Back in Thailand

Yes we are back in Thailand. I know we were supposed to go to Laos to do the tubing that is highly recommended. Unfortunately, in the last few weeks we have been poor planners and even worse executioners. Hence we are riding our last few days before we leave for Ukraine in the North of Thailand.

I will begin this blog in the airport on the way from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. As we arrived in Bangkok and found the airline booths we frantically ran around to find the cheapest airfare to Laos. There was no cheap way directly so we settled for a close border connection and a city that we wanted to see often nicknamed as Bangkok's prettier twin sister, Chiang Mai. We bought a ticket with Bangkok Air since we heard about their free lounge. Unfortunately, we only had 35 minutes to check our bags and make it for our boarding time. We ran through the airport, found the lounge and raided it. They didn't have take away bags because this lounge was used for killing clock and relaxing before the flight, so we invented our own. We used tiny little popcorn bags and stuffed them with food. We grabbed cups of coffee and juice (after all this is the first time we saw free food). Needless to say the other passengers on the flight were not impressed with us. We boarded the plane, tired from all the running around that we did but not hungry, only to find out that they do serve quite a delicious meal on board (we ate that one too).

When we got to Chiang Mai, Marc did great research and found us a hostel in the center of backpackers town. What we didn't properly research is the best way to get to Laos. Although on the map Chiang Mai looked like the closest border connection with Laos, we failed to see the brown markings on the map which in fact are mountains. Unfortunately for us this is the furthest spot from Laos and if we took a bus from Bangkok we would have been there in ten hours. As we learned this information we realized that Laos was just not meant to be. We managed to make some friends with a group of English and Australian travelers. Last night we went out to a Western bar together, we exchanged interesting travel stories (now we sound quite professional at this) and had an overall great time. When we were back in the room Marc professed his disappointment at the poor drinking habits of the English. I assure him that once we are in Ukraine and meet up with Andrei he will not be disappointed.

In the last few days we have been quite active. We visited a Thai farm and learned how to make five different traditional meals. The beauty of it is that Marc and I learned 9 different meals in total and can host a traditional Thai dinner party. We first visited a local market which was an experience on its own. And then got a tour of the farm where we picked spices and vegetables for our individual meals. We met a girl from Australia (Kerry) who lives in Chiang Mai and volunteers at an orphanage. We met up with her the next day and she showed us around the orphanage. There were over 200 children living in one building. More than half the children have parents but they are either in jail or can't afford to take care of them. The section for toddlers was the saddest. They had 20 kids in one room to three women, half of the children were crying. Kerry said that the toddlers develop their motor skills much later in life than the average child because they don't leave their beds for three months at a time, not even for a stroll of fresh air. The only time they are out of their beds is to be showered or fed. We saw a deaf child and he was quite sweet. We took him out of his bed and played with him. Kerry said he really took a liking to us. When we were leaving, we made a significant donation and gave a flyer to our hotel so they can send more tourists there.

On a lighter note, we also visited the Chiang Mai zoo. We saw a lot of different animals and got to feed the Giraffes. I will post the pictures in a few days.

We have finally booked our Eurail Pass which allows us 10 travel days in 5 countries. So far we know that after we visit Ukraine we will visit Amsterdam, Brogues (Belgium), Brussels (Belgium), Frankfurt (Germany), Berlin (Germany), Prague (Czech Republic), Vienna (Austria), Rome (Italy), Venice (Italy) and the Amalfi Coast (Italy). We then fly to London and back home sweet home.

Kissess

Veronika