Thailand

January 2016: On our winter break we decided to head to Thailand for a couple of weeks. We visited Chiang Mai for a few days, then headed to the beach in Krabi for a few more days before flying out of Bangkok. I highly recommend visiting Chiang Mai in the North. It was probably our favourite place. And of course, you can't pick wrong when choosing a beach to visit, whether you want a more relaxed vacation, or party one. Thailand has it all.

highlights

. Beaches . Hikes . Night Bazaars & Markets . Food .

lowlights

. Humidity . Crowds . Sketchy Food .

chiang mai

We loved Chiang Mai. Then again, we aren't the type of people who can sit on the beach for a week straight, so this was perfect for us. We wandered around all day, visited some temples, found neat restaurants and coffee shops, and went to the night bazaar every night. We booked a ziplining tour for one day, but didn't make it, because yes...we got sick. In all our travels this has never happened, but we both shared some chicken curry at the Night Bazaar...and that was it. I'm guessing it was either undercooked or had just been sitting out for a long time. The company we booked the ziplining tour with (Flight of the Gibbon) kept calling and texting all day long after we told them we had to cancel (there's a cancellation fee), as we were dying in our hotel room. I eventually went a couple of days later to pay the fee, and they were grateful (I guess some tourists aren't so nice), but I still snapped a bit at them. I'd rather not be hounded while my head's been in the toilet for an entire night and day. Update: A Canadian man recently died on this ziplining tour (the cord snapped), in case you’re thinking of using this company. Anyways, so the rest of our time in Chiang Mai wasn't so pleasant, and totally ruined our appetite for the rest of the trip (and we LOVE Thai food). We went out for walks when we felt alright, and drank lots of water. But we didn't take any photos except for the two above. Oh, and we stayed at 3LAANHOUSE (yes...all caps on booking.com). The place was in a great location, about $50/night, and very modern/new, but our room was tiny (not so good with two sick people in it). 

krabi

We left Chiang Mai feeling a bit better, and flew into Krabi, where we hopped on a shuttle bus that stopped at our hotel/apartment. The place was called Enjoy Krabi and Relax (found on booking.com), and was a great spot, really close to the beach. The owner (Olivier) was awesome, as he was very helpful, gave us a ton of suggestions of things to do, and even set up a private boat tour for us. Our apartment was spacious, and about a 2 minute walk from the beach. We were at Klong Muang Beach, which is a lot quieter, and had a few restaurants and bars on the beach. The walk to town was about 10 mins, which is where you can find an ATM, grocery stores, etc... Besides the boat/island tour, we also did a hike. 

dragon crest hike

This was a great hike, but by no means was it easy. Especially if you had basically been in bed for 2 days with salmonella. The views are incredible, but with the humidity and some reeeeally steep parts (had to use my hands to get up in some parts), we were exhausted. But if you are like us and love a good hike, or are avid hikers, then go for it! The views from all sides were amazing and worth the climb! 

bangkok

We flew out of Bangkok, so we spent our last day here, which means we didn't get to explore too much. We stayed at the Citypoint Hotel, which was awesome (about $80 a night), and we took the Metro from the airport, which was really easy and convenient, and got off a couple of blocks from the hotel. Around the area were some great restaurants and a few malls. Since we were only there for a night, we walked around the Grand Palace, and then of course headed to Khaosan Road. We did not attend any shows...just walked around and bought some souvenirs. If we were there longer, I would have liked to visit the weekend market, and a couple of their famous temples.

the food

Don't get scared by the possibility of getting sick. Yes...we got sick and it was awful. But we were probably just a bit careless because we had eaten at the same place the day before and were fine. We also had a ton of street food the night before. The difference was that we knew it was fresh because we watched them cook it. The problem with the Night Bazaar is that there are so many people and lines for every food spot, that it's a little harder to tell how long something's been sitting out, or if they had been in a rush to cook it, therefore it wasn't completely done. So a few extra precautions are necessary when you're eating at a market or from a street cart, but Thai food is amazing and I'm sad I didn't get to eat as much as I wanted to. 

story time - trevor is the best?

We had an overnight flight to Thailand, so when we got to Chiang Mai we were pretty exhausted, but our hotel room wasn't ready as we got in really early. A friend from Kuwait messaged us about something going around Facebook about a girl from the UK. She apparently got in a terrible motorbike accident in Chiang Mai and desperately needed a specific type of blood (that apparently is really rare in people with Asian heritage). It just so happens that Trevor has the exact blood type. So before even checking into our hotel, we walked over to the hospital and waited for about an hour so Trevor could give blood. The place was so crowded, which was pretty incredible to see, but most people did not have that blood type (but they were taking their blood anyway!). The girl ended up surviving the accident.