Backpacking in Thailand – Lessons & Adventures
Follow a backpacker taking in all the Thailand has to offer - fried spiders, lady boys, insane love for Celion Dion and being mooned by some respectable Thai students all in the first day! Thailand is everything it promised and oh so much more!
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Backpacking in Thailand – Lessons & Adventures
Nyree writes tips & tricks, as a fellow bridesmaid who has made limitless mistakes, dealt with Bridezillas & managed to maintain her manicure in the process. She runs http://www.myultimatehens.com.au so grab your martini glass and come follow Nyree into the world of weddings
I don’t really know where to begin, what with fried spiders, lady boys, and insane love for Celion Dion and being mooned by some respectable Thai students, Thailand is everything it promised and oh so much more. ( & yes, I have only been here for three days…)
For those of you considering taking multiple airlines to get to your next destination to save some money – you have been warned! This is exactly what I decided to try out on a recent holiday to Thailand. 5 planes and 27 hours later I arrived at Chang Mai airport clean, refreshed and ready to rock. Refreshed I hear you ask? let me explain… I had originally planned to sleep it out for my 11 hour wait at Bangkok airport in the ‘resting room’ aka big space with cold tiled floor. After an emotional goodbye with my plane friend, I decided I would explore Bangkok airport – maybe do some light shopping, snacking, sleeping or similar. This presented two problems. The first, I had 14 kilos of bags, which, although I like to indulge in some strenuous yoga and Pilates, I was in no shape to carry around. The second problem presented itself when i i was looking at a map of Bangkok airport -and I realised that it was going to take me 11 hours just to get to the Thai check in desk on the other side.
10 minutes later found me with higher spirits. With the help of a diet coke and something called a ‘yam bar’ I was ready to soldier on. First step, Thai check in desk – to see if by chance they would let me check in my bags for a domestic flight a mere 10 hours early. And after struggling across 50 of those flat escalator things and some quick directions from a lovely Thai man who called himself carol, I found myself there. I waited meekly in the queue, deciding whether to play the ‘I’m a poor weak backpacker’ or the ‘ill pay you 100 extra baht’ card. As it turned out, after making small talk and flashing a few smiles, the guy at the check in desk DID let me check in my bags 10 hours early! The elderly American couple laughing at my pleading only added to my case. Excellent.
Next hurdle ahead was the said 10 remaining hours. I went in search of something vaguely entertaining. I checked out some of the stores before picking up a teddy bear marked ‘$45 USD’ and remembering that airport shops are no place for anyone who wants to have any spending money left for their actual holiday… I thought maybe I could seek out some Thai beer to get the party started, but decided against it after realising that 4am was probably a bit to early to start drinking. It then occurred to me that I could have a shower! Maybe not for ten hours but at least for half of that or something. This is the point in my holiday when I am officially reminded I am in Asia. Within four minutes of asking the airport information where I could have a shower, they told me that it would cost $20 – I was disheartened.
As I was considering my options I was whisked onto the complementary guest ‘Novotel’ bus, driven four kilometres with rich French tourists, and stepped into the air-conditioned marble palace that is the Novotel Bangkok. What now? I sheepishly walked up the concierge and asked where I could have a shower. Assuming I was a guest, he handed over a pass to the ‘shower room’ and proceeded to direct me to the second floor. FREE! But wait, there’s more. I casually tried to thank him in Thai, something that I will always do when travelling – I hate it when foreigners arrogantly assume everyone will know English and don’t make an effort. ANYWAY, at this he was delighted, his fantastically Thai smile lighting up as he giggled with joy. I’m serious. he THEN proceeded to give me both a wink and a special pass for the ‘VIP spa room.’ Not only was I getting the shower for free, but the random dirty back packer was now a VIP! 4 hours of bubble spa, steam room, foot spa and delicious showering followed. Later, wrapped in my white fluffy Novotel gown, i wondered if maybe I should spend the next three weeks hanging around the Novotel ordering room service and getting free massages, delicious. However I had to get to the university to teach in Chang Mai! As I stepped back onto the complementary transfer to the airport bus, I waved goodbye to the smiling hotel staff. I should stay at Novotel more often. Nice.
The Flight that followed to Chang Mai is a bubbly haze. I had those wonderfully fantastic butterflies that fly well beyond the normal ones. They haven’t gone away yet! The one problem was that in all my excitement re: free shower I had forgotten to eat anything in Bangkok. I hoped we would be getting a small morsel on the plane but I soon learned that they no longer provide packets of peanuts because of people with allergies. Let’s be honest, someone who is feeble enough to care about such things as a nut allergy shouldn’t be going to Asia in the first place. I was so excited about landing in Chang Mai that when the man in front of me decided to recline his chair ALL the way back, i only slightly dug my knees directly and firmly into his back. The buzz of excitement increased as i looked out the window and saw hundreds and hundreds of green and brown rice fields, such a contrast to the red Australian earth I had been admiring some 34 hours ago. The moment i walked off the plane and onto the tarmac a rush of emotion overtook me. I smelt that amazing dirty, humid, sticky, not-sure-what-that-is smell that all of south-east Asia has, and I knew I was home.
The smiley man bouncing up and down with a sign that said ‘Welcome Miss Nyree!’ only confirmed how much I had missed Asia. With me and Asia, it is love at first sight…or maybe I should say love at first smell. Welcome home baby, it’s great to be back – backpacker style!
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