Mae Hong Son, Won’t Ya Come?

Mae Hong Son is in northern Thailand on the Burmese border. I have been to Pai in this province, but this time around I wanted to visit the provincial capital as it’s often overlooked by travellers. I knew it would be quiet, scenic, and friendly—an ideal combination for a relaxing getaway.

Pai, Pai, Love

The morning after Loy Krathong, with three days left of our vacation, we hopped on a dreaded minibus (van) and headed for one of our last wish-list cities up north, Pai. The road from Chiang Mai to Pai is infamous as the Road of 562 Curves, and Sara and I suffered in the back seat through every single one of them. We crawled up and around the mountains for what seemed like an eternity, several times considering jumping out and hurling ourselves over the cliff to avoid hurling on ourselves.

When we finally arrived and were dropped unceremoniously near downtown Pai, we were dazed, nauseous, and had no idea where our guesthouse was (or where we were dropped). After a little over an hour of wandering, having encountered several helpful people who sent us in the wrong direction entirely, we made it safely to Good Morning Pai, a beautiful place to stay in the foothills of the mountains surrounding the city. (Pro tip: Always ask at least three different people for directions. Many times people won’t admit they don’t know and send you in any particular direction.)We had a nice little bungalow to ourselves at Good Morning Pai, and as far as I know we were the only ones staying at the resort. It was the cleanest place we’ve stayed in Thailand.

Koh Phangan Style

After a few days stumbling around Bangkok in the oppressive heat, Sara and I were both excited about spending some quiet time on the beach. Sara had been talking about visiting the famous island beaches of Thailand even before we left America, but she was still finalizing plans for our trip to Koh Phangan the night before we left Bangkok. She found us an amazing guesthouse with beachfront cottages called Ocean View, whose name turned out to be the understatement of the year.

But, first, we had to get there! We loaded into a taxi and headed to the Bangkok train station, Hua Lamphong. The station is a pleasant enough place to spend four hours waiting for a train, and afforded us the opportunity to do some great people watching - dividing time between guessing the nationalities of the countless hordes of incoming tourists and suffering through the first presidential debate on my laptop.

“Winter” Vacation

The semester’s over, grades are in, and we’re free for the next 4+ weeks! (Well, sort of. I’m helping OEG with 2 orientations in Bangkok, but that’s not until 11 Oct.) We booked the overnight train to pick us up in Lampang and take us to Bangkok for a few days before heading to some sandy beaches. Turns out the night train is our new favorite way to travel. It’s cheap, cozy, and air-conditioned.

Day Two in Krueng Tep (Bangkok)

Skytrain above the downtown traffic

Jack and I started our second day a little more refreshed than the first. After talking with Eric yesterday, we had big plans to take the ferry along the river and check out the Grand Palace. Our hostel is right off the BTS line, a Skytrain that runs all around town. Bangkok has THE most amazing public transportation and it is incredibly affordable. In addition to the Skytrain, there is an elaborate subway system and plenty of busses.

We took the Skytrain to the central stop of the Chao Praya Express. This is a system of ferries that runs along the Chao Praya river making various stops depending on the line. Eric recommended we avoid the tourist line and take the orange line instead. Good call!

Day One of Bangkok Fun

How bizarre it felt to wake up this morning thinking, oh yeah we're in Thailand now! Once I heard one little noise this morning, I was wide awake and totally excited again.

Not exactly what I had in mind for my first Thai meal
but hey, we have places to go, people!

Jack and I got ready and headed out for some breakfast. We'd read that Thais don't really eat what westerners would consider breakfast foods like eggs, toast, pancakes, etc, so we decided to just get a few quick things at the 7/11 on our corner (they are everywhere here). We ended up getting yogurt, chocolate milk, iced coffee, coconut cookies, water, chopped mango, and spongey cake for about $3.50.

Most everything was better than we thought it would be (we didn't know what to expect so we kept our expectations low). I realized after we got back to the hostel that the mango bag said pickled mangos--uh oh! The ingredients list was also in English and I didn't see anything about vinegar so I suspected it might be a translation issue. Oh well, let's try it!