After an 11 hour flight from Seattle to Tokyo, a 5 hour layover, then another 4 hours to Bangkok, we arrive excited but more than a bit jet lagged. Not our final destination, this stop is intended to give us a day and a night to adjust to the 14 hour time difference, before a short flight the following day to our first true destination. We arrive at 5am, clear immigration easily with a 60 day approved stay in “The Kingdom”, grab our luggage and walk 15 minutes to the airport metro. Thailand’s largest and most modern city, Bangkok embraces 9 million souls with 17 million in the greater metro. We’ll try to cover it in a day, for now, which of course is laughably impossible. An easy train ride, filled with early morning commuters, lands us close, but still needing a short Grab ride to our accommodation. Think Uber, but Asian style and about 10% the price. We’ll depend on this convenience throughout our journey in Asia.
Tim’s 9th and Stacey’s 3rd trip to Thailand respectively, it’s still hard to describe this place to someone who hasn’t seen it. Our experiences tell us that Thailand is full of people that embody a sort of gentleness and kind hearted nature that we’ve never seen elsewhere. “The Land of Smiles” feels an apt description to us. Always busy and full of zooming scooters, it’s rare to hear a horn honk and expressing public anger doesn’t seem a part of the culture here. Oh, and the food. We’ll say more about that in time, but we’ll start by saying that it’s basically off the charts, the variety, the sheer quantity, filled with night-markets bursting with every sort of delight you’ve never imagined, all for prices that will seem head scratching to westerners.
We make it to the Ari neighborhood and after some waiting, check into the Lek Aree. Yes it’s spelled 2 different ways, which is common here. We have no idea why, which is an even more common thought in SE Asia generally. Lots of things we’ll see will defy explanation, at least to us.
Our guest house is an old structure, we think in the style of a mix of Asian and French architecture. The room is comfortable, but before we rest, a walk around the neighborhood results in a tour of streets lined with food stalls of every sort, and a place offering Thai style or foot massages about every 10 steps you take. We’re pretty sure by observation that food and massages are the principal industries that run this entire country, or at least it seems that way. Just a taste of this beautiful city, but we intend to come back on the back end of the trip, some 5 months away.
Our time zone reset accomplished (sort of), we’re on to our first real destination the following day. We’ve decided the best approach is a week relaxing in a beach town resort an hour flight away, in Ao Nang. After a 45 minute shuttle from the Krabi airport into Ao Nang, we have arrived. It’s hot and quite humid, but with a gentle breeze that comes from the sea, just minutes away.
Typically not the resort types, we choose this start to our trip with the goal of decompressing from the stressful, months long project of departing our US life. The prices are reasonable, room comfy and overlooking a beautiful pool. Breakfast includes both western and asian options, buffet style from 7-10 each day, which feels like a treat. We’ll do lots of walking along the beautiful beach promenade, having our morning iced latte overlooking the sea and joining the outstanding night market for the food scene. We develop a temporary habit of beer and chips by the pool each day, while we read our books on the lounge chairs. We could definitely get to used to this, but it does maintain a kind of unreal feeling, just bouncing from one pleasure to the next.
Day to day life in Thailand seems to always include a stop in a 7-11, which serves a totally different importance here from our life back home. The 7-11’s are everywhere and used for banking, bill payment, sim card activation, basic grocery shopping, even daily drinking water. A life blood for travelers, but also the Thai’s, we think. Of course they have all kinds of snacks and ready made foods, including weird stuff we’ve never seen before, like flavors of chips previously unimaginable. Have you ever tried a Squid flavored potato chip? They won’t sell you alcohol however, between the hours of 2pm and 5pm. Don’t forget or you’ll find the beer section locked by a chain. Why? No idea…. We call it the daily booze “speed bump”. Probably a good idea, albeit inconvenient.
Thailand is funny, even when we’re not sure it means to be. With caution signs like “beware your head” and funny pictures in bathrooms warning you not to stand on top of the toilets, it’s easy to find yourself laughing here. Of course we’re grateful for the English language signs, and the unintentional errors make for a light and enjoyable feeling, with more than a few laugh out loud moments. “Look at this one”, as we both shake our heads.
After a week in Ao Nang, it’s time to begin the “real trip” we tell ourselves. We’ve always intended to kick this thing off in our sort of adopted city of Chiang Mai, in the north of Thailand. We’ve selected Chiang Mai for a few reasons. One, Tim’s mother lives there, and we’ll get a good dose of fun with her during our 5 week stay. Second, it’s familiar, and given that we’ve seemingly ended our normal life to journey the world, starting someplace we’re familiar with feels the safe choice to get acclimated. Lastly, past visits have just been so darned fun. The food, the foot massages, the markets and the shiny Maya shopping mall are all attractions.
A 90 minute flight later and we’re touched down at the mid-sized airport in Chiang Mai. The trip somehow feels real now, Ao Nang being a kind of vacation vibe, as intended. We get a sort of excited buzz as we pass the “moat” that surrounds the old town of Chiang Mai.
We’re here…
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