I need to write. It has been too long. I have been here in HK for who knows how long now, but honestly enjoying it here. But at the same time trying my best not to let homesickness overcome me. I miss my friends. And I miss my family. But at the same time I am blessed to have this opportunity to spend valuable time with my amazing grandparents. Nevertheless, I cannot overemphasize how much I am looking forward to my mom coming here in......17 days. And to finally return home... and to finally be reunited with my friends back in SD is a moment that I think about every day. I have been thinking a lot about a certain person as well, and I start to wonder if distance is starting to take its toll on them. It's a challenge, and I can't help but question whether or not patience will hold out through til the end. I really hope it does.
Being here in HK, living a comfortable, quiet life with my grandparents gives me a lot of time to think. About what? School.. friends.. exchange... what's important to me... all of the above. I've never been so contemplative. So analytical. So thoughtful. I've also been reading. A lot. I'm on my fifth novel, and I must say that reading is what I look forward to doing every spare moment that I have.
But I saw a movie tonight. I went by myself. It is honestly one of my favorite things to do. It was a movie that touched me, and really made me think about life. It was passionate, heartfelt, relatable, and a movie that I intend to buy and watch many times over. I know whenever I see a movie that I really like, I say it's my favorite movie. But this is truly my all-time favorite movie. It's something you just have to experience for yourself. It's about love..and loss..and the struggles that we face through it all.
Of the many significant lines, my favorite: "One part of me says I'm not ready for this. The other part says, hold on to it forever."
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Reflections
My exchange program in Singapore has officially come to its end. Now that it is over, I have been reflecting a lot on the entire experience. Isn't it funny how it often takes the cessation of something to make us understand and appreciate its worth?
I can honestly say that the experience has changed my life. The places I have been to have opened my eyes to the indescribable beauty of the world, augmenting my curiosity and thirst to discover even more. I never knew that such places existed in the world. It only makes me wonder what other sights the world has to offer.
The people I met there, by chance, enriched the experience. Although the places were incredible, it was the people that made the journey to the locations worthwhile and truly memorable.
I came there, not knowing a single person. It was a huge leap of faith on my part, venturing to Asia on my own, but I was ready to take the plunge. I remember feeling scared. I remember the night before I came here, I turned to my mom and asked "Mom, what if I don't make any friends? What if I am lonely?" I now find myself surrounded by friends that I feel like I have known forever. I not only met some of the sweetest, most adventurous, kindest people on exchange, I have formed lasting relationships with them that I know will endure. I exceeded my own expectations of the kind of friendships I have made, and for that I feel exceptionally lucky.
But perhaps the most important thing I have learned on the program is the concept, and precious nature, of time. I have always been a person who is looking ahead in time - my life was always dominated by the future. Before one experience was over, I was already thinking about the next one, never truly living in the moment. I came there with the goal of learning how to truly just enjoy the moment I was in. Swimming in the middle of the South China Sea in the Philippines... climbing to the top of ancient Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia... going cliff jumping with my friends in Thailand... I have never felt true happiness like I did in those moments, where all problems, difficulties, worries, and skepticism about anything diminished, and I was left there, truly happy and grateful. Just me and the moment.
The time that I had in Singapore seemed too short, but i realize that because it was so short- really a mere a chapter in my life- it made it an even sweeter experience. Isn't it crazy how sometimes, it only takes one single person, out of the numerous that you may know, to make a lasting impact on your life? In a way, this experience was like that one person.
I'm looking forward to the ways in which I will apply what I have learned in Singapore to the situations, difficulties, and opportunities that I will encounter in the future. In the words of Sam, I've learned that life is all about perspective: you could be dealt the best hand or the worst hand - but I truly believe that it's the angle in which you look at it that makes all the difference.
I can honestly say that the experience has changed my life. The places I have been to have opened my eyes to the indescribable beauty of the world, augmenting my curiosity and thirst to discover even more. I never knew that such places existed in the world. It only makes me wonder what other sights the world has to offer.
The people I met there, by chance, enriched the experience. Although the places were incredible, it was the people that made the journey to the locations worthwhile and truly memorable.
I came there, not knowing a single person. It was a huge leap of faith on my part, venturing to Asia on my own, but I was ready to take the plunge. I remember feeling scared. I remember the night before I came here, I turned to my mom and asked "Mom, what if I don't make any friends? What if I am lonely?" I now find myself surrounded by friends that I feel like I have known forever. I not only met some of the sweetest, most adventurous, kindest people on exchange, I have formed lasting relationships with them that I know will endure. I exceeded my own expectations of the kind of friendships I have made, and for that I feel exceptionally lucky.
But perhaps the most important thing I have learned on the program is the concept, and precious nature, of time. I have always been a person who is looking ahead in time - my life was always dominated by the future. Before one experience was over, I was already thinking about the next one, never truly living in the moment. I came there with the goal of learning how to truly just enjoy the moment I was in. Swimming in the middle of the South China Sea in the Philippines... climbing to the top of ancient Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia... going cliff jumping with my friends in Thailand... I have never felt true happiness like I did in those moments, where all problems, difficulties, worries, and skepticism about anything diminished, and I was left there, truly happy and grateful. Just me and the moment.
The time that I had in Singapore seemed too short, but i realize that because it was so short- really a mere a chapter in my life- it made it an even sweeter experience. Isn't it crazy how sometimes, it only takes one single person, out of the numerous that you may know, to make a lasting impact on your life? In a way, this experience was like that one person.
I'm looking forward to the ways in which I will apply what I have learned in Singapore to the situations, difficulties, and opportunities that I will encounter in the future. In the words of Sam, I've learned that life is all about perspective: you could be dealt the best hand or the worst hand - but I truly believe that it's the angle in which you look at it that makes all the difference.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
2 DAYS LEFT
in the Garden City (aka Singapore).... aka the land of "ironies" (ie "no forced labor" yet requiring all men to attend National Service for 2 years)... the place that taught me so much about myself... and other people... the place that did wonders for my independence and pushed me so far outside my comfort zone.
There are only 2 days left here in the place that changed my life.. for the better. Please forgive me for my extreme nostalgia that I am feeling right now. I am so sad that this experience is coming to an end, yet so happy that it happened. In a way, it is good that it is ending, because 1 )all good things must come to an end eventually, right? and 2) it has made you truly appreciate the time you have left with people you care about. I look back on it all, and in the middle of the program it felt like such a long process, or time frame. And now that tomorrow is MAY SEVENTH (?!?!?!?!) it all seems so short.
I've never been so grateful for something in my entire life.. now I must find some motivation to study for the Human Motivation final that I have tomorrow (yet another irony). In less than 24 hours, my academic experience in Singapore will be complete. EEEEKK!!
PS. I will miss many many many things about Singapore, especially these girls:
{Forever Young}
However, I will NOT miss the insane amount of bug bites that I have right now. :(
There are only 2 days left here in the place that changed my life.. for the better. Please forgive me for my extreme nostalgia that I am feeling right now. I am so sad that this experience is coming to an end, yet so happy that it happened. In a way, it is good that it is ending, because 1 )all good things must come to an end eventually, right? and 2) it has made you truly appreciate the time you have left with people you care about. I look back on it all, and in the middle of the program it felt like such a long process, or time frame. And now that tomorrow is MAY SEVENTH (?!?!?!?!) it all seems so short.
I've never been so grateful for something in my entire life.. now I must find some motivation to study for the Human Motivation final that I have tomorrow (yet another irony). In less than 24 hours, my academic experience in Singapore will be complete. EEEEKK!!
PS. I will miss many many many things about Singapore, especially these girls:
{Forever Young}
However, I will NOT miss the insane amount of bug bites that I have right now. :(
Monday, April 26, 2010
Putting the Study in Study Abroad
is probably most difficult thing I have ever had to do in my life. I hate final exams. Especially in foreign countries.
In remembrance of those good ol' days when I worked at Sport Chalet for that one summer, I propose making a license plate that says "I'd Rather Be...TRAVELING" because right now the last thing I feel like doing is studying for these exams. I would even rather be taking a "shower" in the Philippines with cold, salty sea water in a hostel bathroom infested with bugs, cockroaches, hair, dirt, and years worth of grime again than study. Okay, that was a lie. But seriously.. I wish I was venturing off to some other random southeast asian country, as I am so accustomed to doing.
But no! I need to control my thoughts and not let them wander off to far distant beautiful places that the world is waiting for me to discover. I must stay positive in regards to these exams. And get focused. And study. Not only do I need to take these tests, I need to let people know that it isn't all just fun and games over here in Singapore when you go on exchange. Okay that was a lie too.
PS LAST MONDAY EVER HERE IN SINGAPORE.
I miss my exchange friends already... :(
In remembrance of those good ol' days when I worked at Sport Chalet for that one summer, I propose making a license plate that says "I'd Rather Be...TRAVELING" because right now the last thing I feel like doing is studying for these exams. I would even rather be taking a "shower" in the Philippines with cold, salty sea water in a hostel bathroom infested with bugs, cockroaches, hair, dirt, and years worth of grime again than study. Okay, that was a lie. But seriously.. I wish I was venturing off to some other random southeast asian country, as I am so accustomed to doing.
But no! I need to control my thoughts and not let them wander off to far distant beautiful places that the world is waiting for me to discover. I must stay positive in regards to these exams. And get focused. And study. Not only do I need to take these tests, I need to let people know that it isn't all just fun and games over here in Singapore when you go on exchange. Okay that was a lie too.
PS LAST MONDAY EVER HERE IN SINGAPORE.
I miss my exchange friends already... :(
Friday, April 16, 2010
Skepticism
"The State Department warns U.S. citizens of the risks of travel to the southern Philippine islands and urges extreme caution if traveling there. Sporadic violence throughout the Philippines is also possible before and after the May 10 national and local elections and the June 30 inaugurations.
...Kidnap-for-ransom gangs are active throughout the Philippines and have targeted foreigners.."
We have all decided that we need a game plan: we need to lie about where we are from when people ask. And really look mean and just not really talk to people. We considered talking in pig latin and saying we were from some unknown country. My friends are especially worried about me because I look white, while they are all asian. But we are all pretty touristy looking... Plus we are traveling with some tall white belgian guys so that is a dead give away... not good. We are all definitely feeling nervous... but trying to stay positive.
This is our last big trip together, all of us. The last hurrah. Exchange is coming to an end. And while it is extremely bittersweet, I am excited to move on to the next part of this crazy Asian Year and travel around with mom. And then go home. !!! Which will be craziness. Weirdness. Madness...
...Kidnap-for-ransom gangs are active throughout the Philippines and have targeted foreigners.."
We have all decided that we need a game plan: we need to lie about where we are from when people ask. And really look mean and just not really talk to people. We considered talking in pig latin and saying we were from some unknown country. My friends are especially worried about me because I look white, while they are all asian. But we are all pretty touristy looking... Plus we are traveling with some tall white belgian guys so that is a dead give away... not good. We are all definitely feeling nervous... but trying to stay positive.
This is our last big trip together, all of us. The last hurrah. Exchange is coming to an end. And while it is extremely bittersweet, I am excited to move on to the next part of this crazy Asian Year and travel around with mom. And then go home. !!! Which will be craziness. Weirdness. Madness...
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Life in 5 Short Chapters
Chapter 1
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost… I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend that I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
But, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit … but, my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
Chapter 4
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter 5
I walk down another street.
....One of my most favorite poems of all times.
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost… I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend that I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
But, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit … but, my eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
Chapter 4
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter 5
I walk down another street.
....One of my most favorite poems of all times.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
This WOULD Happen...in CHIANG MAI...
I have officially been to three of the main cities of Thailand: Bangkok, Phuket (Koh Phi Phi) & Chiang Mai, and I must say how weird it is to be able to sit here and think of the differences and similarities of each distinct region of this beautiful country. I just got back from the craziest, longest, adventurous, and ever-eventful (FUNNY and FUN) trip with my 2 favorite girls: Sam and Yun. This Chiang Mai trip, aka The Ultimate Test of Optimism (we passed with flying colors) and The Trials and Tribulatons of What Is Called Chiang Mai. If getting there and getting back wasn't a journey enough, the actual trip itself, and the crazy things we did, were just as eventful. And it ALL started with the Yun-Taxi Cab Driver encounter......
GETTING THERE:
1. Last minute, due to (freakin) Air Asia's decision to change their flight time to an earlier one so that we couldn't make it from our Jetstar transfer flight in KL, we were forced to take a 5 hour overnight bus ride from Singapore to KL. We cabbed over on Friday night, and we were all already on edge due to frustrations with incompetent budget asian airlines, especially Yun. When the cab driver dropped us off at the bus station downtown, and REFUSED to give us change for a 50, Yun LOST IT. I have never in my life seen someone yell and go off on a cab driver like that. And he was definitely a creeper, just as a sidenote, with long nails and pedaphile glasses. Anyways, Yun refused to give him exact change, and he refused to give us change, so it was settled when he drove us to a 7-11 to get change, Yun hugged me breaking down crying, Sam told her to pull herself together and that "Big girls don't cry" (to which Yun replied "I'm not a big girl though!!!") and the driver eventually gave us our change. He actually threatened to call the police on us. Which would have been absolutely hilarious. I think he was just as scared as I was. Terrified, actually. Now, I find myself holding my breath whenever that girl speaks to a cab driver.
We got on our coach bus to go to KL through the night. The boarding and deboarding to go through immigration at Malaysia was a hassle. And we stopped at a small food court place in Malaysia for Yun to get some food (corn and a tea egg? lol) and asked Sam if she wanted something and she replied (in disgust, I might add) "UGHHH.....NOOO....!!!" and fell back to sleep. She can sleep anytime, anywhere, any place. It is truly incredible.
We finally arrived on the streets of downtown KL at 3am. Yes, 3 girls in downtonw KL at 3am. Being there fulfilled all of my expectations for KL. But that wasn't hard to do, being that they were so low. We haggled with these 3 taxi drivers for a ride to the airport. Half dead, we finally managed to get into what I remember to be the thinnest-doored car I have ever been in. The driver to the MOST RIDICULOUS airport I have ever been to took a while, and we got dropped off at KLIA. Which we later learned was the wrong terminal. After going to the bathroom (Which was really nice actually) and being confused by the gender-neutral sign ("WTF is that?! A guy or girl?" - Yun) and me exchanging my Baht for exactly 4.50 ringit (a $1 buffer for the bus ride ticket of course) we managed to get another cab to the other terminal,the LCCT terminal that we were supposed to be at. It was literally a 30 minute ride. Why is the same airport so disconnected? That is all we were wondering the whole time. That, and why the heck there was lightning...
We finally got there and had to talk ourselves up into dealing with the FREAKING air asia people, preparing ourselves to tell them that we were not going to pay an extra 150 sing for our flight. We waited in line and thank god we got the guy we did. Because he was so easy going and totally brushed the whole thing off. He asked if we wanted to switch our flights or anything (which we did) and we said it was just one big misunderstanding so he got it squared away and we walked away without having to pay a dime more.
I almost cried when we got to our gate. It was 6am and we were finally going to Chiang Mai! We recorded a crazy video of the chain of events that led us to where we were at that moment. Haggard, is all I can say.
We got to Chiang Mai at 830 am. We went to SK House, our guesthouse, which was very cultural and nice. We checked in and then immediately ate downstairs, where the sweet cook lady served us all the wrong items. And her face when she found out she had failed was pretty heartbreaking. We booked our next 3 days worth of activities.
Chiang Mai itself isn't that great. It's a bit...old and not much going on. Nevertheless, we had an amazing time, going to all of the different places.
DAY 1
-Tigers @ TIger Kingdom (all on crack)
- Longneck tribe (500 baht? SUch a rip off)
- Temple (under construction? And where Sam met her baby girl)
- Night market
DAY 2
- Elephant riding (Yun got charged by the baby one)
- Village visit (Yun bought 15 scarves...after saying she wasn't going to buy any)
- Walk to pretty waterfall
- Crazy intense long hike out in the middle of nowhere to nowhere
- Lunch (rice and veggies and pineapple)
- Bamboo Rafting (aka being the target of being thrown water at in buckets)
- Night market (lost Sam, temporarily)
DAY 3
- ZIP LINE! (Flight of the Gibbon...and we SAW real gibbons!)
- Khontoke Cultural Dinner and Tribe Show
That first day we were driven by that guy and his (girlfriend?) possibly to the Tigers, Longnecks, Temple, and Night Market in our own van. We each got our own row to lay down and sleep for the long rides. We tried to ask them to put on good music but that was a fail. lol
Tiger Kingdom was amazing. Except it was sad that the tigers were definitely on crack. I was first to go in the cages and pet them, which was nerve racking. But the first batch of big tigers were pretty much knocked out. So we had a photo shoot with them and then made our way to see the baby tigers. We wanted to hold them and take pics with them like the NUS boys but they wouldn't let us. So we settled for the medium tigers and played with them a bit. They were more lively. It was so crazy. I couldn't believe how beautiful their fur was, and their eyes too. It was weird to see and pet one in real life.
Next we went to the Longneck village. Where the random guy there charged us 500 baht to go in. Into a village?! We were so out of it though and tired and delirious that we didn't even argue just paid. Then later thought about it and were furious. But it was quite a sight seeing all of those women with the rings around their necks. Their heads looked detached. Sam said their heads fall off if you take the rings off.... but I don't think so. They were all pretty shy and willing to pose for pictures. I felt like they were really used to foreigners and people coming to see them.. so it kind of took the authenticity of it away. But it was still awesome. Plus I got my amazing embroidered bag (That the lady wouldn't bargain lower for, but I wanted it so badly I gave in). I couldn't take it off for the rest of the trip. And Yun said she didn't like it (thought the color was ugly) then the last night, she almost bought the exact same one!! Soo funny. Sam got a different long, colorful sling purse too.
Next we went to this big golden temple that was really pretty but was undergoing renovation. It was extremely hot. But I got a delicious pineapple for less than a dollar. We took jumping pictures in the temple..and even took some pictures with a whole bunch of monks.
We were SO tired by this time. But we were dropped off at this great night market there. It was the "weekend market" that EVERYONE talked about. We were starving, and ate at some random little Thai restaurant with elvis pictures all over the walls. lol
Then we went to the market and found a whole bunch of food there that looked good, but there were lots of flies and basically just looked like Hepatitis A waiting to happen. Although we ended up eating that food the next night. I had corn on the cob and fried rice and a mixed fruit drink shake off the street vendor. Luckily Im still alive and hepatitis A free.
We did lots of shopping at the night market. It was HUGE and absolutely crazy! So much to buy! Things were pretty cheap and the bargaining was pretty good. I didn't buy a lot though. Just a little cheap tank top and some jewelry for B and myself. The 3 of us got our friendship bracelets in different colors of course. I also got some really good rice/peanut granola mix thing that this lady was making on the street. It was the closest thing to granola I have had in a long time.
We went to bed that night killing mosquitos (ok, Yun killing mosquitos) and me hiding under the covers from them. And watching tacky Thai music videos and making up stories about what was happening in them. Absolutely. Hilarious.
The next morning we got up at 7 and got ready to go ride elephants. Lesson learned that day: Do not wear white shorts when you are A) going to ride elephants and B) going bamboo rafting. Because A) the elephants are not the cleanest animals and B) bamboo rafting in Chiang Mai Thailand entails standing on the raft, helpless, defenseless, for an hour, while all of the local Thai people throw, no, correction, HURL buckets of water at you. Therefore, leaving us SOAKED. Completely. The girls' passports were wet. And luckily thank GOD I didn't bring my camera. They thought it was hilarious though, throwing water at foreigners. It was "good luck" apparently. In that case, I will have good luck not only in this life, but in my next...
We tried to dry off which didn't work afterwards and we bought our only picture/proof of us on that bamboo raft as a keepsake.
But before this craziness, we went elephant riding which was absolutely hysterical. Our elephant was like a 19yr old teenage boy and all he did was eat the trees. And I'm pretty sure the seat-rope we had was absolutely useless. Anyways, afterwards, Yun got charged by the baby elephant, towards Mama elephant and almost off the cliff. THEN we almost bought the picture of us in the frame of the elephants but we were trying to bargain it down and some big African lady says "It's only 5 dollars". Then later she says to me "Sorry I didn't mean to offend you with that comment." But apparently she did. Yun wasn't a fan of her after that. And quite frankly neither was I.
Next we went to some other little village in the middle of who knows where. Our guise "Mr Hand" gave us a shpeel about how poor the people there were. And the whole time Yun is next to me whispering how much she is not going to buy from this village because the guide was trying to pity people into buying the scarves. And she ends up buying literally about 12 scarves!! She is so funny. The scarves were beautiful though. Very soft. I bought a pink one.
We then began a long trek to the waterfall, which was pretty! Then we walked for about an hour more in the heat and in the BOONDOCKS to this little village where I bought mom a pretty bracelet and the guide kept promising us that lunch was coming, but there was no civilization so I was really confused. We hiked for a long time..It was very remote. Finally we made it to the road and we went to this house where we ate white rice and vegetables and pineapple for lunch.
Next we did the bamboo rafting adventure then bussed back home. We took showers to get out of our WET clothes and then went to the night market. We ate there then afterwards got massages which were AWESOME (best one yet) and really funny because my lady of course was the one who rode in on her motorcycle (lol) and then went back to the guesthouse to sleep. The massage lady absolutely loved us though. It was cute.
The next day we slept through our alarms. And I somehow got up at 545 and got the girls up. We got ready in ,5 seconds flat and got in our bus to go to the FLIGHT OF THE GIBBON zip line that we paid 2000 baht for!! Go big or go home right? The guides were absolutely HILARIOUS..they kept flirting with Sam and Yun and I. All of them. And the other guide from the group in front of us hooked me on the zip line and pushed me to the next post, basically kidnapping me to the next tour group. As a joke, they would make me yell things in Thai to this Mr Typhoon. It was really funny.
The zip line as so fun! Long crazy zip lines across the rainforest. And we got to see gibbons (some monkey) and we heard them making this crazy noise. It was soo soo cool.
After wards we had another lunch of rice and veggies and chicken curry. We then headed back to the guesthouse and we showered and went to just hang out in the town. We also got massages again as well as pedicures (our tradition). God bless the lady's heart who had to take off my black nail polish. It took forever, Also, I bought a book there at a used book store. We got vanilla cones at McDonalds. And we checked out a temple.
We then went back to go to our cultural Thai dinner and dance show. We knew it was our van buy the guy eating food as a gesture lol. We got there and sat on the floor in the cultural center and they served us unlimited northern Thai cuisine. Fried chicken (Sam's favorite - she had about 7 orders) and rice (2 kinds!) and veggies and fried banana and this fried noodle things. It was delicious. And we got to watch the Thai women doing the cultural dance show. We even got invited to go up there and dance too!! After we watched another hilltribe show which was interesting. Lots of cool instruments and costumes.
Our last night in Chiang Mai was bittersweet. I loved every second of the trip. It was a crazy trip. And SO FUNNY. We came back a lot closer. Poor Yun, Sam and I pick on her so much. (Hair twirling, for example)
The last night Yun and Sam worked on their CQ presentation video which I was in (lol) and we had our last night in Chiang Mai. The next morning we got up and had some random Thai guy take us to the airport in the most non-legit taxi ever. It was pretty much just his car actually. I left my camera in the back seat and thank god he didn't drive away before seeing it! I slept in the airport, exhausted, waiting for the flight. To KL. FML.
We got to KL our favorite airport and stayed 6 hours there. It was actually really funny because we looked like death. And I felt like death too. OMG. We finally got on our delayed flight and flew back to Singapore at about 830 pm on Tuesday. I came back and pretty much died. lol
All in all, an amazing trip. And, honestly, wouldn't have changed anything about it. Because despite all the hassle, it's what made it all worth it. And gave us some of the hardest laughs, ever. Basically, anything that could go wrong, would, and DID go wrong. In Chiang Mai....
GETTING THERE:
1. Last minute, due to (freakin) Air Asia's decision to change their flight time to an earlier one so that we couldn't make it from our Jetstar transfer flight in KL, we were forced to take a 5 hour overnight bus ride from Singapore to KL. We cabbed over on Friday night, and we were all already on edge due to frustrations with incompetent budget asian airlines, especially Yun. When the cab driver dropped us off at the bus station downtown, and REFUSED to give us change for a 50, Yun LOST IT. I have never in my life seen someone yell and go off on a cab driver like that. And he was definitely a creeper, just as a sidenote, with long nails and pedaphile glasses. Anyways, Yun refused to give him exact change, and he refused to give us change, so it was settled when he drove us to a 7-11 to get change, Yun hugged me breaking down crying, Sam told her to pull herself together and that "Big girls don't cry" (to which Yun replied "I'm not a big girl though!!!") and the driver eventually gave us our change. He actually threatened to call the police on us. Which would have been absolutely hilarious. I think he was just as scared as I was. Terrified, actually. Now, I find myself holding my breath whenever that girl speaks to a cab driver.
We got on our coach bus to go to KL through the night. The boarding and deboarding to go through immigration at Malaysia was a hassle. And we stopped at a small food court place in Malaysia for Yun to get some food (corn and a tea egg? lol) and asked Sam if she wanted something and she replied (in disgust, I might add) "UGHHH.....NOOO....!!!" and fell back to sleep. She can sleep anytime, anywhere, any place. It is truly incredible.
We finally arrived on the streets of downtown KL at 3am. Yes, 3 girls in downtonw KL at 3am. Being there fulfilled all of my expectations for KL. But that wasn't hard to do, being that they were so low. We haggled with these 3 taxi drivers for a ride to the airport. Half dead, we finally managed to get into what I remember to be the thinnest-doored car I have ever been in. The driver to the MOST RIDICULOUS airport I have ever been to took a while, and we got dropped off at KLIA. Which we later learned was the wrong terminal. After going to the bathroom (Which was really nice actually) and being confused by the gender-neutral sign ("WTF is that?! A guy or girl?" - Yun) and me exchanging my Baht for exactly 4.50 ringit (a $1 buffer for the bus ride ticket of course) we managed to get another cab to the other terminal,the LCCT terminal that we were supposed to be at. It was literally a 30 minute ride. Why is the same airport so disconnected? That is all we were wondering the whole time. That, and why the heck there was lightning...
We finally got there and had to talk ourselves up into dealing with the FREAKING air asia people, preparing ourselves to tell them that we were not going to pay an extra 150 sing for our flight. We waited in line and thank god we got the guy we did. Because he was so easy going and totally brushed the whole thing off. He asked if we wanted to switch our flights or anything (which we did) and we said it was just one big misunderstanding so he got it squared away and we walked away without having to pay a dime more.
I almost cried when we got to our gate. It was 6am and we were finally going to Chiang Mai! We recorded a crazy video of the chain of events that led us to where we were at that moment. Haggard, is all I can say.
We got to Chiang Mai at 830 am. We went to SK House, our guesthouse, which was very cultural and nice. We checked in and then immediately ate downstairs, where the sweet cook lady served us all the wrong items. And her face when she found out she had failed was pretty heartbreaking. We booked our next 3 days worth of activities.
Chiang Mai itself isn't that great. It's a bit...old and not much going on. Nevertheless, we had an amazing time, going to all of the different places.
DAY 1
-Tigers @ TIger Kingdom (all on crack)
- Longneck tribe (500 baht? SUch a rip off)
- Temple (under construction? And where Sam met her baby girl)
- Night market
DAY 2
- Elephant riding (Yun got charged by the baby one)
- Village visit (Yun bought 15 scarves...after saying she wasn't going to buy any)
- Walk to pretty waterfall
- Crazy intense long hike out in the middle of nowhere to nowhere
- Lunch (rice and veggies and pineapple)
- Bamboo Rafting (aka being the target of being thrown water at in buckets)
- Night market (lost Sam, temporarily)
DAY 3
- ZIP LINE! (Flight of the Gibbon...and we SAW real gibbons!)
- Khontoke Cultural Dinner and Tribe Show
That first day we were driven by that guy and his (girlfriend?) possibly to the Tigers, Longnecks, Temple, and Night Market in our own van. We each got our own row to lay down and sleep for the long rides. We tried to ask them to put on good music but that was a fail. lol
Tiger Kingdom was amazing. Except it was sad that the tigers were definitely on crack. I was first to go in the cages and pet them, which was nerve racking. But the first batch of big tigers were pretty much knocked out. So we had a photo shoot with them and then made our way to see the baby tigers. We wanted to hold them and take pics with them like the NUS boys but they wouldn't let us. So we settled for the medium tigers and played with them a bit. They were more lively. It was so crazy. I couldn't believe how beautiful their fur was, and their eyes too. It was weird to see and pet one in real life.
Next we went to the Longneck village. Where the random guy there charged us 500 baht to go in. Into a village?! We were so out of it though and tired and delirious that we didn't even argue just paid. Then later thought about it and were furious. But it was quite a sight seeing all of those women with the rings around their necks. Their heads looked detached. Sam said their heads fall off if you take the rings off.... but I don't think so. They were all pretty shy and willing to pose for pictures. I felt like they were really used to foreigners and people coming to see them.. so it kind of took the authenticity of it away. But it was still awesome. Plus I got my amazing embroidered bag (That the lady wouldn't bargain lower for, but I wanted it so badly I gave in). I couldn't take it off for the rest of the trip. And Yun said she didn't like it (thought the color was ugly) then the last night, she almost bought the exact same one!! Soo funny. Sam got a different long, colorful sling purse too.
Next we went to this big golden temple that was really pretty but was undergoing renovation. It was extremely hot. But I got a delicious pineapple for less than a dollar. We took jumping pictures in the temple..and even took some pictures with a whole bunch of monks.
We were SO tired by this time. But we were dropped off at this great night market there. It was the "weekend market" that EVERYONE talked about. We were starving, and ate at some random little Thai restaurant with elvis pictures all over the walls. lol
Then we went to the market and found a whole bunch of food there that looked good, but there were lots of flies and basically just looked like Hepatitis A waiting to happen. Although we ended up eating that food the next night. I had corn on the cob and fried rice and a mixed fruit drink shake off the street vendor. Luckily Im still alive and hepatitis A free.
We did lots of shopping at the night market. It was HUGE and absolutely crazy! So much to buy! Things were pretty cheap and the bargaining was pretty good. I didn't buy a lot though. Just a little cheap tank top and some jewelry for B and myself. The 3 of us got our friendship bracelets in different colors of course. I also got some really good rice/peanut granola mix thing that this lady was making on the street. It was the closest thing to granola I have had in a long time.
We went to bed that night killing mosquitos (ok, Yun killing mosquitos) and me hiding under the covers from them. And watching tacky Thai music videos and making up stories about what was happening in them. Absolutely. Hilarious.
The next morning we got up at 7 and got ready to go ride elephants. Lesson learned that day: Do not wear white shorts when you are A) going to ride elephants and B) going bamboo rafting. Because A) the elephants are not the cleanest animals and B) bamboo rafting in Chiang Mai Thailand entails standing on the raft, helpless, defenseless, for an hour, while all of the local Thai people throw, no, correction, HURL buckets of water at you. Therefore, leaving us SOAKED. Completely. The girls' passports were wet. And luckily thank GOD I didn't bring my camera. They thought it was hilarious though, throwing water at foreigners. It was "good luck" apparently. In that case, I will have good luck not only in this life, but in my next...
We tried to dry off which didn't work afterwards and we bought our only picture/proof of us on that bamboo raft as a keepsake.
But before this craziness, we went elephant riding which was absolutely hysterical. Our elephant was like a 19yr old teenage boy and all he did was eat the trees. And I'm pretty sure the seat-rope we had was absolutely useless. Anyways, afterwards, Yun got charged by the baby elephant, towards Mama elephant and almost off the cliff. THEN we almost bought the picture of us in the frame of the elephants but we were trying to bargain it down and some big African lady says "It's only 5 dollars". Then later she says to me "Sorry I didn't mean to offend you with that comment." But apparently she did. Yun wasn't a fan of her after that. And quite frankly neither was I.
Next we went to some other little village in the middle of who knows where. Our guise "Mr Hand" gave us a shpeel about how poor the people there were. And the whole time Yun is next to me whispering how much she is not going to buy from this village because the guide was trying to pity people into buying the scarves. And she ends up buying literally about 12 scarves!! She is so funny. The scarves were beautiful though. Very soft. I bought a pink one.
We then began a long trek to the waterfall, which was pretty! Then we walked for about an hour more in the heat and in the BOONDOCKS to this little village where I bought mom a pretty bracelet and the guide kept promising us that lunch was coming, but there was no civilization so I was really confused. We hiked for a long time..It was very remote. Finally we made it to the road and we went to this house where we ate white rice and vegetables and pineapple for lunch.
Next we did the bamboo rafting adventure then bussed back home. We took showers to get out of our WET clothes and then went to the night market. We ate there then afterwards got massages which were AWESOME (best one yet) and really funny because my lady of course was the one who rode in on her motorcycle (lol) and then went back to the guesthouse to sleep. The massage lady absolutely loved us though. It was cute.
The next day we slept through our alarms. And I somehow got up at 545 and got the girls up. We got ready in ,5 seconds flat and got in our bus to go to the FLIGHT OF THE GIBBON zip line that we paid 2000 baht for!! Go big or go home right? The guides were absolutely HILARIOUS..they kept flirting with Sam and Yun and I. All of them. And the other guide from the group in front of us hooked me on the zip line and pushed me to the next post, basically kidnapping me to the next tour group. As a joke, they would make me yell things in Thai to this Mr Typhoon. It was really funny.
The zip line as so fun! Long crazy zip lines across the rainforest. And we got to see gibbons (some monkey) and we heard them making this crazy noise. It was soo soo cool.
After wards we had another lunch of rice and veggies and chicken curry. We then headed back to the guesthouse and we showered and went to just hang out in the town. We also got massages again as well as pedicures (our tradition). God bless the lady's heart who had to take off my black nail polish. It took forever, Also, I bought a book there at a used book store. We got vanilla cones at McDonalds. And we checked out a temple.
We then went back to go to our cultural Thai dinner and dance show. We knew it was our van buy the guy eating food as a gesture lol. We got there and sat on the floor in the cultural center and they served us unlimited northern Thai cuisine. Fried chicken (Sam's favorite - she had about 7 orders) and rice (2 kinds!) and veggies and fried banana and this fried noodle things. It was delicious. And we got to watch the Thai women doing the cultural dance show. We even got invited to go up there and dance too!! After we watched another hilltribe show which was interesting. Lots of cool instruments and costumes.
Our last night in Chiang Mai was bittersweet. I loved every second of the trip. It was a crazy trip. And SO FUNNY. We came back a lot closer. Poor Yun, Sam and I pick on her so much. (Hair twirling, for example)
The last night Yun and Sam worked on their CQ presentation video which I was in (lol) and we had our last night in Chiang Mai. The next morning we got up and had some random Thai guy take us to the airport in the most non-legit taxi ever. It was pretty much just his car actually. I left my camera in the back seat and thank god he didn't drive away before seeing it! I slept in the airport, exhausted, waiting for the flight. To KL. FML.
We got to KL our favorite airport and stayed 6 hours there. It was actually really funny because we looked like death. And I felt like death too. OMG. We finally got on our delayed flight and flew back to Singapore at about 830 pm on Tuesday. I came back and pretty much died. lol
All in all, an amazing trip. And, honestly, wouldn't have changed anything about it. Because despite all the hassle, it's what made it all worth it. And gave us some of the hardest laughs, ever. Basically, anything that could go wrong, would, and DID go wrong. In Chiang Mai....
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