Blogs from North-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 8

We arrived at Tribal and the name is fitting to say the least. We’re practically sleeping in a shed without air con, WiFi or even a shower drain. There’s a really chilled vibe here. The people are so cool, sun kissed tattooed travellers who drink and listen to electro house music. We’ve learnt that Thailand is full of convenience; everything you need is right in front of you, super cheap. You can go to the 7/11 store and they’ll make up your pot noodle with a little fork and everything. Why don’t we have this in the UK? We got speaking to a Swiss guy who’s learning Thai. The Thai use some English words like ‘computer’ and elongate the ‘aaa’ sound at the end of sentences to signify politeness. It’s such a funny language. After a ... read more

Today began with a tiring hour-long road trip, taking us well outside of Chiang Mai to the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary. Upon arrival we got dressed in these itchy tribal looking garments making us more recognisable to the elephants, allowing them to feel comfortable around us. We were given sweet treats in the form of a pocket full of mini bananas for the elephants and were sent on our way down the jungle. Dean rightly said it’s the equivalent of a waiter bringing your food to the table. Ensuring we went to an elephant friendly sanctuary, the elephants weren’t ridden by visitors and were happy and free, flapping their ears and swinging their tails. I can’t describe how amazing it was to be with these giants up close. After a period of banana-feeding and selfie-taking, we trekked ... read more

We ended up staying up until 2am last night at the hostel talking to a group of fellow travellers from Canada who have given us a bunch of useful advice. They told us from first hand experience, the ones who con us are mostly European living out here scamming young travellers for a living. The bastards. Today we explored the old town in 36 degree heat. Ice smoothies are a god send out here. They literally chuck a bit of fruit into a blender with ice and charge 30 baht which is around 70p... it’s bloody heavenly. I’ve even managed to get Dean to invest in some colourful Thai pants to cover his knees when visiting the temples. There are just over 300 Buddhist temples in Chiang Mai. We’ve come across one every 50ft that date ... read more

We’ve headed north to Chiang Mai the only way backpackers should; the 14 hour sleeper train. I’m convinced this train is over 60 years old. It’s infested in creepy insects and is certainly a duster virgin. Although it’s a little cramp and rusty, there’s a real authentic feel to this style of Asian transport; we feel like true hipster travellers now. Thailand has military looking railway police officers who patrol the carriages keeping us youths in order. After a broken up 4 hour sleep I got up at 5.30am and waited for the sunrise. I couldn’t take my eyes off the scenes of Sukathai, it looks like the animation from jungle book... I’ve never seen the world look so beautiful. We’ve only just arrived in tranquil Chiang Mai where we’ve set up base for a few ... read more

Woolly says – Having had a full day of rest, (well except for the four hours spent sorting trains and buses out for our next part of the trip) I felt ready to find out more about Chiang Mai. Having studied the map the women had decided that it would be pleasant to have a stroll along the river and see what we could find, somehow, I didn’t think it was going to be quite what they envisaged! From my point of view, it meant that I could shout out PING as many times as I liked! The Ping River was once used for goods and wears to arrive in the city and was a thriving river, now it was used for the odd tourist boat to meander along. A few minutes’ walk from ... read more