Hi everyone! We are finally ready to write our first blog post, so here we go!
We left home on Sunday to catch our 9 pm flight going to Vancouver and following A4 hour layover we caught a flight to Taipei which is a 13 hour flight. Myranda was able to sleep for the majority of the flight but I barely got any sleep because my legs were incredibly restless. We had a two hour layover in Taipei before our final flight to Bangkok. After landing in Bangkok we took a very overpriced cab to Khaosan road, which is where our first hostel was located. The name of our hostel was called Rainbow Khaosan Road Hostel. Our room was very small and windowless. We paid for a fan room but we were able to get the AC to work a little.
After settling in we walked down the infamous Khaosan road and browsed the market stalls where there is an endless supply of pushy merchants trying to sell you things or bring you places that you may not want to buy it go to. Later that evening we went back to our hostel to eat dinner. The beers went down smooth, and the Indian food was the best we've had yet. After dinner we went up to our room and crashed at 7:00 pm.
The next day we made our way to the Grand Palace, which is home to the Emerald Buddha. There were many beautiful temples and artwork within the Grand Palace. The heat was like nothing we've ever experienced. It got up +47 that day, which lead to Myranda using the communal water cup to quench her thirst (gross).
In the evenin, we went to Khaosan Road for a few beers. We were invited numerous times to view the local Ping Pong Show (look it up) we won't explain here.
The following day, we had plans to bus to the south to enjoy some time on the islands. However, our cab driver offered to drive us to Ayutthaya. He took us on a guided tour through several historic temples and sites. We also got the chance to be blessed by a buddhist monk, and view the largest Golden Buddha in Thailand, if not the world (pictures to come).
Afterwards, we found a hostel in Ayutthaya where we stayed overnight and visited the night market.
On Friday morning, we rented bikes and rode to the river where we caught a boat to take us across to the train station to book our overnight train to Chiang mai. We spent the rest of the day walking around the city in the blazing heat.
We caught our train at 745, however, it was late so we didn't end up leaving until around 8:00 pm. The train was very rocky, making it difficult to fall asleep. Shawn fell asleep quickly, but I was up every other hour checking on all of our belongings. 12 hours later, at 8:30 am we finally arrived in Chiang Mai. We bargained with our cab driver to lower the rate and he brought us to our hostel.
We took a much needed shower, and walked the streets of the old square. Since arriving, we have been enjoying our rooftop terrace and hammock. We are thinking about booking some sort of trek to the jungle / mountains.
Signing off for now.
Shawn and Myranda
