Thai(land of temples)

I re-entered Thailand with my GAP adventure tour group on December 10th. We started in the North in the area of Chiang Kong, since we came from Laos/the Mekong River. I was definitely looking forward to having more time in Thailand, since my first stop there was so brief!

In Chiang Kong, we visited the White Temple. As it's name implies, this temple is all white, and has the most intricate architecture. It houses a large Buddha statue. You have to cross a white bridge over a small lake to get to it. From Chiang Kong, we drove to Chiang Mai. Unfortunately we didn't have much time there, but I was able to explore the city and it's markets a little. The markets have EVERYTHING you could imagine, I even got a foot massage in the middle of the market for less than a dollar. It was a nice massage, but not the most relaxing environment!

After Chiang Mai, we took a sleeper train back to Bangkok. In Bangkok, I visited the Grand Palace, Wat Arun, the Big Swing (which isn't really a swing at all) and Khao San Road (the touristy area with many shops and restaurants). The Grand Palace was amazing! There are many buildings of gold, marble and gems, including the temple housing the Emerald Buddha. We had to rent clothes that were more "covering" just to get in. We had to cross the river on a ferry to get to Wat Arun, "the temple of the dawn". The stairs of this temple were so steep I felt like I was going to fall backwards, but the view from the top of Wat Arun was completely worth it. I spent my last night in Thailand and my last night with my tour group enjoying the club/bar scene on Khao San Road.

I left Thailand for the Philippines on December 13th, exactly a month from when I arrived. I experienced Thailand as a country of beautiful temples with a very majestic feel. On the other hand, it is developing very quickly into a more modern country with a fun and light vibe. I think it will be a very different place in the near future. My time in Southeast Asia seemed to fly by. I still can't believe how different each of the four countries were from one another and yet they are so close together. I am glad to have gotten a taste of each of the countries, but it does leave more to be explored! In some ways, it was a little more touristy than I had expected it to be, but I have had some pretty unreal experiences because of that. I am very thankful that my GAP tour group was such a great group of people to travel with. I have made some good friends and shared some unreal moments with them! Overall, I am glad I chose to tour Southeast Asia and have certainly made many memories that will last a lifetime!