Once upon a time, I went to Chiang Mai

I know it's been quite a while since I updated my blog, but better late than never! Things got a little bit crazy once I quit teaching, but figured it would be good to recap and revisit what happened between school ending and my journey home.

As soon as school got out, I packed up my apartment, said my goodbyes, and began my travels with a quick trip to Khon Kean to catch the overnight bus to Chiang Mai.

last look at my apartment in mukdahan

It wouldn't be Thailand without starting the trip with something sketchy. I got to the bus station in Khon Kean, grabbed some grilled chicken and sticky rice, and awaited my bus. When it was time to go, the man at the station loaded my bags into the bed of a truck. Not the bus, a truck and told me to get in. I was thoroughly confused and a little nervous. But when in Thailand. So I got in the truck, which drove me and two other women across town to the other bus station where we got on the actual ride to Chiang Mai.

I snuggled in and braced myself for the 13 hour ride. To start the journey was a really entertaining, but supposedly scary, Thai film was playing. They brought around the usual water, baked bun stuffed with taro, and a soy milk and off we went. I woke up a couple times as we went over the mountains and through the construction, but arrived safe and sound around 7 AM. I caught a tuk tuk and checked into my hotel. I decided not to use a hostel so I could recover and relax from teaching. I also wanted to spend some time in my own head and actually spend some good time alone. I had come to Thailand alone, but hadn't spent much time 100% alone and felt it would be as good of a place as any to start. My first day there was spent wandering around Chiang Mai, checking out some temples and shops, as well as the little hole in the wall markets.

one of the many, many temples

in the city

a really cool shop with homemade paintings

and painted, buddhist rocks

sunset over chiang mai

Day two in Chiang Mai was one for the books. I woke up, grabbed a quick breakfast from across the street, and got picked up to go ride an elephant. The one thing I had on my bucket list when going to Thailand was to ride an elephant and I got to check it off at a wonderful place. The company I went through rescued elephants and you got to ride them bareback. (A lot of places are only in it for the money, abuse the animals, and have a saddle that you get put in. The saddle is actually painful and harmful for the elephants, so bareback is the way to go!) We got into a van and drove up the mountain to the elephant rescue center. 

The view alone from the top was worth it. You could see the hills surrounding Chiang Mai, with all the lush, green trees and rice fields. Right amidst all that beautiful scenery, there was an elephant center. The lady in charge gave us a quick run down on elephant commands, we walked down, got changed into our elephant riding clothes (elephant skin is rough and abrasive and they don't want to ruin the clothes people wear there). 

the view from the top

pictures don't do justice

the stairs walking down

more of the stairs down

We got to feed the elephants bananas and were given some more instructions. Then it was time to assign elephants and hop on. I lucked out and got an elephant to myself. They gave me the smaller one, named Superman and helped me climb up. Elephants are, hands down, one of the coolest animals. They're so sweet and sensitive and very intuitive. Also, very smart and stubborn. Mine kept stopping to eat and wouldn't get going. We went for a quick ride, had a wonderful lunch that consisted of a traditional, Northern Thai dish, talked about the elephants some more, then went for another ride. Then, it was time for our second ride. 

elephant rider, amber

This ride was longer and the mahout in charge of Superman ended up riding on the back with me. Thank goodness for that because he tried to climb the hill to eat the bamboo and wouldn't listen to any of my commands. Luckily, he listened to the mahout. The whole time, all I could do we sit in amazement of where I was and what I was doing. Absorbing the sites, smells, the texture of the elephant skin and his ears flapping against my legs. All in all, a once in a lifetime feeling and experience. 

before attempting to climb the hill

Our ride ended with giving our elephants a bath. The water was dis.gust.ing. However, being in the gross water with about 4 elephants was pretty cool. They gave us chunks of leather to use as brushes and little buckets to pour water on them with. Mine kept trying to eat the leather brush and sprayed me with water a couple times. 

the water was as gross as it looks

and the elephant was as happy

as he looks

A quick shower, some more banana feeding, and a bunch of elephant selfies later, it was time to head back to my hotel. Not much could have ruined my mood. 

some of the different elephants

me with a mahout and friends

the rice fields by the rescue center

with the hills in the background

The next day got started with a run around the walls of old city. It's a pretty busy city, but there's a sidewalk that goes all the way around the walls and my hotel was just outside of the walls. It was about 8 AM and still cooler than it ever got in Mukdahan. Needless to say, it was a good way start to the day.

the walls around old city

old school style tuk-tuk

powered by a bicycle

After my run, I got ready, packed my overnight bag, and headed out to find the place where my 2 day meditation retreat would start. This retreat was something I had been looking forward to because Buddhism is such a big part of the culture in Thailand and I wanted to learn more about not only the culture, but myself. It was a continuation of the time spent alone that I was determined to do. 

the buddhist college where we met for 

the retreat. didn't learn to properly say 

the name of it though

the temple inside the campus grounds

inside of the temple on campus grounds

Once we all arrived at the campus, we gathered in a room and the monk that would be in charge of our retreat gave us some information about the retreat center, what we would be doing, and some background about the University. We then got on a big tuk-tuk and drove about 30 minutes to the outskirts of Chiang Mai. It was nice and quiet and the retreat center was enclosed by a gate. We were assigned to our room, which we shared with someone of the same sex, and changed into our retreat clothes. (I didn't know who I was sharing a room with, but she was a nice, younger woman from I believe Switzerland. The retreat clothes were white shirts and white pants)

meditation room

outside where our retreat was

The retreat was honestly probably the best thing I could have done and one of my absolute favorite things about my trip to Thailand. It was so wonderful to be surrounded by people who were trying to better themselves and wanting to learn to meditate. It was really well structured and the monk guided us through different types of meditating. It was great to have some extra help and guidance. Some of the best parts were not having cell service, having it be a silent retreat, and the delicious food that was cooked for us. I left the center feeling much more comfortable in my own skin and was able to kind of let go of the stresses from teaching and being so far away from home. It helped me feel much more comfortable being alone and doing things on my own.

After the retreat, I wandered back to my hotel, took a shower, and went to grab some dinner. I came across this organic restaurant and ordered the green curry with a banana smoothie. It was one of the best meals I had the whole time I was away. Part of it was that stopped and really enjoyed my food, tasting all the different flavors, and feeling the different textures. After my delicious meal, I wandered down to the night market to see what it was all about.

yummy dinner :)

the night market

I was so impressed that I ended up going back for breakfast the next morning. Equally impressed by that meal. I didn't want to leave that place and would love for someone to open a place like that here!

coffee with toast, granola, yogurt,

and assorted, delicious, fresh fruits

monks chanting at a local temple

After such an amazing couple of days, it was really hard to leave. But it was time to part my ways with Chiang Mai, memories in hand, and board the train to Bangkok. 

As always, it was an experience. It was pouring rain when I left my hotel and arrived at the train station. I had some time to kill, so I bought a coffee and updated my travel journal. When it was time to board, I grabbed all of my oversized and overly full luggage and hopped on the train. It left around 5:30 and was an overnight, sleeper train. The top bunks folded down from the top and the seats we sat on until night time rolled around turned into the lower bunk. There were curtains that closed around the bunk and air conditioning that blasted all night as it does on all the overnight buses. Who doesn't want to freeze when they sleep? Luckily they give you a nice sheet to stay warm! On the plus side, the mattresses were pretty comfortable and it was quiet all night. You also get to make friends on the train. When you slide open the curtain, you could be face to face with a stranger across from you on the other bunk like I was. He was nice and kept to himself. In the morning, I brushed my teeth with a monk. 

 train in the station

don't drop your phone!

inside of the train

the white things up above folded down

to make the top bunks

all snuggled in for the night

We arrived in Bangkok around 9 in the morning (long train ride. it's not very fast, but I wanted the experience and was not thrilled about another bus ride. I could read and write on the train to pass the time, unlike the bus.) I got a taxi and checked into my hostel. Spent one night in Bangkok before heading off on the next adventure! 

thailand: the land where you never know what to expect

this past weekend, ruby and i made the trip to chaiyaphum to visit some friends who live there. we had to take the bus to khon kean on friday after school, stay the night and then venture to chaiyaphum on saturday morning, due to the bus schedule.

van to khon kean

we needed to stay the night in khon kean because there aren't any buses going to chaiyaphum past 9 at night and we got into khon kean at 930. we were going to book a hotel room, but the university was having the test to get into medical school, so there weren't any rooms available anywhere. my co teacher went around the school asking people if they knew anyone in khon kean. the vice director said his sister lived there and that we could stay at her house there. so, we called this lady when we were almost to khon kean, she came and picked us up, and took us to her house. come to find out, she spoke about as much english as we speak thai, which is not very much. her sister also lived in the house and they were both so nice and so friendly. they had a guest room for us and set us up for the night. in the morning, we came downstairs to find her making us breakfast. we had fish, omelet with onions, brown rice, and sausage. but it wouldn't be thailand without some sugar for every meal. the lady we stayed with owned a thai dessert shop that she ran out of her home. (that's what the thai do. the front of the house is usually a store and they live in the same building) there were about 10 people walking in and out of the house with trays and trays of goodies. she gave us a bunch to try, and packed a bunch up for us to take with. they were really good, very pretty, and very sweet. 

before they dropped us off at the bus station, we were taken to the temple just down the street. it was a really pretty temple with 9 floors. we walked up to the top of the temple to get a good view of khon kean. talk about one of the nicest families. the thai are so generous and so giving. they were really friendly and we managed to communicate well enough, even with the language barrier. at school on monday, the vice director said they loved having us and wanted to adopt us :) 

the front of the temple 

khon kean and the side of the temple

one of the women we stayed with

the view from the top floor, looking down

next, onto the bus we go to head to chaiyaphum. it was about a two and a half hour bus ride and a little on the bumpy side. however, we made it there around 12 and my friend from the tesol course, mia, and a new friend, keavy, were there to pick us up from the station. we headed out for lunch after arriving. 

bus station sign through the telephone wires

we had lunch and then took off to a little coffee shop called eat, play, love. it was right above the soccer field and i got to enjoy an actual cup of drip coffee (it's hard to come by here). we sat and talked for a while and then picked up ailen from the bus station. from there, we went to their apartment for some more girl time before grabbing dinner. we sat at dinner and did what girls do, talk some more. then went to a bar down the road called fin.

from left to right:

lindsay from nebraska

mia from california 

ailen from california

ruby from new zealand

and me

the band that played there

they kept playing half english half thai songs for us

it was a cool place and it was nice to be able to hang out and catch up. when it was time to go home, we didn't have enough room on the two scooters mia and lindsey had for everyone, so two of the people who worked at the bar drove us back to the apartment. again, talk about the thai being super generous and friendly! it's amazing what they will do to help others and it's never an inconvenience. it's just what they do here. 

the next morning, we grabbed breakfast/lunch and caught the bus back to khon kean. sometimes the buses get super full and sometimes they stop every 10 minutes to let people on and off. this bus was both of those things. i was pretty sure we were never going to make it back to khon kean in time to catch the bus to mukdahan. multiple times the bus dropped people off, drove 500 feet, and dropped off more people. the thai do NOT like to walk. anywhere. ever. haha the bus was also pretty full. but not a problem. they have extra seats for when that happens

who needs a seat? we have stools

we made it to khon kean with plenty of time to spare and caught the next bus to mukdahan. pretty sure it was straight from that 70's show. you never know what the bus will be like and no two buses are alike. this one had super comfy seats, but was pretty colorful. 

floral, pink, and deep red. why not?

on the road between khon kean and mukdahan, there's a section that is always flooded. and no one seems to be bothered about it. just drive through and continue on your way. even for tuk tuks.

i couldn't catch it in time, but there are dogs on board

not sure how the tuk tuk didn't flood haha the water was pretty deep

before leaving khon kean, we got watermelon. the whole mini watermelon cost 10 baht, so i had a nice snack on the way home.

how you can eat watermelon on a bus

i also got to enjoy some really pretty views along the way. never get tired of all the green and the sunsets. the rice fields everywhere are really cool too.

drive by shots

on a random side note, i was sitting at dinner last night after my run at the park, listening to my students and the others around me chatting in thai, and realized that the place i've been eating at for months won't be around for much longer. hard to believe my trip is already coming to an end and i'll be leaving mukdahan very soon. there's a sense of nostalgia that comes with leaving a place you've grown accustomed to. (and fairly fond of) especially when it all of a sudden hits you like it did me last night. in lieu of this feeling, here's where i was sitting and what i was eating when that happened. 

the carts by 7-11 where i eat all the time

the cart on the right that is lit up is where i order from the most

the cart to the left is a fruit stand

the umbrellas are up when it's been raining

dinner! a regular dish of pad pak gai

another moment i wasn't expecting was when i was tutoring the little girl next door, aim. ruby and i have been taking turns tutoring her, four days a week, two days a week each. my day was yesterday. she has come a long way since we started and actually is quite talkative when we are with her. i gave her some stickers yesterday and this was the result:

this melted my heart. she was so excited to write it and talk to me about it and loves stickers. she has what we believe is down's syndrome and is 13 years old. she's so sweet and fun. 

aim and me

definitely going to miss seeing her a couple times a week. for now, just going to enjoy the little time i have left here in mukdahan! 

the randomness that is my wonderful life

so it's been a minute since i updated the random things i've been doing here in thailand. bear with me as i attempt to write a super long blog post! 

a couple of weeks ago, wanderlust got the best of us and we ventured to bangkok for a short, getaway weekend. we caught the 9ish hour overnight bus to bangkok on friday night and arrived bright and early around 530 on saturday morning. there was a dunkin' donuts in the bus station, but thailand doesn't run on dunkin' and it was closed. needless to say, i was quite disappointed at the lack of coffee fix to early in the morning. however, the starbucks and american style breakfast of eggs, sausage, and toast a little later made up for it in no time! we checked into our hostel on sukhumvit 21, grabbed breakfast, and then set off for wandering around bangkok. 

ruby and i decided to go to the mbk mall. it was probably one of the biggest market style shopping areas i've been to in thailand, thus far. 

times square is in.... bangkok?

inside mbk

after our trip to mbk (where i found another dunkin' donuts and had my dunkin' fix), we decided it was nap time and worked our way back to the hostel. along the way, we stopped to get a thai oil massage. needless to say, that was an experience. it was nice and did help with the tight muscles from the overnight bus ride. then, after a quick nap and a shower, we headed out for a night on the town. 

one street in bangkok that everyone says is a 'must' is cowboy street. ruby and i aren't exactly into thai girls, so we didn't stick around too long. 

cowboy street

we did end up finding a pretty cool, little place for dinner. they had a ton of little lantern lights hanging from the ceiling and everything was brightly colored. i opted for fried rice inside a pineapple for dinner. definitely worth the extra 80 baht for it to come inside the pineapple.

#halfie

my dinner of fried rice in a pineapple. yum! 

after our dinner, we wandered around looking for somewhere to stop and grab a drink and hang out. we ended up wandering all over the area we stayed in. we walked through the middle eastern part of bangkok, through the street markets, up and down and all over, then ended up in a sky bar. we met up with some other friends and sat to talk and hang out here for a bit before calling it a night. 

view of bangkok at night from the sky bar

the next day, we went to a fancy mall that was themed. each floor was designed after a different place in the world, so that was pretty cool. it was, however, quite expensive. so we caught the sky train, or bst, to chatuchak or jj market. it's the biggest market in thailand. 

this was definitely a sight to see. more stores and shops and things to buy than you can imagine. so much food, as well. there were also more foreigners than i've seen since i got to thailand. found myself staring at them like the thai stare at me haha 

we wandered around for quite some time, bought some clothes and various other things, then had to head back to the bus station to catch the overnight bus back to mukdahan. 

chatuchak market

sooo many people

 the main bus station in bangkok, mochit station

we got back to mukdahan around 530 in the morning. had a quick rest in my room, showered, and headed to school for a week of teaching. 

later in the week, i walked down to see the sunset on the mekhong river. and then proceeded to take about 200 other sunset pictures in the last couple weeks. there have been some crazy storms, clouds, and sunsets lately. 

enough of pretty sunsets (even though i can't get enough of them!) and onto a couple random/weird things that you don't see in america.

please look at the electric box the man is leaning against

how do you even know which electric line to fix?!

the mug i use at work sometimes. uh... translation error?

seen at the local grocery store.

ermagherd. basil lerf.

what graffiti should look like

school has been a little bit crazy since the semester is coming to an end. one activity that we had was ASEAN Day. ASEAN stands for asian countries coming together and working together as a whole. so, to celebrate, we dressed up as different countries. my students decorated the hall and put on a little show. we had dancers and a costume contest. 

my costume was vietnamese

all of the teachers!

my co-teacher for my older students, P Hong, has taken in ruby and me as her own. (in thailand, people who are older than you are referred to as 'P' and those younger are referred to as 'Nong'. i call her P Hong and she calls me Nong Amber. the same goes for the other teachers. however, my students call me Teacher Amber or Ajan Amber. Ajan means teacher in thai.) she has taken us to lunch, to the immigration office, taught us about thai culture and thai language, and is a wonderful person. she's so sweet and invited us to her home for dinner. her husband works at the public health office and they were having a celebration. so who else would come to this other than the mayor of mukdahan. he brought a guest with him, as well. pretty sure this dog was a stuffed animal. so cute.

the mayor with his manly, attack dog

the morning after our dinner party at P Hong's house, ruby and i were invited to be guest speakers at a conference. it was a three day seminar for directors and supervisors at primary schools. we taught them basic daily life things, symptoms when you are sick and the types of drugs to take for those symptoms, travel terms, and hotel terms. it was a lot of fun and since there were only about 20 people, we were able to get through a lot of material and have a good time. 

some of the people from the conference

after the conference, we got to relax by the pool

 we finished the conference and i wanted some fresh air.

i grabbed some food and walked down to the river and saw a full rainbow coming out of the river!

the reason we had monday and tuesday off from school was mother's day. in thailand, mother's day is the queen's birthday and they do fireworks to celebrate. i was in my room and couldn't figure out what the noise was, so it was nice to find out it was only fireworks 

 it's been really hot some days and pouring rain the other days. but i've managed to stay pretty active despite the crazy weather. the park i run in has a little tunnel thing in it, which gets super slippery when it's been raining.

the gym i've been going to on occasion

can you say sweaty?

the park also has random events sometimes. not sure what this one was for, but there were a bunch of people and dancers out and about. fun fact about thailand. the national anthem plays all over the country at 8 in the morning (i'm at school) and at 6 at night. if you're anywhere where the anthem plays, everyone stops moving and turns toward the flag or turns to where the song is coming from and listens to the anthem. once it's over, everyone resumes what they are doing. if you're at the park, every single person stops walking or running and listens to the anthem play, then they resume their workout.

we also had a really big full moon. this shot is also from the same park and show the hotel where we did the conference. 

here is the noodle soup shop right across the street from where i live. her soup is my favorite and there's always some form of animal company there as well. 

one example of animal friends at dinner :)

how i do laundry. pick a random machine on the side of the street:

insert 20 baht and come back in an hour

laundry done

it also rains a lot in thailand. and almost every day. some days though, it reeeealllly rains/floods. torrential downpour in 2.5 seconds. here are some pics from around the school when it's pouring. 

the sidewalk turned river 

this is roof above the second floor/a swimming pool according to my student

inside the building i teach in

remember my really wonderful co teacher? she invited all of the foreign teachers to her home one night for dinner. she cooked a bunch of thai food (i made chicken fajitas with tortillas taco seasonings from america. ruby made guacamole. can you say one happy girl?) we had pad thai, fried rice, stir fried veggies with meat, and one of my favorite dishes, stir fried morning glory with chiles and other goodies.

p hong's husband cooking fried rice in their kitchen

also, a really nice person

the weekend after dinner at p hong's house, she took us to the overlook on the 'mountain', which is really more of a big hill you have to drive up. the overlook is really pretty though. you can see all of mukdahan, the mekhong river, and laos. i went up there with some friends and had the thai version of a grapefruit. gonna miss all of the delicious fruits here! 

 ruby, line, me, and amy at the overlook

#halfie

me with p hong

the cool painting on the ground

panoramic shot of mukdahan, the river, and laos on the other side

there's a temple just behind the overlook, as well

sorry for the random collage of events. guess that's what happens when you don't update your blog for weeks! eventful weekend to a nearby province coming up, so more to come!