The Scurry Up North

After my unconventional but still exciting start in Bangkok, I took the sleeper train north to Chiang Mai, the unofficial outdoorsy capital of Thailand. Now that I come to think of it I wouldn't call it a scurry but more of a meander up north on the hammy-down trains from Japan decades ago. This night train that covers just less than 700 kilometers took roughly 17 hrs. Initially it was only suppose to be 13 so just over a week into the trip I was getting well equipped with what many of SE Asia backpackers call “Thai-Time”. Things are generally either late to leave from said destination or late on estimated arrival of time. Knowing this beforehand I wasn't at all bothered by the tardiness.   

Surprisingly enough one of the things I will take away most from Chiang Mai is the hostel I stayed at. The atmosphere inside was like no other hostel I had experienced in my life. It was almost as if the whole place was one big family and everyone had open arms for whoever walked through the door. The name of this hostel is called Spicy Thai and actually has a few other locations throughout mainland SE Asia. To say the two main employees Rob and Tom were personable isn't even close to what they truly are, just genuinely wonderful humans. These two would arrange all sorts of events during the day for any member of the hostel to part take in, from treks just outside the city, to evening specials like the all so famous lady-boy cabaret shows in the city center (there not graphic or anything like I’m sure you’re thinking. Think of it more as a staged Las Vegas cabaret show just performed by lady-boys. Don’t hate, they’re 100% accepted in Thai culture...). Anyway here is a quick link to Spicy Thais website if anyone is interested in checking them out, highly recommended. (http://www.spicyhostels.com/STB/About-Us.html)

Here are a few pictures from one of the treks to a beautiful waterfall that Rob from Spicy Thai organized, COMPLETELY FREE! Also a few from the all so famous Chiang Mai Sunday night market.

Suave Shampoo For Men! Doi Suthep National Park  #1 (Photo credit Rob Chapman)

Doi Suthep National Park #2

Doi Suthep National Park #3

Chiang Mai Sunday Night Market

Some artist obviously prefers KFC over McDonald's 

Dale Chihuly of the East, Chiang Mai Sunday Night Market 

George Lucas and Google translate would not approve

Without question, the highlight of my time in Chiang Mai was my day-trip to Woody’s Elephant Training Camp. Yeah, I’m still mind-blown on the fact that that was the actually name of it. To be honest, I did a good amount of research on the elephant training facilities and took some advice from Rob and Tom at Spicy in all boiled down to three options with all having nearly identical itineraries and all implementing bareback elephant riding (riding without the big seat/recliner looking things that are terrible for the health and treatment of an elephant). Undoubtedly Woody (speaking in third person now) chose Woody’s Training Camp and couldn't have been happier with my decision. In short, the day consisted of learning basic elephant riding commands, feeding them (bananas, giant leafs of some sort, and even some fresh sugarcane for dessert), bathing/scrubbing them and even heading out to the sugar cane fields to round up a van full of sugar cane ripe for the picking. With a lunch break in-between it all it was quite remarkable to spend the day with such a spectacular creature.

Here are a few pictures from my time at Woody’s. 

Got the giggles a bit

Chopping some sugar-cane 

An absolutely monster foot. I wear size 11/11 and a half for some comparison...

The outdoorsy capital of Thailand lived up to its reputation and oddly enough I walked (or bused for that matter) away from the city with a hostel experience equally as impressive.

The Controversy Continues

In terms of wildlife stereotypes for Thailand I feel like visiting some sort of tiger temple has to be towards the top of most generalized lists. Instantly I imagine the quintessential picture of someone lying next to one of the most beautiful creatures earth has to offer. Their hand gently rested on the tiger's chest, with a glaze over their eyes wondering if this stripped kitty is going to rip their body to shreds. This opportunity to be so close to such a wonderful animal and have pictures to show for it are once in a lifetime but there is a downside. It was not till my fifth or sixth night in Bangkok that this "controversy" was brought about in a social circle that got me thinking if this once in a lifetime experience was truly something I wanted to support. Prior to the start of this trip I was all about it. Not a second guess in the world just contemplation's of what face I was going to make during the picture or whether they would let my tiny Washington State University(WSU) Cougar(coug) flag make an appearance (Its a WSU thing; inquire here >>> http://. wavetheflag.org / gallery).

Supposedly some of these tranquil, chill tigers are sedated/drugged through their food to keep them from turning a tourist destination into a feeding frenzy and allowing such pictures to be taken without severe repercussions. Personally I have never heard a tourist become an afternoon snack from such an experience so what was said at that hostel might actually hold some truth. But as no actual hard evidence was provided about these drugs being fed to the tigers I went about the streets of Bangkok and found myself a killer dealer to the Tiger Temple just a day trip away. My SD memory card is now chalk full of pictures from that day, coug flag and all. 

A few days later I left Bangkok and found myself strolling through the doors of a hostel in Chiang Mai. There, I found a very blatant explanation of the whole sedated/drug controversy sitting under the glass counter-top at the front desk. Although this particular one didn't speak for all tiger temples/palaces/reserves/etc the points made did match up with the interactions and experience I had with my tigers outside of Bangkok.

-Tigers LOVE TO SLEEP: Tigers generally sleep or lounge for roughly 18 hours of the day. The comparison on the spreadsheet made was well justified. "Imagine putting on a fur coat, finding yourself a comfy spot on the ground, having someone rub your belly ALL day, all while its 90+ degrees out". I thought to myself, damn, that would be pretty tough to stay awake. Sounds quite relaxing.

-Midnight Munchers (I consider myself one as well but with different motives...): Regardless of captivity or ones from the wild, tigers prefer exerting energy for hunting later on in the day. Its cooler and predators are less apt to escape their vicious claws. To compare this justification to my experience it was all starting to add up. Everyday around 4 the tigers are moved from one spot in the reserve to another for their collective playtime, baths and finally their feeding. At this point all the tourists were asked to leave the reserve as the monks escorted the tigers to their proper play area to have the rest of the afternoon/evening to themselves.

-The tigers are still aggressive (I know from experience): This one was the real clincher for me. After taking pictures with a few of the full grown tigers it was one the cub(still the size of a smaller golden retriever dog) that gave the biggest reaction to my presence. As I tried to move slowly and crouch behind the "cub" to play big spoon, in what would have been an epic picture, the cub hopped up and made a small lunge towards me. I shuffled/crawled my way to the fences edge like a little girl as the trainer came to give the tiger a play toy as distraction. I would like to think that toy saved my life. In all seriousness I don't think the tiger was going to eat me but looking for more of a playmate, a role I'm not suitable to act out.

Overall, I think going to tiger temple, palace, reserve, etc. comes down to ones judgment. I had an unbelievable time and definitely feel a whole lot better about myself after the pieces fell into place in regards to the (hopeful) ethical treatment of these wonderful kitties. Just to think, my limbs are still attached as well.

Here is the link to the website in which they offer a numerous variety of tours interchanging a multitude of things with the Tiger Temple outside of Bangkok.
http://www.tigertemplethailand.com/

Also, here are a few pictures from my time at the Tiger Temple, enjoy.

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

Although those seven words do spring quite a tune in my head from Kelly Clarkson, at this point I find more truth than anything out of such a simple chorus. Four days prior to start of my trip one afternoon I had quite a queasy stomach which I too much did not think of. After the same feeling of discomfort continued for a few days I began to think it was from just the excitement, overwhelming and thoughts how I can't wait to just release from my parents at the airport and truly begin my journey.

Now let's skip forward three days into my first week in Bangkok and at that time I still had the same uneasy, queasy feeling burrowing deep down in the depths of my iron tummy (or what I thought was an Iron tummy). At this Point I knew something wasn't right. Essentially it had been over week of the same stomach ache and this was not any just run of the mill sickness. I took Action. After asking my informative hostel owner he pointed me in the direction of a close and new hospital to get looked myself. at. After checking in at the Digestive Discomfort Center (that's literally what it translated to from Thai to English) and going through the process it turns out I had bad stomach inflammation. In laments terms essentially it's when your stomach puffs up like a sprained ankle and during that it constantly releases acid into your belly. I'm no doctor but I don't think excess amounts of acid is suppose to just hangout in your stomach 24/7. The doctor told me it wasn't anything from what I ate or came across in Thailand but a simple meal that I could have had in the States with some bad ingredients (since it started four days before my trip) and my body just reacted poorly to it. With that being said my first 3(ish) days I was still trying to convince myself it was still "nerves" or "excitement" so I was really getting after it. As a man who LOVES spicy food and will try anything at least once I kept that same mindset. I was loading my pallet with all sorts of stuff. Bottles upon bottles of Chang Beer with fellow hostel mates (Thailand's version Budweiser or Europe's Amstel/Heineken), plates of Pad Thai, sushi flavored potato chips, fried beetles, various curry's, and even a grilled scorpion. Combine all that and you got a seriously pissed off digestive system. After taking a breathing test which informed me of the stomach inflammation I really toned things down, doctor's orders. No spicy food, coffee, tea, carbonated beverages, only small amounts of a fruit at a time, dairy products or alcohol. Yeah, read that one correctly. No alcohol. Not saying I'm an alcoholic but that seriously sucks as a backpacker as its one of the better socializing aspects of the whole experience. Let's not forget the fact that most Thai food is spicy so that I have to put that one on the back-burner till I feel healthy. Aside from the Thai people, the food was one of the things I was MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO. She also went on to say this type of thing isn't something that the human body can cure on its own so I'm definitely glad I got it checked out; and she prescribed me with three different medications. I wont go into detail but in short they're helping to slowly limit the acid released into my stomach and make for a much happier Woody (<<< sex pun? I think so). I Feel like I'm a walking pharmacy with all the goodies I'm lugging around.

Let's take a little jog back to those seven words and why they actually hold some truth right now. Sure a stomach sickness isn't the end of the world but I will tell you one thing; it has thrown quite a wrench in The first few weeks of my trip. Not to be too melodramatic but this pain over the last two weeks has been haunting me as I haven't been able to be at full strength. Sometimes my normal outspoken self has been laid back and somewhat more irritable which I do feel isn't out of the ordinary. As I'm starting to feel a tad better every day it makes me think internally I actually have become a stronger person. I'm not trying to get too high on myself as I get healthier or too low on myself when things take a step back. The real clincher of the situation that genuinely got me a little down was the diet and what little I can actually eat that doesn't counteract the medicine. Anyway, once I swallowed that pill that of disappointment, among all the others, I'd like to think things can only go up from here. Regardless of it all I'm still having the time of my life and it makes me think what kind of upside the trip has once I can start eating ridiculously spicy food, munching down on bugs and tossing back some more Chang Beers. For now, I just need to sit back, relax and enjoy my porridge rice for another week or so and think I'm still in SE Asia chasing my dream. 

No medicine for this bug..

I'm not entirely sure who coined the phrase travel-bug but I like the idea of ​​it. Someone with a bleeding desire to travel the world at a certain point in their life for an particular period of time. Generally speaking I feel like its mostly young-adults who are the ones to get the tag, which is definitely appropriate. Whether I'm in the middle of this "bug" or "sickness" if you will, I couldn't be happier about it. I 'm nearly 24 years old and I have committed everything in my life to see how much of this world I can explore. With no stop in sight I like to think of my situation as more of a virus (something a little more long- term). I just cant get enough of the people and complete unknown that comes with traveling. With that in mind it makes me think one day if I continue these international adventures I will come across the perfect career opportunity to cement myself into the travel world and to hopefully help others do the same. 

As I sit here typing in the Hong Kong International Airport I'm just hours away from landing in Bangkok and starting my most anticipated adventure yet. An eight month journey throughout Southeast Asia. No Travel companion. No friends awaiting arrival. No exact route in-store. Just a backpack of belongings, head on my shoulders, and list of places / things I want to see. I also plan do to some volunteer teaching about half through to break up the backpacking and give myself an opportunity to get grounded and become truly immersed in the Thai Culture.  With this being my first trip keeping an online blog (better late than never) I hope to not only share a little of the adventure along the way but to inspire and show people firsthand what its like to drop the certainties of home for the uncertainties of the road. Hope you enjoy!