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Published: April 10th 2008
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Mango Cheesecake!
About to devour yummy cheesecake at my fave cafe in Chiang Mai After 2 amazing weeks at Elephant Nature Park, it was time to say goodbye, and round up my trip! I cannot believe how fast 5 months have gone by, it seems like just yesterday a small child was projectile vomiting near me at the LAX airport.
The ENP shuttle dropped me off at my guesthouse in Chiang Mai, called CM Blue House, an absolutely lovely place run by 2 gay men from California. I had a king size bed all to myself, and even a TV!! That night I went out w/ friends from the park for a nice italian meal, and a glass of wine, and then crashed early. The next day I spent just wandering around Chiang Mai, and catching up my emails and blog. The plan was to take the 9pm overnight train to Bangkok, where I would hang out for a day, meet up with Ashley, and then catch our flight back to the U.S! Key word being "that was the plan". I should have known at this point that nothing in Thailand goes entirely to plan! I hung out in the city till about 8:15pm, at which point I shlepped all of my 5 months
worth of luggage into a Tuk-Tuk and set off for the train station. We pulled up a little after 8:30 for my 9pm train, and my Tuk-Tuk driver starts pointing me towards the ticket counter. I say "no no, I already have a ticket", but he keeps pointing me in the direction of the ticket counter. Hmmm. I go up to the counter, and say "Hi....I'm on the 9pm train to Bangkok?"
The guy behind the counter looks at me and says "Train to Bangkok has been cancelled." Cancelled?
"For what reason???"
"Cancelled" Is still the only response I get. Helpful!
"Ok....when is the next train to Bangkok? "
"Leaves tomorrow 9pm, gets in at 9am the next day"
At this point I start freaking out, b/c that is only a few hours before my flight HOME departs. I try and plead with the guy to sell me another seat, but everything earlier than that is sold out. Two girls standing near me must have overheard my dramas and helped me out by suggesting I check the bus station for over night buses to Bangkok. I asked them if they knew what time the night bus left, and they said
Elephant Statue
My attempt at being artsy in Chiang Mai they thought 9pm. I looked at my watch, and it was 8:45 pm. I run back to my tuk-tuk and shout at the driver "BUS STATION! FAST FAST!" And he takes off full speed....which is about 40 mph on a tuk-tuk. I made it to the bus station at 8:55 pm, where i ran into the station lugging about 70 pounds of stuff with me, managed to find someone to point me in the right direction. I bought a ticket, wandered out to the bus bay, where I jumped on a bus entirely full of Thai people, and had barely sat down when the bus pulled away. At this point I was praying I was on the right bus, as everyone I asked "are we going to Bangkok?" just stared at me blankly. The bus did in fact, end up going to Bangkok, and even got in 2 hours earlier than the night train was due! So this pretty much sums up Thailand, it's pretty chaotic but everything seems to work out in the end.
I spent a day just hanging around Bangkok by myself. It was over 100 that day, so I went to the mall and saw
Khao San Rd
One final shot of the craziness a movie to escape the heat for a bit. That night I just hung out at a streetside cafe and met up with a friend from the Elephant Park. The next day Ashley showed up at my hotel room bright and early, and we set out to buy last minute souvenirs. We had our breakfast at a street stall, fresh fruit with yogurt and granola, for 2$!! I have become so used to all this fresh fruit, I going to be in withdrawl when I get home! As I was walking down Khao San Rd, I look up and Whoa! I ran right into my friend Mike, from Camp Michigania. It was the craziest small world run-in. We stopped to have a quick beer, and then before I knew it it was time to head for the airport!
The flight (s) home were pretty uneventful, we had about 45 minutes in the Hong Kong airport, but from what I could tell it seems like a pretty sweet country. Making the long flight with Ashley made it much more pleasant-if anyone remembers I did not have the best experience on the flight out!!
It's absolutly amazing that my 5
Mike + I
Apparently you run into camp people all over the globe!! months has come to an end. I got to meet so many diverse people, and got to experience some of the most amazing things. I left the U.S positive that I would never bungee jump or sky-dive, and I ended up doing both! I met so many people traveling that were on the road for 9 months to a year. When I left Michigan I had no clue how I would survive 5 months, let alone longer, but once you get into the swing of things, its amazing how fast the time flies. At this point I am already planning my next trip. 😊 My goal? To see more of Southeast Asia. I loved everything about Thailand in Laos and can't wait to explore more. I really appreciated everyone who bore with me and read the blog, and I loved everyone's comments!
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Paige
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F Asia
Amerrrica is where it's at. Come on Alissa, don't ever leave this beautiful country again. Get 'r done now! We're happy to have ya home. What would the ho-down do if you were gone???