Week 158: Bangkok & Chiang Mai

A week of busy cities, nightlife, excellent cheap food, overnight trains, beautiful countryside, sticky waterfalls, eggy springs, injuries, and all-inclusives.

Posted on by Rowan Manning.
Tagged with HolidayFoodWalking

  • Bangkok is a really busy city, it’s fun but I would probably struggle with a full week. We met up with Euan (who’s been in the Philippines for a year), Adam (who lives in Perth and we haven’t seen for a year), Luke (who’s been in Japan for three months), and Paula.

  • A busy street in Bangkok at night, market stalls are being set up

    Bangkok nightlife is wild. Don’t assume that the cocktails will be low-alcohol in the touristy places.

  • The food is excellent everywhere we’ve been, especially when you’re paying £1–2 for a full meal.

  • Our hotel had a Christmas tree up already, I’m not sure if I’m ready to be festive in 30-degree heat.

  • After a few days in Bangkok, we got a sleeper train up to Chiang Mai. The sleeper was really fun and comfortable despite being in a public carriage, I slept pretty well despite the noise and the not-so-gentle rocking.

  • Chiang Mai is beautiful. It feels a lot more chilled up there but still a nice level of busy. We met up with Elka, an old friend of Luke & Adam’s, who showed us around a bit and took us to some amazing restaurants.

  • A view over the jungle to some mountains.

    We also did a few of the big touristy things; we took a trip to some hot springs and soaked in and boiled eggs in the water. We also climbed up the sticky waterfalls which is weird but really fun. I fell and bruised my elbow, rib, and thigh though because I stepped onto a not-so-sticky bit 🤦 at least the ibuprofen here is double strength.

  • We ended the week by flying down to Phuket to stay in an all-inclusive resort and rest so that we feel like we’ve switched off properly before we head back to work. Yeah, doing stuff is fun but have you tried sitting by a pool for a week?

Me loaded up like a pack horse, carrying two backpacks