So it’s been a while since I’ve blogged. I was wondering when I started this if I would let it go from time to time. While so far I have enjoyed documenting my adventures, I’ve never been much of a writer so I guess it makes sense that I temporarily lost my motivation. It doesn’t mean I haven’t been up to anything fun. I’m back now and hope to recap what the hell I’ve been up to.
In April I traveled from New Zealand to Thailand. I was looking forward to this part of my journey as I was going to get to meet up with my sister, Stephanie. Stephanie and I are opposite in most ways, and we aren’t the best at picking up the phone to chat, but when we are together we are best friends. Stephanie is one of the funniest people I know. I love when we are together since it usually means I’ll get a stomach ache from laughing so hard. Or maybe I get the stomach ache from how much we eat; we are pretty good at that too.
From the start at arriving to Thailand I realized I was in for a whirl wind. I landed and immediately get a text from Steph: “meet me on Khao San Road, the water fights are starting and I have your super soaker”. Um… what the fuck? She told me we were going to be there for Songkran (Thai New Year), however, I should have googled it because I had no idea what the next few days would mean. Here’s a glimpse:
Khao San Road in Bangkok, Thailand.
Suns out, guns out!
There was a parade where we stayed somewhat dry.
Then there’s the talcum powder. You try to avoid it but sometimes you just get plastered right on the face. Not much you can do but smile and continue on with the celebration.
After two days of Songkran we decided to take a break and visit the Grand Palace. I went when I was in Thailand in 2012 but it was nice to go again with Steph and remember all its ornate beauty.
Here young monks splash water over visitors and give out prayer bracelets. The significance of the water during Songkran is a cleansing ritual. It rids people of all their misfortunes from the past year and gives them a fresh start to new beginnings for the year to come. Seemed pretty fitting for me to be in Thailand at this time and where I’m at in my life now. I look forward to this next year and what else it has in store for me. So far it has brought me so much joy and peace, more than I could have ever imagined a year ago.
Also part of Songkran is to bath the buddah.
Mango sticky rice. One of my favorite snacks in Thailand.
Our next stop after Bangkok was hopping on a quick flight up North to Chaing Mai. This was supposed to be the more peaceful and serene part of our trip. We got in and settled towards the end of the day. There was a really awesome night bazaar right outside of our hotel so we decided to be adventurous and check out one of the fish tanks that eat the dead skin off your feet. NEVER. EVER. AGAIN.
I made it 20 minutes in this thing and kept this face for most of the time (Steph made it about 3 minutes). It’s about as ticklish and uncomfortable as it looks.
The next day we decided to check out the town.
Again, saw some really remarkable buildings and shrines. And dragons are just cool.
Then to our surprise the water and celebrations started again. I didn’t realize Chaing Mai was just as popular for celebrating Songkran as Bangkok.
As much as we tried to avoid getting wet, eventually you have to give in. They creep up out of nowhere to get you…
One of the highlights of this trip was when we got to spend the day at an elephant sanctuary. Many of the elephants in Thailand are abused and malnourished and used just to make a profit. Here they care for the elephants and rescue them. Instead of riding on an elephant you get to hang out with them for a day, walk them, and play with them in the water. They really are beautiful animals and very smart, not to mention always hungry.
Just like kids they like to get dirty right after getting washed off. They actually do it to keep cool and protect their skin.
Other animals at the sanctuary.
A beautiful lunch they made for us with a stunning view. And in words of our guide it’s all vegetarian because at the sanctuary we are saving the animals, not eating them.
The elephants wanted to celebrate Songkran too. I was kind of jealous at this point considering how hot it was. Not to mention I may have had too many Chang beers the night before.
I’ll admit I didn’t have much to do in terms of planning for this part of the trip. I let the other girls make the decisions and I was just along for the ride. Guess I should have read the tour description. After taking care of the elephants, we ended up doing a rafting trip which meant once again I ended my day in Thailand drenched!
We rafted through these little towns and kids were in the water waiting to splash you. It was funny for the most part, probably because I had a paddle and could make bigger splashes back at them.
Last stop with Steph and the girls was Phuket. Glad I packed my party pants. The next four days might be kind of a blur but luckily I was still able to snap a few shots of this bustling town.
If you look closely Walden is in this picture. It was nice being back in Thailand. Walden and I were here in 2012, a month before we got married. I saw some of the same places that I saw when I was with him but I also was able to make many new memories. I like that I am able to be in places or around people that remind me of him. Sometimes I get sad but then I remind myself that life on this earth, in this body, is such a minuscule part of our being. We are all energy and it can never be destroyed. We may take on different forms, but we are all still together learning through this incredible journey and sharing this space. I’ve gotten a lot better at tuning into when I feel Walden’s energy. This moment on the beach with my sister was one of them. She misses her brother-in-law as well and having a few really good cry sessions on this trip with her was good for the soul.
Of course you have to eat the street food in Thailand. And to my surprise eating this stuff didn’t result in a day in a half of cleansing from the inside-out like my last trip.
This little turd stole my food as you can see. Luckily not my camera though which was sitting right next to the food. Very quick lesson learned!!
We took a trip to see Big Buddah.
Gorgeous view of Phuket from Big Buddah
That would be my sister. She was the brave one and tried the wave machine. Doesn’t she fall with such style?
Can’t beat a sunset like this one.
Bad decisions were made here. Who on earth ever thinks buying drinks in a bucket, sorry “Butget”, is a good idea?
Lastly, this picture is for my dad. Pretty cool leaving the bars for some street pancakes and learning there are bear fans all the way across the world! I’m not sure this vendor even realized why we were so excited to take a picture with him but either way… Go Bears!
The Unplanned Journey 