With school starting back up, I’m unsure if I’ll actually be able to finish these posts, but I’ll certainly do my best.
My eighth day in Thailand was one of my transition days, so not spent doing quite as much as adventuring. Nonetheless, there were still some fun experiences I’d love to share.
My next destination for the trip was Chiang Mai, which is a city all the way up in the north of Thailand. I’d heard lots of good things about it, so in spite of it being a little further away, I opted to make it a priority.
Many people take the night train to get up there, but looking at prices I noted there were cheap flights from Bangkok, and with that I’d only spend a shorter time traveling for a similar price. The train was more than twelve hours, while flying was under an hour (though it would take a little more time to get a van back to Bangkok and then to the airport).
I woke early in the morning in Ayutthaya, had some breakfast at my hotel before calling a Grab Car to take me to the van station. My ticket had suggested showing up 30 minutes early, so I did so. This meant I actually ended up catching a 30 minute earlier van, and getting on the road earlier than I’d intended to. The van was pretty crowded, so I was crammed in a back seat with my backpack on my lap. Not the most glamorous ride, but cheap and effective to get back to Bangkok.
I arrived at Bangkok plenty early, called another Grab car to get to the airport.
Since I’d given myself plenty of leeway in my flight times (accounting for possible delays on the road, traffic etc), I had time to kill in the airport. So I had a coffee at a shop and relaxed for a bit and then even went to do a sit down meal for lunch (some kind of noodle dish and milk tea). I also wandered around a bit, as I hadn’t seen much of the place when I was coming in on my first day.
I had to admit it was very interesting to me that in the Bangkok airport for domestic flights you don’t go through security until you’re headed to your gate. I saw people with stickers saying they’d cleared security so they could then go back out and eat, but I opted to just wait until I was ready to go to my gate rather than coming and going. A short bit before my flight I went ahead and headed through a quick security line and headed to my gate.
The flight was very easy, and as it was so short I chose a window seat to really get the most of the views. Bangkok was fun to see from overhead, but I was most interested in seeing more of the North which I’d heard was lovely. Sure enough, the beautiful lush green surroundings to Chiang Mai were beautiful overhead.
When I’d booked my hotel on Booking.com it came with a complimentary taxi service, so I opted to use that for convenience. My driver picked me up and took me straight to my hotel, making things very easy.
I had opted to stay at the Twenty Lodge, a boutique hotel in the heart of the old city of Chiang Mai.
I checked into my hotel. They gave me some kind of refreshing tea that I really enjoyed and then showed me to my room. I set my stuff down before taking off to do a little exploring.
I enjoyed walking around a bit, mostly looking around some of the temples in the area, and admiring the canals surrounding the old city. I also spotted a few fun pieces of street art. Feel free to look through some pictures in the slideshow below.
Then I went back to my hotel and lounged by the pool for a bit.
At last I was ready to get some dinner. I cleaned up and then headed to find a restaurant.
I ended up settling at The House by Ginger, this lovely little restaurant in an old colonial home. I ordered a Chiang Mai Sling (white spirit, coconut liquor, lychee syrup, lime juice, white sugar, and pomegranate) and some fried rice with crab meat for my main course.
Everything tasted delicious, but what I loved the most was the atmosphere of the old house. It was just so fun, such a lovely romantic space with candlelight and an eclectic mix of couches and chairs at tables.
I was unable to resist dessert as well. I went with a brownie and ice cream, which was delicious and decadent. Definitely the perfect thing to end a busy day of traveling.
After I was finished eating, I headed back to the hotel. I’d been told the pool was open twenty-four hours so I opted to take one more swim before turning in for the night.
And that concluded another amazing day. Follow along to read about the other amazing days!
I woke up in my hotel in Ayutthaya and went to grab some breakfast in the courtyard before starting out on my explorations. My hotel had a nice breakfast with toast, juice, coffee, and fruit and then a main course of your choice (either more traditional Thai fare with rice etc. or more Americanized options). I went ahead and had eggs and sausage as I figured the protein would fill me up for a busy day.
Once I’d had my fair share of food, I took off towards the historic city. I started at Wat Ratchaburana . I bought a ticket to be able to get into all of the different archeological sites in the city and then headed into the first one I’d chosen to visit for the day.
Lizard spotted on the way to the temple
As with the day before, I wandered through the ruins, getting pictures and admiring everything there was to see. Wat Ratchaburana actually ended up being one of my favorite sites. One of the phrangs was actually open to go up inside. There were even some bats up in the corners of the chamber and you could admire the view of the temple from the top.
It didn’t take too long to see everything there was to see. Temperatures were heating up so I took off to the next site I’d planned to visit as quickly as I could, stopping a couple of times along the way to see other interesting things.
So as I mentioned in my last post, Ayutthaya is very spread out. Which is why a lot of people visiting more than one site choose to rent a bike. Unfortunately, overconfident person that I am, I looked at the distance and figured “oh I can just walk it”.
You’d think I’d have learned my lesson the day before of realizing Thai streets are not always built for walking.
Still, I went ahead and walked down to Wat Thammikarat, another site that was open for no charge.
Next was probably my biggest priority, heading to the site of the old palace (Wang Luang). I started by visiting Wat Mongkol Borpit. Much of Ayutthaya is in some amount of ruin, bases of buildings, crumbling phrangs, and chedis that are just exposed brick. This temple was a little more modern (1500s rather than 1300s), but it was also in a restored state and is still currently a working temple.
Picture of the temple before restoration
When I was done seeing the inside of the temple, I decided it was time to take a little break. Temperatures were continuing to rise. I know the hottest temperature I saw in terms of “currently feels like” was 109 degrees F (42 degrees C).
So I had a milk tea and some water and relaxed in the shade for a little bit.
Finally, I felt refreshed enough to continue, so I went on to visit the old palace. I wandered through, taking breaks in the shade of some trees as needed.
When I finished up seeing everything there was to see at Wang Luang, I headed over to Wat Phra Ram. I did stop to admire the elephants doing rides outside of the temple. Sadly, modern research shows that riding elephants can be harmful to them. So while I definitely would have loved to ride one in theory, I made a conscious decision not to participate. Still, I snapped a couple photos of the elephants walking by. They are definitely beautiful creatures. I hope one day Ayutthaya will get rid of their elephant rides, but sadly that’s probably a long way in the future at this point.
Still, I headed into Wat Phra Ram and saw everything there was to see there.
It was getting to be almost noon, so I hastened my pace a little, determined to see everything on my list before the heat became unbearable.
So, as quickly as I could, I made my way across the river to Wat Chaiwatthanaram, another ancient temple right along the Chao Phraya river.
I had thought about stopping for lunch, but again just felt any long break would only let the heat continue to increase. So with that in mind I grabbed some snacks at the 7 Eleven and then continued on my walk to the temple.
Some might feel like “well it’s just another crumbling temple, if you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all” but for me, I enjoyed the uniqueness of each one I saw. Wat Chaiwatthanaram had several very detailed parts, and several terracotta impressions of stories from the Buddha’s life. There was some restoration work being done, so there was some ugly scaffolding on a couple parts, but otherwise it was still impressive to see.
As I was already on the other side of the river, I opted to head down to Wat Phutthaisawan. It was one of the few temples that wasn’t completely destroyed during the collapse of Ayutthaya so it is actually still in beautiful condition and still used today. Unfortunately, it too was having some restoration work and had scaffolding, but it was still interesting to see what the former city might have looked like in its full glory rather than the crumbling archeological site that it is today.
The temperature was reaching its peak, and in order to get back across the river to my hotel, it would be a long walk. I opted to have a Grab car pick me up and take me to the Ayutthaya Historical Study Center on the other side of the river.
The study center was a small museum talking more about the history of Ayutthaya and giving more information about the various archeological sites. I particularly enjoyed that it was airconditioned so I could start to cool down after so much time out in the sun.
After I’d seen everything there was to see inside, I headed back out. I debated if I wanted to go elsewhere, but honestly I was exhausted. I’d walked about 14 miles (22 km), so I needed a break.
I headed back to my hotel, had a cold shower and otherwise just relaxed for the remainder of the hot and humid afternoon.
I was definitely getting pretty hungry though, so I soon mustered my strength and went back out to find some food. I ended up at Malakor Kitchen and Cafe.
I sat on their porch as the inside had open windows as well, so wouldn’t be much cooler. They did have lots of fans at least, so that definitely helped with the heat.
I had a passionfruit smoothie, some spring rolls, and a curry with pork and betel leaves (a leafy green kind of like spinach). Everything was delicious.
After finishing up dinner, I took a few more pictures of the temples lit up at night before heading back to my hotel. I needed to get packed as I would be taking off for my next destination early the next morning. However, I definitely had enjoyed what Ayutthaya had to offer. I saw so much beautiful history and it’s not a place I’ll forget anytime soon.
I had a lazy morning around Greenleaf Guesthouse to start my day. But, as much as I wanted to stick around Khao Yai National Park a bit longer, I had other parts of Thailand to explore. So I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before getting ready to go.
In the late morning, a driver took me and three others to the train station. We were all catching the same train, one heading to Bangkok but making a stop first in Ayutthaya.
I had never heard of Ayutthaya before I started researching places to see in Thailand, but it’s a pretty popular tourist destination, especially for those interested in history. Ayutthaya was at one point the Siamese capital, founded in the 1300s. Today there are ruins in varying states of decay of the once great city.
My train ride was a lot less pleasant than my first one was. I had chosen to sit in third class, as apparently second class (the best for regular trains during the day) was all booked up.
Though the second class car was definitely nothing fancy, third class was much more cramped and had no AC, just fans and an open window. You could tell people are used to being crammed on at times, as there were handles like they have on buses and subways. I did find it very interesting that there were reserved seats for Buddhist monks that clearly are set aside at all times.
Thankfully it wasn’t a very long ride, maybe an hour and a half to two hours. I did my best to just look out the window and admire the countryside. At last, we finally arrived at the small train station.
I bid farewell to the other two people who’d been in my group at the guesthouse with me before setting out to my hotel.
My phone said it was less than a mile to the hotel. I’ve walked more than that before, even with a heavy suitcase, so I waved off taxi drivers and set off walking.
Maybe three minutes later I realized what a mistake this was.
While I’ve struggled with suitcases on cobblestone streets and the like in Europe, I found Ayutthaya to be lacking in pedestrian spaces. If there was a sidewalk it often was crumbling, blocked by bins, bikes, cars etc. I was ending up in the street quite a bit and also noticed I’d have to take what looked like a freeway overpass to get over the train tracks. I was a bit dubious that there would be a proper walkway across that. On top of that it was over 100 degrees F (37 C). So, I parked myself in the shade on a corner, pulled out my phone and requested a Grab Car.
My ride was there a few minutes later, taking me to my hotel in blissful air conditioning.
Sure enough, it was a very short drive, but I was relieved to be out of the heat and felt this was a safer option to walking overall.
I arrived at my hotel, Luang Chumni Village. It was pretty much a large house in traditional Thai style with some modern amenities. I spent a few minutes in the AC in my room, drinking some water and laughing at the “No Durian” signs on the fridge. For any who don’t know, Durian is a very smelly fruit, so I did see several signs asking people not to have it in hotels and other public spaces, but this was my first encounter.
Finally, I gathered my day pack and set out to go explore.
The remains of the historic city of Ayutthaya is quite large, spread out across the city, though concentrated on an island in the middle. Still, I knew being mid afternoon I probably would only see a small part and could concentrate on seeing more the next day as I was staying two nights.
Some ruins close to my hotel (free to wander around)
I grabbed a few snacks at 7 Eleven and then took off to Wat Maha That, the remains of an ancient temple. As Ayutthaya is spread out, you can buy a ticket to get you into all the sites for one day, or just individually buy ones for the sites you want to visit. There are also some parts that are free, but the more elaborate structures all charge. I went ahead and just bought an individual ticket, figuring it was unlikely I’d see more than one part with so little of the day remaining.
Sure enough, I wandered through the temple and found myself dripping sweat. It’s pretty exposed out in the sun. They provided free umbrellas for people to shade themselves, but even that only did so much. I also had noticed signs asking women to cover up, so I had slipped some lightweight pants over my shorts, warming me further. I’m not sure the rule was actually being enforced, but I would rather be safe and respectful.
I just meandered through the various temple structures, admiring crumbling phrangs, old pieces of statues, and everything there was to see.
I finally wrapped up my wanderings and headed out of the complex. I noticed there was a park behind the temple, Bueng Phra Ram Park, a large green space with some ponds and shady trees. I sat under one of the trees to eat a snack and rehydrate.
As I was doing so, and debating what I wanted to do next, I noticed a beautiful bird flying by.
I mentioned in my last post, but for any who don’t know I’ve become very interested in birding in the last year. I read a book about the intelligence of birds called The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman and every since I’ve been hooked. It’s pretty budget as far as hobbies go and makes for good motivation to get out into nature. So, needless to say seeing some new birds had me intrigued.
Turned out the bird was a Common Hoopoe. But as I watched it fly away I was beginning to notice more birds gathered around the large ponds.
Since I knew the day was drawing to a close, not the best time to go explore the other sites, I figured this might make for a good conclusion to my day. I’d stick to the shade of the park and see what beautiful new birds and other animals I could spot.
So I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering, taking photos, listening and looking for birds. I wandered over bridges and looked at a few free ruins in the mix. I recorded a number of new species I had never seen before. I also was surprised by alarge Asian Monitor Lizard in the waters of a pond. He disappeared into the lush aquatic plants before I could snap a picture.
At last, I was tired and ready to be done for the day. I headed back to the hotel, bought some cold water on the way and then took a cold shower to refresh before dinner.
For dinner I ate at a place called Earl Thai. I know I had some kind of a chicken and rice dish which I enjoyed. I had wanted to do one of the curries but unfortunately it was unavailable the night I was there.
On my way back to my hotel I took some pictures of the temples in the evening light. I also stopped by the night market. I’ve seen my fair share of markets in Europe, but definitely haven’t visited one at night, so that was a fun new experience. I didn’t buy anything, but enjoyed wandering a bit.
As I was heading back to the hotel, I realized I was still a little hungry so I grabbed some chocolate ice cream at a local parlor called Duca Tim. They did soft serve, two flavors for the day. You could get one or both flavors in a swirl and then pick your cone flavor. It was very fun and colorful experience!
Finally I headed back to the hotel, determined to get a good night’s rest before another eventful day.
I began my morning in Khao Yai National Park with breakfast at my guest house. Greenleaf Guest House has a small restaurant attached, so they offered food you could order. I had eggs, toast, fruit, and coffee.
After filling up, our group hopped on the back of the truck and took off for the park with our guide, a different one than the day before.
We stopped at the park gates. Apparently they need names of anyone entering the park submitted ahead of time online, and our guide had done so, but technology being what it is, it hadn’t gone through. We entered our names in her phone again and waited before finally being granted access.
The roads wound up into the mountains through beautiful lush jungle. Even as someone who had visited beautiful tropical locations before, I was in awe of the gorgeous scenery.
A few minutes up the road, we stopped pretty quickly, our guide noticing a snake in some bushes on the side of the road. Somehow she’d managed to see it from her spot in the passenger seat. We were all quite impressed with her skills.
It was an Oriental Whipsnake, named for its slim body and crested eyes. Our guide tried to pull it out of the bushes to look at more closely but eventually had to just let it continue on its way as it had slithered out of her reach.
We continued driving onwards, keeping our eyes peeled for more wildlife.
At the top of the mountains we stopped at a viewpoint. Our guide passed out leech socks. To anyone not familiar with leech socks (I definitely wasn’t before this trip) they are small cloth sacks the size of your foot that you slide on like a sock over your socks and the bottom of your pant leg. You then fasten them to keep them tight around your leg, thereby preventing leeches from crawling under your pant legs and finding a place to feed. As it was becoming the wet season in Thailand, leeches were more of a problem so it was important to take precautions.
After some pictures at the viewpoint and securing our socks in place, we continued driving. We stopped at the visitor’s center and had a look around and a short break. Our guide gave us some mango sticky rice in banana leaf as a snack to prepare for our upcoming hike. Then we were back on the road again.
We stopped for a view of a Great Hornbill. As someone who’s gotten into birding lately, I was definitely thrilled to get to add such a beautiful species to my life list.
We did a little more driving and looking for species from the car, but sadly weren’t able to see much else. Our guide then had us stop at a trailhead and we began walking into the jungle.
Our first animal spotted was a Cardamom Mountains Pricklenape, a very unique looking lizard. Our guide kept joking about him wearing eyeshadow since he does have a dark coloring around his eyes.
We kept walking further into the trees. I was at the back, but suddenly the entire group froze. Everyone ahead of me was open-mouthed. As I crept a bit closer, I caught a glimpse of a large black furry form. Before I could even think to raise my camera, it bolted into the trees.
At first I was unable to even comprehend what I’d seen. My brain was trying to register monkey, but I knew the largest monkeys in the area weren’t that big.
Our guide, who was also still in some shock, said it was a juvenile Sun Bear. In all her years at the park, she said she’d never seen one that close before.
We waited for a bit while our guide called her boss and told him. He was nearby and came to look around and see if he could find the bear again. Sadly no luck.
Our guide had calmed down some, but she was still a little shaken. Admittedly to come face to face to such a large and dangerous animal, had to be a shocking experience. As I hadn’t gotten as good of a look and hadn’t even realized what I was looking at until after it was gone, I wasn’t quite so scared.
We continued on our walk, stopping to look at some different insects and bugs. We also spotted some claw marks left from a Sun Bear in the area.
We took a break at a large tree… well I say tree but really it was just where a tree had been before vines had strangled it. Now the vines remained like a giant cage. We climbed through them, amazed at how large they were.
The group sat and ate some snacks. Our guide had gone to scope ahead, leaving us alone. We sat chatting for a bit before we became intrigued by something inching along the ground. It looked like a little dark colored worm, moving in a strange manner, inching and wriggling and then standing on one end and stretching towards us. We were all quite curious.
Our guide returned and we asked her about the strange creature. She told us to move away as that was a leech and the reason it was moving towards us was because it could sense us and was looking to feed.
Thoroughly freaked out we all backed away and followed our guide onwards. It definitely wasn’t like leeches I’d seen in movies.
A few minutes later while looking at something I felt a strange sensation on my finger. It felt like playing with a straw as a child, pressing it to your skin and sucking. Sure enough when I looked down there was a leech clinging to my hand.
I immediately began to panic. I’ll admit, it was not my finest moment.
My guide flicked the leech away and looked at my hand. The little beast hadn’t broken the skin thankfully. She said it was unlikely they would as finger pads have pretty thick skin on them.
Needless to say I kept my arms closer to my body from then on out, worried about brushing against vegetation and having another tiny hitchhiker join me for a ride.
The jungle soon cleared and we came into a large grassland type area. We saw some elephant footprints and dung, but sadly no elephants.
In the middle of the grassland was a watch tower to look for animals. So we climbed up and took a look around. No luck at spotting anything big, though we did admire some swift nests built under the tower.
At last, we came to the end of the trail. The truck met us there and drove us to a restaurant in the park where we had lunch. I went ahead and ordered Pad Thai again, though it wasn’t nearly as good as the day before. Our group enjoyed our food and some fresh watermelon, chatting and sharing pictures with one another. Sadly, no one had managed to get a picture of the Sun Bear before it took off.
With some time remaining for our lunch break, we wandered around the restaurant area a little. I ordered an iced milk tea. I also admired a Sambar (a type of deer) lying near the rest area.
Our guide had set up her scope near a bird nest up front, keeping an eye out for the mama bird to come back. Sure enough, a Long Tailed Broadbill soon showed up. We admired her colors through the scope.
As we were getting pictures of the bird, there was a commotion behind us. Turning around, we saw a monkey with something in his mouth quickly climbing up to the roof of the restaurant. Apparently the sneaky macaque had snuck down, grabbed someone’s food and then quickly headed back up to hide on the roof out of reach.
We had a good time sitting and watching him for a bit, before our guide told us it was time to go. The monkey we’d seen earlier sat at the exit, seemingly watching us leave. He really was prime entertainment.
On the road we drove around a little bit, seeing a juvenile Red Muntjac and its mother. We also saw a large Asian Water Monitor Lizard, though our guide assured us it was actually more of a medium size.
We stopped at a waterfall, hiking down into the canyon to get a better look and take some pictures. Sadly, there is no swimming allowed in the park, but it was still beautiful.
After that the leech socks were finally able to come off as we would be spending the remainder of our trip in the back of the truck.
Apparently evenings are a good time to spot wildlife, so the tour concluded with a drive along some of the roads keeping an eye out for monkeys and elephants.
But after only a short time of driving, our driver pulled over and our guide asked us to hop out quickly. The driver went and grabbed something out of the road using a piece of cloth. He came over to where we were standing on the side of the road and put down the biggest scorpion I’d ever seen. Looking it up later it was a type of Giant Forest Scorpion. Thanks to their large size and bright green color they are very a bit easier to spot crossing the road, so our guide thought it would be a fun thing for us to see, and we’d save it from being run over too.
Our guide let us get some pictures, even turning it around so we could get a better angle. She’s definitely a braver woman than I.
After we were done photographing the scorpion, we hopped back in the truck and continued driving. And before too long we started spotting monkeys. Lots and lots of Pig-Tailed Macaques hanging out along the road. Most of them know that tourists often have food and make easy pickings. Our guide had warned us ahead of time to have food and even sodas tucked away if we didn’t want monkeys in the truck stealing from us. We got to admire them from a safe distance, especially laughing at one larger male who would block traffic to check if there was anything worth taking.
The sun was beginning to go down, so unfortunately we did eventually turn around and head back towards the exit of the park. No elephants spotted.
I was at the back of the truck, so I was staring down the road behind us. I noticed a fuzzy black head poking out of a bush towards the side of the road. My mind immediately jumped to a dog based on the size, and knowing there were plenty of feral dogs in Thailand, I just assumed one had made its home in the park. But as I started to laugh about it to the group, I watched a bear look both ways before heading out of the bushes. And behind the bear were two little black cubs. Sadly by the time I realized, I didn’t get a picture, and only one other person in the group saw it. I apologized for not realizing sooner it was a bear, as I’m used to American bears which are much bigger. Still, I was thrilled to know I’d seen not one but four sun bears in my time in the park. I missed a porcupine others spotted at the front of the truck later, so it was definitely luck of the draw sometimes on spotting wildlife.
We headed back to the guest house for the night. As most of us had to pack or were leaving by train that night, we didn’t hang out as long in the evening, but did enjoy dinner together before heading back to get working on packing our bags, ready for another adventure in the day ahead. I would miss Khao Yai, but definitely looked forward to something new the next day.
After getting up and having breakfast at my hotel in Bangkok, I called for a Grab car to take me to the train station. My next destination for the trip was Khao Yai National Park.
I had booked a train to Pak Chong, the town nearest to the main park entrance.
I’d heard all kinds of rumors about Thai trains always being delayed, having problems, slower than driving, etc. I had none of those problems, so I was actually pretty happy with my first train experience.
Now, I love national parks, but unfortunately they are one type of tourist destination where you really need to have a car. I did manage to visit a national park in Croatia without a car… but from my research, this just really wouldn’t be feasible for Khao Yai. I already hate driving in my own country, and can’t even fathom what it would be like to drive in Thailand with crazy traffic and the fact they drive on the other side of the road from what we’re used to in the states. So, since renting a car or motorbike was not something I was willing to consider, I opted instead to hire a tour company to take me into the park. I knew there were trails you weren’t supposed to access without a guide anyways (I guess some tourists got lost in the jungle at night at some point and sadly ruined it for everyone). So it seemed like a good option to go with that.
Settling on the tour company option, I ended up hiring Greenleaf Guesthouse and Tours. Initially I was just going to use them to do the tour, but I ended up deciding to also use their accommodations for simplicity’s sake. This would be a little change from my usual type of place though, as the guesthouse was less of a hotel and more of a backpackers retreat. Very basic, only a bed and small bathroom. No AC. No hot water.
Still, the driver picked me up at the train station and took me and a few others over to the guest house. When I’d contacted the guest house a couple weeks before they’d said no one else was signed up to tour on that day, and I might end up having to pay more for a private tour just by myself. But thankfully a few others did end up signing up last minute so I was able to do a half day and full day tour for a much lower price and with other people to adventure with. Though I love solo travel, it does get a little lonely sometimes, so a group tour can be a nice change of pace.
We were dropped off at the guesthouse and had a little time to get ready for the half day tour. Once I’d gathered my stuff and made sure I was appropriately dressed in long pants and closed-toed shoes, I headed to the restaurant area out front of the guesthouse. I went ahead and ordered lunch before we took off, doing chicken and cashews with rice which was really delicious.
Having been fed, we loaded onto an open-backed truck and set off down the windy roads. We stopped briefly at a huge golden statue of a monk. Apparently he had turned salt water on one of the Thai islands into freshwater and therefore was very revered and had the statue built in his honor.
Back in the truck, we were offered some chips as a snack and then headed to our next destination: the Ban Tha Chang spring.
Everyone shed their clothes and jumped in the water to enjoy cooling down after time out in the heat. Our guide even built a makeshift changing room for anyone who needed it and most of us spent the time just relaxing and cooling off.
The water was so refreshing and felt amazing. Our guide pointed out a few more natural wonders to us such as a golden orbweaver spider in the trees (too far away to get a decent picture) before we hopped back in the truck again.
In the parking lot, our guide had found a huge millipede and had fun showing it off to us. He let those who felt brave enough hold it. My appreciation of bugs and insects has come a long ways, but I still am not fond of critters crawling on me so I opted to pass.
Before too long we pulled over at a temple called Wat Sa Nam Sai. We walked around the grounds a bit, and our guide showed us some local insects such as the weaver ants that build their homes by sewing leaves together. Our guide then handed us masks to put on our faces and flashlights and led us to some stairs heading deep into the earth.
We passed hanging tree roots and descended into the dark depths. At the bottom of the stairs, we saw several branching caverns and a Buddha statue, and we heard some squeaking noises.
This Buddhist temple also had a cave as a part of their complex. The monks use it to meditate, coming down and sitting in the complete darkness and relative silence and using it to empty their minds. But other residents have made themselves at home alongside the monks. These were thousands of small bats.
Our guide showed us various bats, two different species. He explained more about them to us while we wandered through the caves. He did at one point lead us back into the furthest depths and asked us turn off our flashlights and fall quiet, seeing what the monks must experience when they meditate. It truly was pitch blackness, darker than anything I’ve experienced before.
The bats kept fluttering around us. Our guide did mention that sometimes the young ones will bump into you. I didn’t personally have any hit me, but they definitely came pretty close. I’m not a person who’s scared of bats, so personally I found it to be an amazing experience.
Back out of the cave we removed our masks. Apparently sometimes there’s fungus that grows in bat guano, so it was just a precaution. We jumped back on the truck and headed off down the road.
We stopped at another cave, though our guide warned us we weren’t going in, and certainly wouldn’t want to even if we could. Apparently while there had been a hundred thousand bats in the previous cave, there were more than two million in the current one.
Instead, we took woven mats and went and sat in the nearby fields. Our guide offered some fresh pineapple and binoculars and we waited as the sun went down. Hawks were beginning to gather, knowing what was coming. And indeed as the sun sank lower, bats began to emerge from the cave from two separate entrances. Millions upon millions poured forth, flying in clouds through the sky.
I’ve put pictures below, but truly they can’t capture the experience. The noise of millions of wings flapping, of little bat sounds, the hawks swooping down to get dinner. It was a marvel to experience and something I’ll likely never forget.
After the clouds of bats were beginning to disperse, our guide had us go and stand along the road facing some trees. The sun had almost fully sunk at this point, so it was getting very dark. We stood very still and quiet, and then sure enough a few bats began to fly out towards us. One girl on the tour freaked out a little and had me trade places with her so I was more in the middle of the fray. I stood there letting the bats fly past me, hearing their wings flap and their little squeaks as they avoided colliding with me. Apparently these were the same ones we saw earlier. They take a route out of the cave and through the trees every night and our guide has memorized their route and enjoys putting his groups in that experience.
At last, our guide called it a night, though one of our members realized she’d dropped her phone somewhere. We formed a search party and combed the field we’d been sitting in and thankfully were able to find it.
Our guide made two last stops, one to show us the fireflies, and another at the local 7 eleven to pick up any needed supplies for the next day (apparently a couple people didn’t have good insect repellent).
Back at our guesthouse we had dinner together. I ordered the Pad Thai. I’d been putting it off, not wanting to be too much of a stereotypical tourist. It actually ended up being the best Pad Thai I had on the trip, so I was very glad I had it when I did.
Me and a couple others chatted for a while before finally heading to bed. The guesthouse rooms were indeed very basic, but after a tiring day like the one I’d had it didn’t really matter. I took a cold shower, turned on my bedroom fan and collapsed into bed, ready for the next day, and looking forward to even more adventures.
Day three of my Thailand adventure was my last full day in Bangkok before I’d take off elsewhere (I would have one final half day in Bangkok at the end of my trip, but it wouldn’t be quite as much time). So I was determined to make the most of it.
I again got up early and had a delicious hotel breakfast. I was not feeling quite as warm that morning for some reason, so I opted to get in a swim before taking off. Since the weather hadn’t cooperated the evening before, I was definitely craving some pool time.
After my swim, I took off for the day towards the river. My goal was to go to Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn, which was on the other side of the Chao Phraya River and a ways down from there. I’d read one of the easiest ways to get there was to take the local ferry so opted to do that.
The ferry ended up being very easy to use. Bought a ticket from the booth on the pier and then hopped on when it arrived. It took me down the river a little further where I got off right in front of the temple.
I was realizing maybe I should have skipped the swim and taken off a little earlier. It was boiling hot out in the direct sun and there was limited shade around the temple.
Still, I wandered around and enjoyed the sights (and the complimentary small bottle of water) before stopping at a coffee shop nearby to refresh. I had a strawberry mango tea which was so delicious.
I could feel my energy fading in the heat. After all the walking of the day before my body just couldn’t quite handle it. I’d been wanting to maybe do a museum in the afternoon anyways, so I headed to the National Museum Bangkok. I took the ferry back across the river and then walked over, though I ended up running into road closures that made my route take longer. I was in Thailand right during the queen’s birthday, which is a huge to-do in Bangkok, so they’d closed off some roads around the palace.
Purple ribbons were everywhere to help celebrate the queen’s birthday
I actually ended up enjoying the museum pretty well. There were a couple of different structures on the grounds, a house and temple. It also had several different galleries featuring artifacts and art from Thailand. Feel free to peruse the gallery below.
The museum itself was airconditioned, though to get to different galleries you did have to walk outside. And I could tell I’d just kind of exhausted myself and was feeling a little dizzy and dehydrated after an hour or so.
Knowing I needed water and maybe some food, I opted to go eat at the museum café. Now, normally I avoid cafes at touristy spots other than for things like coffee or beverages maybe. But I definitely didn’t want to walk any further, and besides, I wanted to finish up the museum after I’d refreshed and wasn’t certain I could come back in after I left.
So I sat down at the cafe. It was outdoors, but shaded and had lots of fans. Honestly, AC is nice, but fans are really what you need when it is that hot and humid. The air circulation just feels so good and helps zap the moisture away from your body.
At the cafe I had Thai basil fried rice with chicken. It was actually super tasty. They brought the chilis on the side, but I went ahead and added them. The first two days I had been careful with my stomach adjusting so hadn’t indulged in much spice yet, so it was good to finally get to experience some of the heat Thai cooking is famous for.
I seriously was impressed by the food quality, especially because the prices weren’t super inflated like they sometimes are at tourist stops. I went ahead and had two bottles of water and an ice cream, and by the time I was done was definitely feeling much better.
I finished up at the museum, seeing all of the galleries. I was glad I’d chosen to refuel so I could enjoy the rest of the place. One of my favorite parts was the “garage” that housed some of the royal chariots which were incredibly ornate and impressive.
Having seen everything the museum had to offer, then walked back to my hotel to have another lazy afternoon by the pool. Honestly, I figured I should make the most of my pool space as the next two hotels I’d stay at wouldn’t have one.
After relaxing for a while, I headed back out to find some dinner.
I saw good reviews for a place called Steve Cafe and Cuisine on the water. The name made me chuckle a little, and made me think maybe it was overly touristy, but sitting along the river sounded perfect, and they had pretty good reviews.
So I walked over, admiring temples and other sights along the way.
At the restaurant I was asked to take off my shoes. In my research on Thailand I’d been warned some restaurants might do this, but I still was a little surprised at first. I stowed my shoes in a locker they offered and then headed in.
Barefoot I walked over to my table along the waterfront. Once again the restaurant was outdoors, but shaded and had good fans. And the views were lovely.
I watched as the sun sank down, though the sunset wasn’t great since clouds were starting to roll in.
I started off with a Thai milk tea, which was so refreshing and delicious. Then for my dinner I had the soft-shell crab with black pepper. I realized after ordering it I hadn’t tried soft-shell crab before, only traditional crab removed from its shell. I’m not a fan of eating things like shrimp tails (I know some people don’t mind it but it’s a texture that really bothers me). I was a little nervous, but I told myself to be brave, and that I wouldn’t know if I liked it or not until I tried it.
It actually was really delicious. The shell wasn’t quite as crunchy as a shrimp tail, though still probably not my first choice of texture. Still it was fun to try something new and it was flavorful and different.
Since the sunset wasn’t spectacular, I didn’t linger too long after finishing my food. I opted to walk back to my hotel. One of the roads I’d walked up on the way there was pretty deserted, so I was a little nervous walking in the dark. I took a different route, a little longer but sticking to more major thoroughfares. There were plenty of other people still out though, so at no point did I really feel unsafe.
At my hotel the weather was actually still behaving to my relief so I went for one last swim before concluding the evening.
Join me next time for more details of my trip, and my next destination… Khao Yai National Park!
Day two of my adventure in Thailand started with an early morning in Bangkok. I actually originally woke up at 4 AM (curse you jetlag), but did fall back asleep until 7, which was when I’d set my alarm for in the first place.
I headed downstairs to grab some breakfast. One criteria I almost always have in picking my hotels is that they have a breakfast available (preferably just included in the price). I actually am a person who really needs some sustenance in the morning to function on the regular. So when I’m out trekking it’s imperative I eat something.
My hotel had a nice variety of food, some more “Americanized” options like eggs, ham, toast. But also some rice and some kind of stir fried meat and peppers, which I found very delicious. Having filled up I felt ready to face the day ahead.
My first stop was the Grand Palace. My research before the trip had indicated it was a must see in Thailand. Hence making it a priority for the day. I had heard it was good to get there early, avoiding both the heat and the crowds. So I went as soon as it opened at 8:30.
The Grand Palace is essentially a large complex including the royal residence (Thailand still has a monarchy) as well as a temple, and some other structures. I went ahead and rented an audioguide to be able to get some more information as I walked around.
It was very warm in the sun, so I was definitely glad I’d gone early in the day, though I still had to stop and buy water more than once while walking.
I took lots of pictures so make sure to scroll through the slideshow below to get some views of the beauty of the Grand Palace.
I also took advantage of the museums in the complex while I was there. One was devoted to the temple and another called the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles was essentially devoted to the fashion worn by the queen mother. I enjoyed both, especially some time in the air conditioned buildings instead of the intense heat of the sun.
When I finished at the Grand Palace, I decided to walk over to Wat Pho, a nearby temple complex that houses the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.
I walked around a bit inside the complex, admiring the various parts of the temple especially the enormous reclining Buddha (pictures just don’t quite do it justice). The temperatures were definitely rising though, so I opted to get some ice cream and water for lunch before deciding I needed a longer break in air conditioning.
My ticket to the Grand Palace also included a show called the Khon Thai Masked Dance performance. It was only available in the afternoon, so I hadn’t worried about it earlier. But now it seemed like a good option.
So figuring I’d already paid for it anyway and could use a break inside, I hopped on one of their open air trolleys to get over to the theater. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to take my hat off and as we were driving it came flying off into the busy road. Of course, it wasn’t like I could easily ask the driver to stop so I could fetch it. So I just resigned myself to losing my hat. The good news was, I’d brought a backup one, not to mention I was sure I could find a cheap one elsewhere if I really needed.
At the theater, I headed inside and found a seat. For the next thirty minutes I watched various dancers perform. They did some dances showing the various time periods of Thai history, a couple showing off different regional dances, and also did a retelling of one of their traditional stories in dance form. All in all, very beautiful and enjoyable.
An example of what some of the costumes looked like
After the performance, I hopped back on the trolley to head back to the Grand Palace. They stopped to let some people out on the far corner of the palace, and I realized it was right near where I’d lost my hat. I figured it had probably been run over, but honestly, since I was in the area I figured I’d check.
As I scanned the road, I saw nothing, but when I happened to look off the road I saw a hat sitting on one of the posts that keeps vehicles off the curb. I ran over, and there was my hat in perfect condition.
A Thai man who had apparently either seen someone grab it and put it safely there or perhaps done so himself was delighted to see me get it. He smiled and said something in Thai, and I just grinned feeling so incredibly lucky.
The heat was only continuing to get more intense so I headed back to my hotel to enjoy the pool for a bit. I admired a few things along the way, but otherwise just went straight back. Definitely a good choice!
Government offices were decorated with white and purple ribbons for the Queen’s birthday, which was happening later in the week
That evening, I headed out to find dinner. I figured I’d venture down to Chinatown to do something different. I saw some good reviews for a fried noodle place not too far from Chinatown, so I headed there. The place was called Ann Guay Tiew Kua Gai, and it had a Michelin award.
I decided to try something different and chose the fried noodles and shrimp. I also had a coconut beverage which was delicious. The noodles came out and I was not impressed. The shrimp didn’t taste very fresh to me. The fried noodles had a weird slimy and gluey texture underneath the crispy exterior. (I actually did end up having these noodles again later in the trip and decided they just aren’t really for me texture-wise). They also brought some kind of a sour soup that was okay.
I left the restaurant, initially thinking maybe I could walk down to more of the real part of Chinatown and walk around. But I was pretty tired out from the day, so I opted to instead to just walk past The Giant Swing, a tall red structure outside of a temple that used to be used for ceremonies. It wasn’t very far out of the way on my way back to my hotel.
I actually ended up being very glad I didn’t go all the way down to Chinatown as it started raining really hard. I was thoroughly soaked by the time I got back to my hotel, even with an umbrella.
I’d hoped to swim again in the evening, but sadly the weather foiled those plans (also doing some thunder and lightning… never a great idea in an outdoor pool).
With all of those adventures behind me I headed to bed ready for more excitement the next day.
Another year, therefore it’s time for another vacation. And for the first time since 2020 I’m finally doing another solo trip!
For those who don’t know, I’m a huge fan of solo traveling. While there are definitely advantages to traveling with friends, family, significant others, etc. I find that solo travel truly is a magical experience that I hope everyone can experience at least once in a lifetime. Maybe I’ll write a whole post about it in the future, but for now just know this is a journey taken, planned, and experienced by me alone.
So this year’s destination is… Thailand! I’ve had a couple people scratch their heads about that one. But let me explain the factors that led me to decide Thailand was the perfect destination to head to this summer.
Something new: I have done a large amount of travel in Europe. And while I do hope to do more in Africa and South America, I’ve been uncertain about venturing to either by myself (if any other solo female travelers have experiences in either please give me your tips), and Australia is expensive, far away, and can require a huge amount of time to get around. Therefore, a country in Asia was the logical choice.
Safe: as hinted at above, I wanted a relatively safe country, especially one where women have expressed they feel they can travel alone without too many problems. Sure, all travel involves risks (I’m sure you’ll hear me tell a couple tales along the way), but I do try to minimize risks where I can. I found a website dedicated to solo female travel that uses a couple factors to rank countries on their safety for women (US travel advisory, UK travel advisory, Global Peace Index, and actual women’s experiences). For those who have been so worried when I’ve mentioned Thailand, take a look at where the US falls on that list in comparison (hint it’s certainly not at the top of the list).
Affordable: Australia was ruled out largely because plane tickets tend to be outrageous, and prices in the country itself are pretty high. Thailand on the other hand was in the off season, is a cheaper country as it is, and I was able to find a good deal flying out late on Memorial Day weekend and returning midweek in June. I’ve heard some people say “chase the deal not the destination” and I think that is the perfect representation of how I often plan trips. It’s less to do with my dream bucket list, and more to do with what is affordable for me to try something new.
Something important to me: one hobby I’ve gotten really into lately is the study of nature, birds in particular, but also plants, arthropods, mammals, reptiles, etc. A number of years ago my family took a trip to Costa Rica, and it was one of my favorite trips ever, namely because we much of the trip was dedicated to seeing the wonders of the natural world and the amazing biodiversity available there. So, I was eager to go somewhere that might also offer those opportunities. Tropical destinations tend to work well for this, but especially ones that have established some amount of eco-tourism (natural parks, protected animals, etc), I visited Colombia a number of years back, and while there certainly is the same amount of biodiversity there, animals had been hunted for years and were therefore extremely cautious around humans. So while I knew there were all kinds of amazing animals not too far away, we saw very few. One of my biggest hopes in Thailand was to visit some of the national parks and see some of their amazing wildlife and plants.
So with those factors in mind, Thailand was my pick. And sure enough I found a good enough deal to decide it was worth doing.
But you’re going by yourself? Aren’t you scared? I’ve had a few people question me, and had more wishes of “safe travels” than I normally do. But the reality is I’ve had people question me almost every place I’ve gone. France? Terrorism. Colombia? Rampant crime! Greece? Drug use! And no, I’m actually not kidding. The few countries I haven’t had people say anything about are probably just ones people know next to nothing about (IE Croatia…).
At this point I’ve traveled to thirty countries, and four continents. Sixteen of those countries I visited by myself. So the reality is I’m an experienced traveler, I know what I’m doing, and I know how to be cautious.
So, I’ve spent enough time hashing over why I chose Thailand. Let’s breakdown day one.
Well… technically it’s day three? Because the amount of flying it took to reach Thailand had me there two days later. I did look, but I found no direct flights to Bangkok from the United States (if someone finds one, let me know so I can grumble about it). This meant I had to fly to another destination closer to Thailand and then to Thailand itself. And the more layovers you add, the longer things take. Especially when one of your flights (Los Angeles to Taipei) is fourteen hours.
I flew China Airlines, a new airline for me. All in all I give them a solid B+. They served decent food, had some good in-flight entertainment options, and all in all got me where I needed to be with very little hassle.
Regardless, let’s start with day one of actual travel beyond just flying and hanging out in airports. I arrived in Bangkok around ten in the morning. Not my favorite time to get started on a day of traveling after being jet lagged, but nonetheless it was the time I was dealt.
I got through immigration, and while waiting for my bag, went to grab my debit card to withdraw some Thai Baht (money) to have on hand. I’d heard most places in Thailand didn’t take credit card (this definitely proved true– only used it a couple times). As I went to grab my card, suddenly I couldn’t find it. I had a brief panic thinking I’d left it home, only to find it had slipped inside my immunization records. Relieved I took out some cash to have on hand, picked up my bag, and headed on my way.
Now to get to my hotel.
So normally with big cities I’m good at using public transport. I’ve become pretty expert at metro systems, and even some bus lines I’ve been willing to tackle. But it turned out the hotel I’d chosen was pretty far from metro lines or the sky train, so it meant I’d have to make a couple transfers, some of which would involve buses. It sounded like it would take a while, not to mention possibly be confusing, and challenging with luggage. So I did what I normally don’t do when I travel and treated myself to a ride.
Initially, my instinct was to go with a taxi, but unfortunately I had pretty big bills, and wasn’t certain if a taxi would be able to change them. I really wasn’t familiar with the money yet. And besides, there was an option I knew might be a little more expensive but definitely easier.
So I went with another choice. Essentially it’s like the Asian version of Uber, called Grab. I started trying to call for a car, but for some reason my credit card decided it was a time to flake out and not work in the app. I stood outside fiddling with it for a few minutes, but finally had to give up and go back into the air conditioned building to figure it out because even a few minutes of standing still outside in the shade was unbearably warm.
I’d been warned Bangkok was hot and humid, but my goodness people were not kidding. Definitely felt the warmest of any place I’ve ever been before.
Thankfully I did get my card to work and my driver appeared a few minutes later. I’d just gotten in the car and we were pulling away, when suddenly police were pulling my driver over.
I sat there in confusion as they pulled my driver away to go fill out some kind of paperwork. As my driver spoke almost no English, and I unfortunately do not speak Thai (I tried to learn a little but it is a HARD language), I had no idea what was going on. He returned a few minutes later with a paper in his hands. Best I can figure he maybe broke some kind of rule about where the Grab cars are allowed to be or how long they can wait and got a ticket? I’m still not certain. But he was heading in the right direction and otherwise seemed to be doing what he was supposed to (he had a great rating on the app too). So I just sat back, keeping one eye on the route map and the other on the window to enjoy the new city around me.
I arrived at my hotel around noon. I was staying at Lamphu Treehouse Boutique Hotel. Sadly not actually a treehouse (I mean I knew that going in, but still). It was a ltitle early for check in, but I figured if nothing else maybe I could sit for a bit or store my bag and go walk around. Thankfully, my room was ready so I was led up to the fifth floor and shown inside.
My roomViews from the hotelMe jet-lagged but happy!Hotel exteriorThought this was a cute touch!
The AC felt amazing, even more so when I opened the balcony door to step out and take some pictures. I was quickly realizing the heat in Bangkok was no joke.
Nonetheless, I had a half a day to kill, and didn’t want to spend all of it in my hotel. Initially, my instinct was to try to find a place with AC, but on second thought, most of those museums and such were further afield. And I wasn’t sure I was down for that either. I was wiped out from the long trip. So I figured… keep it simple, go get some water and something to eat. Hopefully use it as a chance to change out some baht for smaller bills to use later.
I looked for “grocery stores near me” and there was a 7 Eleven just a couple blocks away. So I headed over to that.
I then got my first experience with the joys of crossing Thai city streets.
An example of a busy Thai street
The street I was on didn’t have a crosswalk sign. So I figured oh well, just follow traffic that should work. Except even when cars weren’t coming one way, they were turning from the other direction. And even when lights were red, motorbikes seemed to still come through the intersection regardless. I stood there for a few minutes just waiting for things to be clear, feeling insanely nervous. Finally I caught a small break and I got across and headed into the store.
My family has always had a tradition in hot and humid places of getting a bag of some kind of chips and a drink. Honestly my appetite disappears when it’s really hot, and those two things kind of help replenish what my body needs when it sweats.
I also added an ice cream bar for good measure.
Heading out I debated heading back to my hotel, but part of me was worried I’d just end up crashing there, possibly even falling asleep and messing up my new sleep schedule. Okay, well I’d find somewhere outside to sit. Sure it was hot, but if anything it might help me adjust?
I started walking, not seeing much. Thought about just eating the chips while I walked, but remembered reading somewhere that’s kind of uncouth. And sure, I know sometimes I’m going to look like a dumb tourist, but when it can be avoided I do try to be respectful of others’ cultural norms.
So I looked on my phone and saw there was a park not too far away.
I headed in a beeline for that, stopping to take a few pictures of various things I thought were pretty.
At the “park” I realized it was actually more of a temple grounds. And I had no idea if eating there would be disrespectful. If I pictured going into a church and eating, that seemed incredibly rude (at least in most people’s views), so I opted to not do that.
Definitely looked more like a temple than a park!
I saw a man just sitting on a curb eating. But I kept walking, thinking I’d find a bench or something. Just a couple blocks later I gave up and sat on a little curb beside a canal. It was kind of dirty, but it worked, and I was able to eat my ice cream before it was totally melted.
When I was finished I looked at my map again. I figured I’d go with one of my original plans and go to the Golden Mount, a nearby temple with some good views of the city. It was very close by, which I figured would be good on a day I was jetlagged. I’d also seen it in several guidebooks.
At the Golden Mount I paid for my ticket and began the ascent up the steps to the temple. It’s quite a climb, but was well worth it for beautiful views and more. Admired the architecture, the serenity of the temple, and Bangkok itself.
I used the bathroom there and had my first experience with being asked to remove my shoes for a bathroom! They provide flip flops for you, but still kind of weird to experience.
Though the climb was great, by the time I got back down, my body was soaked in sweat. I knew I needed water ASAP, and definitely more than the small bottle I’d had for “lunch”. My face was feeling like it was burning, which usually means I’m beet red and people start worrying I’m going to pass out (not usually the case I’m just very Northern European in my heritage and the slightest heat really shows). Regardless, I was feeling kind of dizzy, probably a combo of the jetlag and heat.
So, reluctantly, I headed back to the hotel to cool down. I grabbed two large bottles of water on the way to make sure I was really hydrated. Back at the hotel, I put on my swimsuit and headed to the pool.
I spent the remainder of the afternoon just relaxing. It was definitely what I needed. I have a tendency to overexert myself traveling, I very often end up coming home with some kind of bug because my body is just so tired it can’t fight off germs anymore. So, determined not to have that problem, I went ahead and gave myself some grace to relax a bit.
Dinner time soon rolled around. And right about that time it started pouring rain.
I’d looked a bit on Tripadvisor to see what was nearby restaurant-wise, but wasn’t seeing a lot of options. Under normal circumstances I’d probably walk around a bit, but with the fatigue and the rain I opted to keep things simple. Tripadvisor did say there was a restaurant connected to my hotel, and it actually had decent reviews. Downstairs, however, there was no indication a restaurant was there. And sure enough there were a few signs in the lobby saying the restaurant had moved and pointing a little down the road. I hesitated, but eventually decided it was worth just getting some food so I could get to bed early and finally sleep (the thing I really wanted to do after such a long day).
I headed down the road with my umbrella and found the restaurant. I ordered Pad Woon Sen, a dish of glass noodles, egg, herbs, vegetables, and a protein of my choice (I did chicken). It was actually really good and hit the spot. I also had a mango smoothie, which was so refreshing.
Finally I headed back to my hotel and allowed myself to crash. I definitely was ready for a good night’s sleep in hopes of more energy the following day. I admired the views of the Golden Temple lit up in the rainy night from my hotel room before turning in.
Well, hopefully you’ll stay tuned for future adventures. The first day definitely was less busy after all the travel, but there is so much more I’d love to share with you if you want to follow along!
Day two of my adventure in the Yucatan Peninsula was devoted to a fun day at a local theme park. For those unfamiliar with Xcaret, it is essentially a park devoted to Mexican culture and the natural wonders of Mexico. It features some small Mayan ruins, buildings created in classic architectural styles, native animal enclosures, water attractions, and cultural shows. Our family felt it would be wise to devote an entire day to exploring, which ended up feeling just about right for us. I think ideally two days might be nice if you have the time, but you can definitely hit the highlights in just one.
Unfortunately, our morning started out looking like we might not get to go to Xcaret as Hurricane Agatha was still causing a fair amount of rain and also strong winds. Though it hadn’t hit the Yucatan directly, there were some lingering effects from it while we were there. Nonetheless our family figured since we’d booked tickets we would head over and at least see if the park was open.
Since our hotel was made up of individual cabins, the “lobby” area was mostly outside, which was where breakfast was being served. Thankfully some of it was covered and the staff even sweetly moved an empty table into the covered area for us so we could eat out of the rain.
Breakfast was delicious! Fresh fruit and yogurt, bread with cheese, beans, ham, and sausage and plenty of coffee.
After we’d finished up eating, we packed up and headed on the road to Xcaret.
Soon enough we arrived and headed inside to claim our tickets. Thankfully the park was open and ready to operate in spite of the bad weather!
On our way in we enjoyed some of the animals as well as the small Mayan ruins.
Our initial plan had been to go up in the sightseeing tower to get some views of the park, but unfortunately it was one of the few things closed due to the weather, so instead we changed into swimsuits and headed to the Mayan river! One of the most fun things in Xcaret are the three “lazy” rivers that run through the park. You get a life jacket and then float down them, enjoying the various sights along the way. There are caverns with bats, some little water falls coming down into the river, and other fun experiences along the way.
I will mention that my mother and brother both had to sign a waiver to go on the river since they are diabetic (type 1). While these Mayan canals are similar to “lazy” rivers you see in some water parks, there is minimal current in some places, so it does take some swimming or pulling on ropes to get to the end which can be strenuous. Just know if you’re looking to relax, this might not be the attraction for you and people with health problems are discouraged from going on the rivers and may need to sign a waiver if they opt to do so.
After floating the river, we decided it was so much fun that we’d go do a second ride on a different one. On our way walking back we enjoyed some of the animal exhibits and also a demonstration of the Danza de los Voladores, a Mesoamerican ceremony done to ensure rain for the harvest. It is really incredible to see. Five men climb to the top of a pole and then four descend tied by ropes, spinning upside down while the fifth plays a flute and drum. Sadly my WordPress account will not allow me to post videos without paying significantly more, but I did post a Youtube clip of one (not Xcaret’s) if you’d like to get an idea.
We settled on the Manatee River as our second choice. This one sadly wasn’t quite as interesting as the Mayan. It also had fewer sections with ropes, so you really did have to mostly swim it. We were all pretty tired by the end. The good thing was that we did get to enjoy seeing one of the manatees while swimming by! We had to kind of climb up the edge to get a good look, but it was still very fun to see one so close.
After finishing with the river, we went ahead and changed out of swimsuits and then headed to check out some of the other animal exhibits.
We started first with the jaguar and puma enclosures. The enclosures themselves were actually incredible. There was a jungle like area for each cat, and in between that and the rest of the park was a huge gorge and waterfalls all through. Visitors could look from the sides or from a rope bridge overlooking the enclosure.
We didn’t see the puma, but the jaguar was out and about, making noise and walking around. As we live in an area with pumas, we were fine with only seeing the jaguar since that isn’t an animal we’d spot in the wild at home.
After admiring the big cats (or at least the one we could see), we headed over to the aviary. Similar to the jaguar enclosure, it was a huge open space, a gigantic room with a spiraling path from the canopy down to the “rainforest” floor. There were so many birds, and we enjoyed getting to explore and see such a great variety of them.
Once we reached the bottom of the enclosure, we exited and did a quick tour of the butterfly pavilion. We’d seen more impressive butterfly exhibits in the past, so didn’t spend much time there, but it was still fun to pass through.
Finally, we were starting to get hungry. We had paid for slightly more expensive passes in order to get lockers included for our things (we felt this would be helpful for the times we wanted to get wet), and the tickets we purchased ended up coming with a meal included. We chose to go with the Mexican restaurant rather than the ones with more international options. The setup was buffet style, allowing us to sample a wide variety of foods. I was excited to get to try cactus for the first time, alongside just enjoying various cuts of meat, grilled vegetables, tamales and other good things. It definitely wasn’t the best food, but it was filling and there was a good variety so it made for a decent dinner without having to leave the park.
Satisfied with a good meal, we opted to stop by some of the aquarium exhibits before heading to the show we wanted to see for the evening. The sea turtles were amazing to get to see up close. They were so much bigger than I had anticipated them being and the babies were adorable too. Though I had seen a couple turtles in Hawaii the year before, this was fun to really get to study them for a little while.
Feeling satisfied with having seen as much as we could for the day, we headed in the direction of the performance we wanted to see.
On our way we stopped by some of the cultural and architectural exhibits. There is also usually a horse show in the evening, but it was cancelled due to the rain, but the riders were at least out and about showing off their horses and costumes.
So our plan had been to head to see a performance called the Mexico Espectacular, which was supposed to be a celebration of Mexican heritage, culture, and history. However, as we were walking over it began to pour down buckets of rain. I think the rain I saw in Mexico might have been the most rain I’ve ever seen in my life (joys of living in a desert climate is I’m not used to much in general, but certainly not anything like this tropical downpour).
We made a run for it and found seats together for the show, though we were now all soaked, but thankfully we forgot all about that soon enough!
We were soon immersed in a colorful spectacular, starting off with an abbreviated history of Mexico, celebrating the culture of the native peoples, then on to the conquistadors taking over and so on until the modern era. In the second half, the performance focused more on the different dances and music of the various regions of Mexico. This part did start to get a little long in places, but for the most part they kept it moving and always brought out something new and interesting just about the time I was getting bored. All in all it really was a spectacular performance, and I’d highly recommend to anyone who is planning to visit Xcaret!
As the show came to a close, we hustled to get out of the park and on the road to our next hotel. We were staying in Playa del Carmen for the night at a place called Hotel Colibri Beach. All in all it was a comfortable and nice place, right near the beach (though it was much too late to enjoy that). I did rest in the hammock on our porch for a bit that evening, but otherwise it was straight to bed to be ready for more adventures ahead!
Hello all! So happy to be back with more travel blogging after a year long break. Between work and COVID, it’s definitely been a bit harder to get out in the world, but hopefully there will be even more adventures to write about in the future.
A few disclaimers: firstly this is not a solo trip. While I do a fair amount of solo travel and have several posts on this blog dedicated to that, this trip was one with my family. My parents are also big on travel, so when I have opportunities to join them on world exploration, I often do.
Secondly, I know as of June 13th Mexico has been moved back to a level 3 COVID level by the CDC. When we were traveling Mexico was at a level 2, so much less of a risk. If you are traveling please make sure you are staying up to date on current rates of infection and when in doubt consult with a travel medicine doctor if you can.
Now, why Mexico? And why the Yucatan? While both my parents and I are teachers and can take longer vacations in the summer, my brother has a more limited schedule and was only able to get away for about a week. Therefore, the family felt an international trip needed to be to somewhere not too far away and involving minimal jet lag. As I have always wanted to see some of the Mayan ruins and cenotes (caverns with water in them), I seriously pushed for the Riviera Maya and thankfully the family agreed. So with plans in place, we took off after the school year ended.
Day one was focused mostly on flights and getting to Cancun. Once we arrived we were picked up by our rental car company Yes Rental. They were very helpful and friendly and got us set up in our car so we would be able to explore lots of places in the area.
With the rental car taken care of, we started off driving down the coast to the town where we’d be staying the night, Puerto Morelos. We enjoyed the sights on the drive, particularly this fun crocodile mural (pictured below).
Our hotel for the night was called the Amar Inn, a cute place on the beach with little cabins with palapas style rooves made out of palm leaves.
With no specific plans for the afternoon, we figured a little beach time would be a good way to unwind after all the traveling. However, it wasn’t quite the tropical paradise welcome I was expecting. The sky was gray, and the wind was really blowing, remnants of the hurricane that had rolled through a few days before on the opposite coast. Sadly it just wasn’t quite warm enough to really enjoy the water as much as I’d anticipated. And on top of that there seemed to be a huge amount of seaweed piled up in the surf.
Me–disappointed by the stormy weather rather than the sunshine I expected
I’ve read up a bit on the seaweed problem since our stay out of curiosity. Turns out it’s an algae called Sargassum, which has been a problem along the Riviera Maya on several beaches in recent months. Sadly it means the waters aren’t quite as crystal clear blue as they normally are, and it also does cause some bad smells when decomposing on the beach. We’ll hope this becomes less of a problem for Mexico in the future so the beaches can go back to their usual beautiful conditions.
After the beach disappointment, we headed back and threw clothes back on to head into town for dinner. There were several restaurant options that looked good, however, we settled on trying La Sirena, a Greek inspired restaurant in town.
The restaurant ended up being great, good food and a beautiful top floor deck to enjoy the ocean views even with the wind still blowing like crazy.
I had a lamb dish and a pina colada to celebrate the start of a tropical vacation followed off with an apple tart ( I wanted the baklava but they were out).
After the meal, we walked around the city center a little bit before heading back to the hotel for a swim in the pool. Puerto Morelos definitely is pretty small, but we found it charming in its simplicity. Likewise the pool at the hotel was nothing fancy, but it felt nice after a long day of travel.
It was an amazing start to the vacation! I look forward to posting more about the upcoming days so stay tuned for more.
To Roam the Roads of Lands Remote 