots of photos. I was there on the 28th of January – they have an album of that day.
Greetings from Northern Laos,
Philipp
You’re very welcome, and thanks for the tips! I’ll have to check out that Facebook group. Seriously, articles like yours make me want to hop on the earliest plane and start a nomadic life!
It’s amazing how older cameras can take such great pictures. It’s all about the timing and circumstances, I guess! 🙂
Hi!
Was your picture of the tuk tuk and Starbucks by any chance taken near Tha Pae gate in Chiang Mai? Because I have an almost identical picture (taken last week, tuk tuk included) but taken slightly around the corner and in the daylight! Just curious, because it looks awfully familiar 🙂
Jamie
p.s. Love the blog! I’m in Thailand, mostly Chiang Mai, for the next 4 months and love reading about fun side trips like the loop drive you took.
Hey Wanderlust,
the world is so small. The picture was exactly taken there – opposite of Tha Pae gate in CM. I was waiting for some people I met in Chiang Mai to go out for dinner at the Night Bazar. I was just hanging around and had to kill some time so I just starting clicking away. And that picture was one of the results. Would love to see yours – maybe you can post a link or post it here….
How come you stay in Chiang Mai for 4 months? Are you working there? It’s a great to place to stay – I spent too much time there I have to admit…it’s just so nice and easy going.
Greetings from Northern Laos,
Philipp
Hi Phil!
Yes, small world for sure. I just posted the photo on my blog, feel free to take a look (http://jshannon614.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/clashing-worlds/). Unfortunately, that day I turned on some time stamp feature on my camera and can’t get rid of that annoying text at the bottom… try to ignore that 🙂
I’m volunteering with an NGO, Atma Seva, based in Chiang Mai for 4 months. I’m teaching English and helping with some other stuff. I’m also going to travel to Cambodia and Vietnam for a couple of weeks. Very excited to see as much of SE Asia as I can!
Have a great time in Laos,
Jamie
Hi Jamie,
you project there sounds great. I could imagine myself spending some time doing NGO work, but for now I want to focus on traveling only. Combining work with traveling is probably the best thing that can happen to you. I hope you will enjoy Cam and VN. I will go there in a bit and I am already excited. Thanks again for stopping by. Greetings from Luang Prabang, Philipp.
glamorscene