Some Like it Hot but We Do Not

I haven’t written about Thailand until now, because I haven’t been sure what to say about it. The pad-thai was delicious, if a little tiresome. The Thai people were uptight, if not unwelcoming. And the backpackers – out of control.

With a few days spent in Bangkok, mostly on Khao San Road, which features classy places such as the We Don’t ID Bar, we grew tired and made for Chiang Mai. After an interesting 12-hour bus ride, we were dropped off on some random street corner only to realize that it was freezing cold outside. The weather wasn’t really an issue, though. We were glad to be out of Bangkok’s overwhelming heat and smog. Besides, it was pretty hot before we knew it.

We spent a few days in Chiang Mai and had a pretty good time of it. The city is quite beautifully located and besides the early morning chill, the weather couldn’t have been much better and as far as food goes, it was one of our favorite places in Thailand.

From there we skipped Pai, and went to Pang Mapha to the Cave Lodge which is run by an English ex-pat who is definitely not as cool as he thinks he is where we went on a six-hour kayak trip through and to several amazing caves. From there, we made our way to Chiang Dao, where we saw one of the prettiest mountains we’ve ever seen and proceeded to have the coldest night of our lives. In the morning, we decided we couldn’t spend another night so cold. And so, before we knew it, we were on a train 24 hours south in search of warmer weather.

We got to the islands, skipped Phi Phi, Samui, and Phuket and went for the less well known Koh Tao and Ko Muk. We had a good, but long time on the islands – Nina went on an amazing snorkeling trip and we ate great food. Wherever we went, though, we just couldn’t escape the backpacker scene with partiers mostly looking for all-night parties. We left feeling like there should have been more.

Have you been to Thailand? What did you think? Impressed, unimpressed surprised? I would love to hear your stories.