Chiang Mai to Bangkok

At an adorable teahouse called The Flowery Home in Chiang Mai,
where I enjoyed "Mango cool cheese" (mango slices with slivered almonds,
plus sticky rice topped with puffed rice, and a glorious mango cheesecake).

I'm on my first full day in Bangkok, and I've already decided that I have mixed feelings about the backpacker's neighborhood I'm in, Khaosan Road. For one thing, there are some really cool things: street market, jazz bars and food from cheap to moderately expensive. But for the other, it's almost 90% Westerners! Every time I hear people speaking French or German I wonder to myself, "Are those the only two countries that get vacation time?" Not to mention the English speakers. Perhaps I am jaded... it'll pass.

Here are some highlights and recaps, with pictures to accompany: I ran into a CELTA coursemate on the streets of Chiang Mai the day after we all left the course. It was a welcome coincidence, and we had a lovely lunch together! I'm so glad we did, because we were able to catch each other up on the gossip, and say a proper "see you soon" (I've taken to actively avoiding the term "goodbye").

Chicken red curry for lunch in a gorgeous garden!

Me, J, M, and their friend V

While sitting at dinner on my own near my Chiang Mai guesthouse, I was invited to join three Aussie guys, which made my day! They were hilarious, intelligent and really fun to banter with. The conversation was fantastic, and I was pleased to be in their company for dinner.

I joined my friends J&M for one last meetup before I left Chiang Mai for Bangkok. They're lovely ladies, and I'm so glad I connected with them through a friend of a friend.

My train ride from Chiang Mai to Bangkok was 14 hours (2 more than I expected), and I arrived super late to my Couchsurfing host's place. But he was very laid-back, and everything was good. We chatted about all manner of things, and I bought him a meal to repay him. It was my first experience couchsurfing, and it was really interesting!

I'm realizing that I don't particularly like traveling in the traditional sense of the word; I prefer to move to places and get to know them in my own way. I knew this before, but this new experience of flitting around without any real plans or work to do is not my style, and I really hope I can get to Vietnam to do the volunteering I found out about, before heading home to... who knows what! Temp EFL subbing? Contracted work of some kind? We'll see...