The vast country of Thailand has much to offer, and so much more to see. During my travels, I entered through the north in a city named Chiang Mai.
As soon as I gathered my bags, I took off for Doi Suthep Mountain to visit Wat Phrathat Temple. This temple had an unbelievable gold leaf dome. No matter how many pictures or different angles I tried to catch its beauty, no picture could do it justice. While visiting the temple, I learned a lot about several Buddha poses and statues. I was unaware that there were different postures for days of the week. I also learned about Chinese zodiac signs. I am the year of the pig. Oink oink, baby!
After the temple, I rested up for the night because the next day, I had my eyes set on the air. I zip lined through the jungle, took in wildlife from tree house platforms, and crossed a few sky bridges along the way. For those who are wondering what the longest distance was that I traveled during the zip line, it was half a mile.
From Chiang Mai, I hit the road for a four-hour drive to the city of Chiang Rai. While winding through the countryside where rice fields are abundant, I came across a truck stop that was on a pineapple farm. So I had to stop and try my favorite fruit. I will say: some were really good, while others could have waited a little longer to be tasted.
After the short stop and a 10-minute long traditional boat ride, I arrived at my jungle destination at an elephant camp. I spent a couple of days riding and learning about elephants. I have to admit, I never realized how sensitive and smart these animals are. They have huge personalities, and at least my elephant made sure she showed me who was boss. For every command I gave, she listened to one out of three. I didn’t make a fuss, but simply reassured her that I had nowhere to go, and couldn’t get home without her.
Though my time in the jungle was fun, it was time to set my navigation system south, and headed for the concrete jungle of Bangkok. Personally, being from the city, I prefer nonstop action and tons of people. In that respect, a Thai kickboxing match had my name written all over it. As you can imagine, the fights were very intense, and their ability to give and take a kick was incredible. The crowd was on its feet more than in the seats. I couldn’t understand all the chants and loud rants, but from my experience of hearing crowd noise, I knew when the crowd was in good spirits, and when it wasn’t those that wasn’t.
All in all, Thailand has become one of my favorite countries (top five) I have had a chance to visit. From the rural areas of flooded rice fields to the madness of Bangkok, Thailand has it all to offer.