Day 41 - Landed in the US!! ✈️🇺🇸🎉

The 5 hour layover in Seoul wasn't too bad I got a lot of sleep. The flight ended up only being 11 and a half hours which was a little better than on the way over. I watched like 5 movies haha, I didn't et much sleep so hopefully I can stay up until bedtime so the jet lag isn't as bad. 

This will be my last blog, thanks to everyone who read it! The trip was an absolute blast! I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to make the trip before starting work. Hopefully there will be many more trips to come in the future! But for now it's awesome to be back home! I don't have too much time to enjoy it since I head down to savannah this weekend to start my "real life"! 

 

Peace out! ✌️😁✌️

Day 40 - Heading Home!!

Today we slept in till check out time, around 11 am, since we didn't have anything planned. We took the free shuttle to the other airport which took about an hour to get to. My dad had booked a room at a hotel at the airport for the wrong night that he couldn't cancel so we checked into the room and left our bags. We then we to the airport rail link to go downtown. I convinced my dad to go to the huge shopping mall that I had visited while we were in Bangkok. 

The airport rail link took about 30 minutes and took us to the BTS (sky rail) which took us 10 min from there to get us to get to the siam stop. Once we got to the mall we grabbed some food at a place called mos burger, apparently it's sort of like a mc Donald's type restaurant in Japan. The food was pretty good for fast food, I had the teriyaki chicken burger. After eating we decided to catch a movie since we had a lot of time on our hands. We ended up seeing robocop which was actually better than I thought it would be. After the movie we walked around the mall some more then caught the train to get back to the hotel. 

Once we got back we showered and rested until it was time to check in for our flight. Luckily we were able to get exit row seats for both flights home! Maybe I'll actually have a chance to get some sleep now! Our first flight is to Seoul South Korea and is about 5 hours long. 

The plane ride to Korea was pretty good I tried watching a movie called "the counselor" but fell asleep watching it haha. I woke up for the meal and by that time we were about for land. Now we have a 5 hour layover in Korea before our 13 hour flight back to Chicago, yay?! Hopefully the flight will go by fast!

Day 39 - Last Day on Phi Phi, Heading back to Bangkok

Today we didn't have anything planned so we slept in and had the buffet breakfast. After we checked out we hung out at the beach in front of our hotel for one last time. The long boat took us to the pier at 1 but since the boat didn't leave till 230 we walked to a restaurant near the pier. I had phad Thai and a strawberry shake that was really good! Getting on the boat was a mess but the boat was much nicer than the one we came here on! It had a/c and tvs! I got a lot of blogging done on the boat and got to relax. The boat ride took about two hours again.

- Boat selfie (I really don't have any good pictures for this blog!)

Once we got to the pier we took a shuttle to the airport. The bus was packed! The driver had people sharing seats luckily I grabbed the the front seat next to the driver.

- Packed Bus

The ride took about an hour to get to the airport. We were originally thinking to go to the beach but since it was already 6 the sun would be down soon and it was a mile walk from the airport at least. So we decided just to chill at the airport for the 5 hours until our flight. It was a pretty boring wait, I laid on the chairs and played games on my phone. The flight was only and hour and 20 minutes so we got into Bangkok around 1230 and since we were staying at the hotel connected to the airport it only took a few minutes to get to our room. Tonight is the last night I'll probably be able to get some sleep so I'll have to make it count. Tomorrow were going downtown and then we start flying back home!

Day 38 - Koh Phi Phi Le Snorkel Trip and Trekking

Today we had to wake up around 830 in order to get ready and eat breakfast in time for our snorkel trip at 9. After breakfast we waited in the hotel lobby and got picked up by the speed boat on the beach of our hotel. The boat picked up a few more people and then we headed for Koh phi phi Le island which is around 2 miles away. The feat stop we made was at Viking cave. It was basically a small cave that a few people lived in. We weren't able to snorkel there since the water was too rough. 

- On the Speed Boat

- Viking Cave

After pausing at the cave we moved on to pi leh lagoon which was only a few minutes away from the cave. The lagoon was really cool. The water was pretty shallow and we didn't really snorkel here but we did stop and swim around. The water was really refreshing!

- Pi leh Lagoon Entrance

- Swimming in the Lagoon

After swimming in the lagoon for a bit we cruised around to the other side of the island to maya bay. Maya beach is where they filmed the movie "The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio, I haven't seen it yet but I'm going to watch it when I get back home. The beach was awesome! The only problem was that it was packed with tourists and boats.

- View From Maya Beach

Unfortunately I took a lot more photos with the underwater camera so look for those on Facebook. We snorkeled in the bay of maya beach for 30 minutes. The snorkeling was really cool. They threw bread into the water and the fishes were everywhere! It was really fun and the water was so clear! After we finished snorkeling we stopped at the beach to relax and explore for an hour. The beach was fairly small but it was nice, I wish I could've seen it when it wasn't as crowded though.

After maya beach we stopped at another spot just off the coast of the island to do some more snorkeling. There were tons of fish and huge rocks under the water that made for an interesting landscape on the ocean floor. We saw some scuba divers there as well, I don't think the water was quite as clear as racha Noi/Yai but it was still pretty clear. 

- Snorkeling!

The last stop we made was back at Koh phi phi don at monkey beach. Monkey beach was exactly what you'd expect, a beach with monkeys! It was fun to see them again. I almost got peed on by a monkey in the tree above me that I didn't see!

- Monkey Selfie!

After monkey beach we got dropped back off at the hotel where we grabbed some lunch. I had the phad Thai which was yummy as usual. The we went to the pool to check it out. I ended up trying a Mai Thai at the pool bar, it was really sweet but overall pretty good. I stayed at the pool for around an hour then went back to the room to shower and change. 

I decided I wanted to hike to the viewpoint on the mountain of the island, of course my dad didn't want to so he got a massage instead haha. I left around three, getting to the viewpoint wasn't really that back, it took about a half hour to get all the way too the top and the view was awesome! You could see almost the whole island!

- The View (You had to be there)

- Pronounced "pee pee" in case anyone was wondering 🙊

If you look at the picture our beach was the one on the left, but as you can see the beaches are super close to each other. The viewpoint  gave me a much better perspective of the island. I rested for about 20 minutes enjoying the view then figured I would try to make it towards the tip of the island. If your looking at the picture you can't see it since it's directly behind me. 

Little did I know there are no real roads to get to the other part of the island only dirt paths that have no markings or signs to direct you! At one point on the trail a pack of at least 10 monkeys ran across the trail! I freaked out because at first all I heard was a loud rustling in the bushes, I was the only one on the trail with literally no sign of civilization so I thought for sure I was about to get attacked! Luckily the monkeys just startled me and quickly made their way through the woods. 

After about 30 minutes of hiking with no end in sight I finally came across a building! The trail literally let me out behind a shed in a mechanic area where a few people were cutting metal and doing other mechanical type things. I walked past them looking totally out of place coming from behind their shed. I finally found a road! The bad news was it was all down hill to the beach, which meant I would have to climb it on the way back! I hiked down and explored then beach for about 15 minutes. There were quite a few private villas and resorts (I think most of the time people get there by taxi boat). 

- Made it to the Beach!

After hanging out for about 15 minutes I decided I better start hiking back since I didn't want it to get dark while I was in the middle of the forest on then mountain. The hike back was rough, I ran most of the way just to get it over with quicker! I finally made it back to the hotel after an hour of hiking back. I ended up napping until dinner. We ended up going to a nearby restaurant where I tried suck! It was pretty good! The restaurant also had a fire show that was really cool!

- The Fire show

After the show we made our way back to the hotel for some rest. Tomorrow we leave phi phi island :( and start to make our way home flying to Bangkok! I'm excited to finally get back home!

Day 37 - Koh Phi Phi Island

Today we got up around 8 to eat breakfast and get packed up so we could check out. A minibus picked us up and drove us to the pier the trip took about an hour and we arrived at the pier around 1030. The boat was pretty big, if I had to guess there was around 200 people or so. We left the pier at 11:00 and the trip took about two hours to get there. Once we disembarked the boat we  got on a long boat that took us across the bay to our hotel. 

- The Pier

- On the long Boat

Our hotel was literally right on the beach you actually had to go in the water to get off the long boat and walk about 20 feet to the lobby. Once we checked in we were driven to our room wich was up the hill. The resort was huge with tons of bungalows all over the hill/mountain. Once we got our stuff settled in our room we made our way down to the hotel restaurant for some lunch. 

The food was delicious! I had grilled fish with sizzling rice. After we ate lunch we walked out to the beach which was literally right in front of the hotel. The water was super clear and shallow. We noticed that in the afternoon the water in the bay decreases tremendously like 5 ft! Anyways we stayed at the beach for a few hours and the went back to the room I relax until dinner. 

- Beach Outside the Hotel

Once it was around dinner time we went out and walked around the town and to the beach on the other side of the bay. All of it was really close together, the other beach was maybe half a mile from the bay at most. After walking around we eneded up stopping at a really cool looking restaurant called the rock. The restaurant looked like a ship on top of a rock about 2 stories above the road. Lo ended up having the shrimp fried rice which was really tasty.

After dinner we made our way back to our room. Tomorrow we are going on a snorkeling trip to phi phi Le island which should be really fun!

Day 36 - SCUBA Diving Racha Noi and Racha Yai

Today I had to wake up a little earlier around 630 to get some breakfast and get ready for SCUBA diving. The minibus picked me up around 720 from the hotel and then drive us to the pier. Once I arrived I met my instructor/guide, Sofie, and we made our way to the boat. Sofie was a freelance diver so she worked for all the different dive companies when they needed someone. None of the dive companies own their own boat so we were on the boat with a lot of other divers from different dive companies. 

- SCUBA gear on the boat

The boat was really nice, 3 stories with the gear on the first floor, a second shaded floor, and a third floor sun deck. The first stop on the trip was to the furthest island, Racha Noi. The boat ride took an hour and a half or so and along the way Sofie went over some of the basics for SCUBA diving. Since I had already gone once before in the Dominican Republic I remembered most of the stuff. The boat also had some breakfast food but since I alreadyy ate at the hotel I didn't have any. Once we arrived at Racha Noi we got geared up and ready for our first dive. 

- Dive Spot at Racha Noi

The water where we were diving was SO CLEAR! And so warm! It was already 100 times better than my dive in the Dominican. For the first dive we descended using the rope and we did some quick review of some basic skills to make sure I wouldn't drown! After that we descended to the bottom and started swimming. Unfortunately I don't have the pictures yet, Sofie took some and will send them to me by email so I'll post them to Facebook once I get them. The dive was awesome! We stayed under for 50 minutes and were about 40 feet under! There were so many cool fish we saw too! We saw puffer fish, the finding nemo fish, shrimp, and tons more that I don't remember the names of. Once the 50 minutes was up we made our way back to the surface and got back on the boat. 

We had an hour to rest until our next dive which was at the same spot. They served lunch on the boat which consisted of various Thai dishes, I'm not sure what the one was called but it was SOO GOOD! While we were waiting on the boat a huge manta ray swam by the boat! A manta ray, for those that don't know is basically a huge stingray like almost 15 feet wide! 

For the second dive we went in the same spot but this time we went a little farther out of the bay hopping to catch a glimpse of the manta. We were really lucky because at the very end of the dive it swam right past us! It was probably about 15 feet away! I wish it wouldev got a little closer but it was still awese to see such a huge creature!  The second dive was the same depth and length as the first. I also found out they te water temperature was 75 degrees and that was at 40 feet deep! 

After the second dive we got back on the boat and headed for The island Racha Yai for our third and final dive of the day. The third dive wasn't as deep as the first two but there were still tons of awesome fish. It's like a whole other world when you go below, it's so cool! I can't wait to get my certification so I can do more dives! After the third dive they had pancakes and fruit for us on the boat as we made our way back to the pier. We finally got to the pier around 5pm and then got into the minibuses to take us back to our hotels. Once I got back I met my dad back in the room and we rested for an hour or two until dinner. 

For dinner we went to a restaurant called the tiger inn. It had sort of a rainforest cafe feel to it and the food was pretty good! I had the shrimp fried rice and a banana shake. Once we finished we made our way back to the hotel to get some rest. Tomorrow we head to Koh Phi Phi island one of the best beaches in the world!

Day 35 - Beaches and Beautiful Weather

Since we had nothing planned today we slept in till around 9 then went downstairs to eat some breakfast. The hotel had a free buffet breakfast so I loaded up on pancakes and eggs, it was delicious and I was stuffed afterwards! Once we finished we hung out in the room for an hour or two. I skyped with Rach for a little then we got ready to head to the beach. 

We hung out at the beach from 11 till around 4. We had a small lunch there, I had a chicken sandwich. The weather was amazing again. This place had perfect weather all year round I wish I could live here! After the beach we went back to the pool for about an hour then relaxed until dinner. For dinner we walked down the Main Street and ate at a restaurant called Rosco's that was pretty good. I got my usual phad Thai, you can't go wrong with it! They had the Olympics on so we got to watch dorm of the curling matches haha. 

After dinner we decided to walk around some more and explore the area. There were tons of shops all over the street selling the typical touristy junk. We walked down one of the main bar streets called bangla rd. it was only 4 blocks long but it was packed with bars and people trying to sell you tickets to the "ping pong" shows. If you really want to know what that is you can google it haha. 

- Bangla street

We also made our way to the Patong mall, it was a fairly large 3 story mall with typical shops. We stopped in the food court for some ice cream and got to watch some beakdancing street performers that were actually pretty good!

- Ice Cream selfie

- Patong Beach Sign

After eating our ice cream we made our way back to the hotel to rest. We ended up watching Django on tv. Tomorrow I'm going on a scuba trip to two islands just south if Phuket called Racha Noi and Racha Yai. My dad decided he's rather stay back at the beach and relax so I'm going by myself. It should be fun! I've only scuba dived one other time in the Dominican Republic so well see how it compares. 

Day 34 - Made it to Phuket!

So last night after we got into the airport we had to take a taxi to hotel which was about 2 miles away. Of course the taxi was a ripoff but since it was 1230 we had no choice. However, once we got to the guest house we were staying at no one was there! The doors were open but all he lights were off and no one was around! Luckily we found a sign posted that said after hours checkin please call some local number. The only problem was we didn't have a phone that could call Thai numbers! So we tried to find one on the desk, no luck. Finally after about 20 minutes we found someone outside who called the number for us and hh lady came out and gave us our room. 

The next morning we slept in since we didn't have anything planned. We ended up long to the nearby Nai Yang Beach for some breakfast. It was about a 5 minute walk to the beach and the food was pretty good. 

 

The beach was fairly empty, we didn't stay too long since we had to check out by 12 and head to the other hotel in Patong. We walked back after breakfast and relaxed until around 1130 when the taxi came to drive us to our other hotel. It was about an hour drive south from where we were staying. We got to the new hotel around 1230 but the rooms wouldn't be ready until 2 so we went down the street for some lunch. I had some sort of fish that was delicious!

After eating we stopped at the scuba shop and I booked a day trip for Thursday. By this time it was 2 so we went back to the hotel and got our room and got settled in. The hotel was really nice the rooms are huge and they have a really nice pool! After and a half hour or so we decided to check out the beach wich was about a 5 minute walk from our hotel. This beach was HUGE! And there were sooo many people! It was pretty awesome, the water was so warm and clear! 

We ended up staying at the beach for a few hours and then made our way back to the hotel pool around 430. The pool water felt colder than the ocean! It was still pretty warm though. We hung out by the pool for another hour or so then went back up to the room, by that time the sun had gone down. For dinner we decided to eat at the hotel downstairs. I had the pepper steak and mashed potatoes. The food was really good! Afterwards we went back to the room and to bed. Tomorrow we don't have anything planned besides hanging out at the beach!

Day 33 - Last Day in Chiang Mai, Off to Phuket!

Today wasn't a very interesting day, do I'll keep it short! We already did most of the major things in the city so we slept in and chilled in the hotel room until 11 which is when we had to check out. Once we checked out we decided to walk around the city one last time. Everything for the festival was packed up so it looked so much different! We went into a few shops to see if there were any last things we wanted, but we didn't end up getting anything (which was good since my bag was starting to get pretty full!). We ended up stopping for lunch around 1 at a random coffee shop place. I had a Hawaii burger which was made with this really weird looking meat but it tastes alright so whatever! I also had a banana blueberry shake that was delicious!

- Banana Blueberry Shake

It was probably the best shake I've had so far this trip! I'll have to try to make it once I get home. After we finished lunch we walked around a but more and made our way back to the hotel. On the way we stopped one last time for some Thai iced tea, it's seriously so addicting!! Once we got back to the hotel it was around two so we decided to go to the mall which was right next to the airport to catch a movie. Of course the tuk tuk driver messed up and took is to the airport instead bit it worked out since we were able to put our bags in a locker and walk to the mall which only took about 10 minutes to get to. We ended up watching two movies haha, the first was the legend of Hercules which was absolutely awful! As we were walking out of the theater we noticed that I Frankenstien was about to start so we decided to go. This movie was a little better than Hercules but not much! They did the whole national anthem thing before the movie began again. I looked it up and apparently you can get arrested if you don't stand up during it, crazy!

After the movies it ilwe walked around the mall, there wasn't much choices to eat so I chose to eat at a barbecue restaurant where you cook the food yourself. It was alright, it seemed more of like a fast food restaurant so I don't think the quality of the food was that great, it wasn't nearly as good as the barbecue in Laos. 

After eating we walked back to the airport and picked up our bags and got to our gate. I got a lot of blogging done while waiting for our flight! I feel bad that I don't have many picture for this blog so here's a selfie of me at the airport! :)

- Airport Selfie!

I can't wait to get to Phuket and get some sun on the beaches! It's a two hour flight from here so it won't be too bad. Were staying at a hotel right next to the airport for the first night (since we don't get in till around midnight) then we move closer to the town for the next couple nights. 

Day 32 - Tiger Kingdom, Long Neck Village, and Cobras

Today we didn't have an official tour booked and decided to get a tuk tuk to take us around to some of the local sights around Chiang Mai. We got to sleep in and didn't leave the hotel till around 10 when our driver picked us up. The first stop we wanted to go to was tiger kingdom. It was around a 30 minute tuk tuk ride to get there (there was still lots of traffic due to the festival). The tiger kingdom is basically a petting zoo for tigers! When we arrived we had to choose what size of tiger we wanted to pet, there were 4 options big, medium, small, and smallest. The smallest cost the most and had a huge wait so we opted for the second smallest since they were still pretty cute. The wait for our tigers was about 40 minutes so we decided to walk around and see some of the other tigers (it was a relatively small area). 

- White Tiger (Couldn't pet these)

- The Baby Tigers! :) So cute!

It was really cool to see all of the tigers. Once our number was called we got to go into the cage! The tigers were relatively docile and didn't move too much (they say they don't drug them but it sort of seemed like they were). Anyway there were around 6 small tigers in the cage that you got to pet, they were all really cute and really soft and fluffy haha 

- Tiger Chillin on a Lo

- Cuddling with The Tigers

- Belly Rub!

The whole thing lasted around 15-20 minutes. Basically they rotated people through the different tigers so you could take pictures. It was sort of expensive so I probably wouldn't do it again but it was definitely a fun and unique experience!

Once we finished we got back into the tuk tuk and headed to the next stop, the Karen long neck village. You may have heard of this tribe before but if not they are know as the giraffe people. They are refugees from Myanmar (previously Burma) and what they do is put heavy brass rings around their necks which pushes their collar bones down and gives them the appearance of having a really long neck. 

- One of the Long neck People

The lady in the above picture was only 23! The village itself is really small (maybe 3 blocks of huts) and basically they just try to sell you the normal junk. If you're wondering, the reason they put the brass rings on is because it is seen as beautiful, the longer your neck the more beautiful you are. It's so weird! It's sort of sad because they start putting the rings in when they are very young so they aren't really old enough to understand all tr problems and limitations of doing it. 

- Really Long Neck!

We stayed in the village for about a half hour or so since there wasn't too much to do there. Once we finished we met back up with our tuk tuk driver. 

The next place we stopped at was the Cobra farm! All of these places are close to each other so it was never more than a 5 minute ride. The snake farm had tons of different snakes. It was a pretty small area so they were all really close, it was really cool to see. They also had a few other animals like alligators, bunnies, and birds there. After walking around we got seated for the snake show!

- The Snake Farm

The sign above me says "If there is any danger, we will not be responsible" it was very reassuring haha. Of course I say in the front row which was only a few feet from the stage area. The show was really cool and the guy commentating was hilarious! They had some cobras, pythons and a few others that I can't remember. It was really cool though and the snake trainers were fearless. 

- Cobra On My Neck

- The guy kissed the snake like 10 times!

It was a really cool show that lasted 20 minutes or so. Afterwards we got back in the tuk tuk and decided to check out the shooting range since it was really close. It turned out to be really expensive and they didn't even have any cool guns so we decided just to head back to the hotel. Once we got back to the hotel we had some lunch, I had the phad Thai again which was delicious. After eating I took about an hour nap in the room and then did some skyping until dinner time. We decided to go to a restaurant down near the festival was. Little did we know that there was a Sunday market and since it was the final day of the festival the streets were packed!  The market was set up on the street and was literally a mile long and packed with people!

- Can't even see the end of the market

It was pretty incredible how many people were there. It took us almost an hour to get down to the main area where we wanted to eat. Before we ate we went through some tshirt stalls and I ended up getting two more tshirts, I'm obsessed with them! They're so comfy! I think I have 11 shirts more than I started with now haha (not all of then are for me though!). We also got some Thai iced tea and watched as there were some fireworks for the final day of the festival. 

- Fireworks

Once we finished our teas we found a nearby place to eat dinner, I wasn't very hungry so I got the club sandwhich that was pretty good. After dinner we headed back to the hotel on a different street that was much less crowed. However I stopped back at the market quickly to pick up a hilarious gift I found for Rachel. I got back to the hotel a little after 10 and got to skype my grandparents back home which was really nice. Tomorrow we don't have much planned and we leave for Phuket at night. 

Day 31 - Mountain Biking Down Doi Suthep

Today we got up and had breakfast a little later, around 9. Then we got picked up in a van to go to the mountain bike shop. When we got there they gave us all of these pads and a full helmet (we looked like football players or something). We booked the tour at our hotel so we didn't really know how difficult the mountain bike trails were so we decided to go with the intermediate level, which I figured wouldn't be too bad. We quickly found out that the intermediate level was wayy above our skill level haha. Our guide told us before we left that the one we signed up for was "for professionals only" so he told us we could do the beginner route instead (which still turned out to be intense!). We left the mountain bike shop around 10 and it took us almost an hour and a half to get to the peak of Doi Suthep, which is the name of the national park, I believe we were 1600 m up (almost 5500 ft!). It turned out that my dad and I were the only ones signed up for the downhill trail so we basically had our own tour guide. 

- All Geared up and Ready to Go!

To start we ride the bikes not too far away to the coffee shop before we started. The first portion was a bit up hill and we visited a village of people that live on the mountain which was pretty cool. Then came the fun part, going downhill! The roads were absolutely horrendous with tons of stones and ruts which made it very easy to mess up and end up off the side of the mountain if you couldn't keep control. The roads were also really steep! Even with holding the brake constantly you would still pick up speed! Our guide was a professional downhill racer and used to compete so he was really good! He was doing all shorts of jumps and wheelies as he led us down the hill. I did my best to keep up with him but it was tough to trust the bike and myself to not fall over! My dad decided to ride a little slower since he didn't have as much confidence do the tour guide and I would I down fast a little ways then stop and wait for my dad. It was so much fun! I got such a rush speeding down the hill, I nearly lost control like 10 times which really got my heart goin! The tour guide and I also did a few off-road trails call "single-tracks" the were absolute insane! So steep and literally like biking on a tightrope! Needless to say I went super slow during these parts and had to put my feet down a few times to prevent myself from falling (my dad stayed on the main road and we met up with him after). The single-tracks were mostly pretty short and there were only 3 total so it wasn't too bad ( found out later the trail we originally signed up for was only single-track which wouldev been impossible!). 

- Biking Down the Mountain

- View from the Trail

At one point in the trail we got to ride through a decent size river which was an absolute blast! Unfortunately our guide took the pictures on his camera (which are so cool) but he hadn't emailed me them yet. Hopefully he will soon!

- Downhill Through the River

At almost the end of the trail there was one last single-track that led too a waterfall. My dad was unsure at first but decided I give the single track a try so he could see the waterfall. He sad he was going to walk I it got to tough but before he could he fell! I stopped every do often on the trail to look back and make sure he was alright so I knew when he fell right away and ran over to help him. Luckily he wasn't hurt too bad (wasn't going fast) just bruised and scraped up. So that put a real damper on the trip, he walked the rest of the way down the trail. Luckily we were almost done so it wasn't too far to ride to the finish at the lake. 

Once we got to the lake we were greeted with some lunch and drinks. We had fried rice with chicken and egg. The restaurant was right on the lake and had an awesome view of the lake and the mountain. 

- View from the Table

We also got some ice cram and got to relax for about 45 minutes until the other group got back. We then got driven back by bus to the mountain bike place which was really close to our hotel so we walked back. 

Once we got back to the hotel we were exhausted and rested until it was time to go get dinner. We walked about a mile or so to a restaurant called the Pepermint Coffee House which we were recommended. The food there was pretty good I had chicken with cashews and steamed rice. After eating I decided to go to the town center to get a Thai iced tea and watch some of the parade that was going on for the flower festival (my dad went back to the hotel since he needed some more rest). 

- Parade Float

The parade was pretty cool, there were tons of people and the floats would stop and people would go and take pictures in front if them, it was pretty bizarre since they would literally stop for at least 15 minutes every block or so. I could tell that  it was going to take forever to watch the whole thing so only stayed for a little while I finished my iced tea. Afterwards I walked through the market and back to the hotel to get some sleep. Tomorrow we are going to the tiger kingdom and long neck village which should be cool!

Day 30 - Ziplinning Through the Jungle

Today we had to get up early since we were getting picked up between 630-7. So we got up and left the room at 630 to. Wait outside but to our surprise we were locked in! We had to wake up the lady running the place to let is out. Our bus didn't end up coming till around 650 which by that time she opened up the lobby so we got to eat some breakfast before we left, just last and yea nothing big. 

The ride there took about an hour and a half on roads winding up through the mountain. Once we got there we got suited up in our harnesses and were ready to go. It was a short hike to get to the first zip line platform and then off we went!

I think there were 34 ziplines total and 3 abseils, which is basically repelling down the tree. The zip lining was a blast and the two guides were great and lots off fun. Unfortunately we only brought the regular camera because I didn't want to drop my phone so I don't have too many pics. 

- Zip lining Seflie

We did the first 20 or so platforms and then had to hike a good 30 minutes or so over rope bridges to get to the rest of the zip lines. The whole thing took a little over 2 and a half hours. It was lots of fun and not scary at all. Once we finished they picked us up in a truck and drive us back for a lunch and a free tshirt. The views at the restaurant were awesome! The food was buffet style and was lacking but hey it was free so I couldn't complain!

Once we finished we got driven back to the hotel which took another hour or so. Once at the hotel we showered and rested until dinner since we woke up so early. 

For dinner we went out to try to find a restaurant that was recommended to is but we couldn't find it so we ended up picking a random place. I had a burger that was wrapped in egg like an inlet that was really good! After dinner we walked around the main square. I'm really obsessed with these tshirts the vendors sell here so I bought a third one! Afterwards we hung out and watched a talent show that was going on. It turned out that this weekend is the annual flower festival in Chiang Mai and that's what the talent show was for. The talents were really awful, they were people from all over the world I'm not sure how they picked them but I think a lot of them were studying at the university. Anyway s lot of them tried to sing and dance and they were absolutely awful at it haha. We got some Thai iced tea at the food stand, which was delicious, and watched the show until they announced the winner who was from Holland, the girl from the IS finished second. 

- Chiang Mai Flower Festival

After the show we made our way back to the hotel, we stopped and grabbed some Carmel corn on the way and it was some of the best Carmel corn I've ever had! Once we got back we got ready for bed. Tomorrow were going to the national park to do some mountain biking!

Day 29 - Chiang Mai, Muay Thai, and Thai Iced Tea

Today we got up around 8 and got all our stuff packed back up into our backpacks again. We went down checked out of our room and walked across the walkway to the airport. I'll give my dad a little credit since it was really nice being able to walk 5 minutes to get to the airport. The airport wasn't busy so security and everything was a breeze. On the way to the terminal I had a 'waffle hong kong' for breakfast, which was basically a waffle wrapped around itself.

The flight left at 1130 and was another short 1 hour flight to Chiang Mai. Once we got in we took a quick 20 min tuktuk ride to our hostel. We had some lunch there, I had the pad Thai again. Once we got settled we decided to book some tours for the days we were here. This time I did all the booking!

Afterwards we decided to relax in our hotel until dinner. We left for dinner around 6 looking for a place on trip advisor. Of course it wasn't where is said it was on the site (this has happened a couple times) so we ended up eating at a random restaurant that was pretty busy. I ended up having the shrimp fried rice and a Thai iced tea. The iced tea was soooo good!! I'm not sure how they make it but it's amazing! 

After dinner we decided to walk around the markets for a little while until it was time to see the mauy Thai fight. Apparently this weekend is the annual Chiang Mai flower festival so they had a huge parade downtown with a stage and lots of people. I'm not entirely sure what was going on but it was pretty cool to see. 

- Float in the Parade

Walking through the markets I bought to tshirts that were super comfy! I think I might go back tomorrow and get another one since they're only $4-5! After an hour or so it was finally time to see the Muay Thai fight. 

We decided to get the VIP seats since it was only a couple dollars extra. It turns out the VIP was definitely worth it, our seats were ringside and we had nice cushions on the seats. The fights themselves were pretty interesting. Most of the fighters were tiny! Weighing around 115 lbs, the heaviest were 158. Needless to say I could have taken all of them! 

- Mauy Thai Feature Fight

There were 7 fights total and one of them was a 'special fight' where they blindfold 6 people and had them fight each other which was pretty funny. The last fight was a guy from Norway vs a guy from Thailand, this was the only fight with an international fighter. Through all the fights there were two knock outs and the rest were decided by the judges. The whole time the fights were going on they had this really weird and kind of obnoxious music playing. The fights started around 930 and didn't end till around 1130. 

Once the fights were over we made our way back to our hotel which was locked up so we had to have someone come let us in! Tomorrow we are doing ziplinning through the jungle!

Day 28 - "Rioting" in Bangkok

Today I slept in and it was awesome! We decided to go down and have the buffet breakfast in the hotel around 930 or so. The buffet was huge! I literally had like 15 mini pancakes with Nutella, tons of bread and biscuit things, sausages, all kinds of fruit. It was delicious! Needless to say I was stuffed afterwards! Once we finished I went back to the room and chilled some more watching tv and skyping. 

Around 1230 I went out to the pool for a little while researching where to go today. I had a general idea to take the BTS (Bangkok transportation system), basically a metro, into the city and explore. I decided to go to Siam which is the main hub for the BTS and I heard there was a huge mall there. My dad decided to be lame and wanted to stay at the hotel all day so I was going exploring alone. I left the pool around 130 and walked over to the airport to take the free shuttle to the other airport which was connected to the BTS. Well it turns out you can only take the free shuttle if you have a flight that day so I found another bus that would take me to the BTS for only $1. It was a quick 15-20min ride and once I got to the BTS station it was really easy to get a ticket to where I wanted to go. The ticket to siam was also only $1. Our driver lied when he said the only way downtown was by taxi which is what I figured . 

- Bus to the BTS only white guy!

Once I got to the siam station I found the mall immediately, it was huge and impossible to miss since it was connected to the BTS station. 

- Siam Mall

The mall was GIGANTIC!! Literally the biggest mall I've ever been in, there were 7 floors with literally every possible store you could imagine. As I walked in I was surrounded by high end fashion stores like Louis vutton Gucci, etc. as I kept walking there were more diamond and super expensive watch shops it was so cool. Definitely not where the average Thai person was shopping. On the third floor they had shops from all of the luxury and sport car dealers, I'm talking Aston Martin, lotus, Maserati, Rolls Royce, Prosche, BMW, Lamborghini. And all of them had numerous cars on display! There must have been over $100 million in cars! It was so cool!

- Lotus

- Inside the Mall

I walked around the mall for literally 2 hours and still hadn't seen the whole thing! The ground floor had an aquarium where you could swim with sharks and the top floor had a huge movie theater! I decided I was going to go see the lone survivor at 5pm since it was only $4. This gave me about an hour and a half to eat and explore some more. 

I decided to walk out to the street since the mall was right next to the center of the riots that were going on. In case you hadn't heard there are riots going on in the city, which is the reason my dad decided to go behind my back and book a hotel so far away. But anyway as I walked out of the hotel I saw the 'riots'. They were not scary at all! They had the streets all shut down and it was basically a huge party/market. They literally had a band playingn music and people dancing it was awesome!

- Riot or Concert?

- Camping out

I felt really safe there they had security at every enterance to make sure you didn't bring any weapons in and had medical tents in case something happened. I walked around the area for 40 minutes or so and bought myself a new case and a longer charging cable for the iPhone. Afterwards I decided to walk back into the mall and get some food. The food court in the mall was ridiculous, literally every restaurant ou could imagine. I ended up at this random noodle place where, again, I was the only white dude in sight! The food was pretty good! After I walked back up to the theater to catch the movie. 

- Some Sort of Noodle Soup

 - Theater Entrance

The movie was good! It was interesting because right before the movie started everyone stood up as they played some sort of tribute video to the royal family, it was kind of weird and propaganda like. After the movie I decided to get some Garret's popcorn since they had a shop downstairs. Little did I know that the real line for the popcorn started outside! It was literally a 1 HOUR WAIT just to get popcorn! I guess the Asians really love Garret's popcorn too haha! So I decided to just head back to the hotel. Catching the BTS back was easy the difficult part was finding the bus I needed to take to get back to the airport. 

- Only white guy packed in a train of Asians! They're so little!

Once I got off the train I found the bus stop, the only problem was there were like 50 different buses and all of them were moving and picking people up. It was all happening very fast so you kind of had to know what you were doing in order to catch the bus. At this point it was 830pm, I figured the bus to the airport was still running but I wasn't sure. Just as I was looking it up in my phone I saw my bus! Once I got on it was a quick ride back to the hotel. Then public transportation here is actually really awesome and simple to use! Once I got back I got ready for bed. Tomorrow we leave for Chiang Mai which is in the mountains in northern Thailand. Don't worry it's still 90s and sunny there! Stay warm Midwest friends!