I'm not dead, Mom-- My Vietnam Blog: My Bomb 10 Day Thailand Itinerary

I have been absent for a few weeks because I've had a house guest! My boyfriend, Max, came to visit me. I made it my mission to have him fall in love with Saigon, and I think it worked. Max was here from February 8th to February 28th. On February 13th, we flew out to Thailand.

Neither Max nor I are very experienced at planning trips, but I am very proud of how our trip went. It was perfect, especially for only being 10 days.

Things that made our trip a little more expensive: flying within Thailand (because we had such a short time). We could have taken a bus from Chiang Mai to Krabi, but it looks miserable and takes forever. We also stayed in private rooms the entire time.

Things that made our trip a little cheaper: not going to Bangkok or the Phi Phi islands, booking hostels on the spot instead of online (in Pai especially, you can get rooms for cheaper in person), renting 1 motorbike for 2 people instead of taking cabs. Also, we started from Ho Chi Minh City, so plane tickets were not totally unreasonable. About $300 for all of my not-booked-far-in-advance flights (Ho Chi Minh to Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai to Krabi, Krabi to Ho Chi Minh).

ITINERARY:

February 13:
Fly from Ho Chi Minh City to Chiang Mai.

We arrived in Chiang Mai around 4:00 pm and got a taxi to our hostel, Deejai Backpacker. Max and I sprung for a private room, which set us back 652 baht/night (or about $18). Our room was basic, but adequate and air conditioned. The lounge area was never over-crowded, but there were always sunburned backpackers huddled around the outlets. Across the street, we had access to the pool and the bar, which were both vaguely bohemian-looking and alright. They had beer and tunes and people to make traveler small-talk with.

February 14:
Wake up in Chiang Mai.

Today was probably the most anticipated day of our trip because we booked a day of hanging out with elephants over a month in advance. We researched quite a bit to find an ethical elephant sanctuary (no riding, no whips, good conditions) and Elephant Jungle Sanctuary did not disappoint. A full day experience set us back 2,400 baht/each ($68/each), a price which included an hour and a half of transportation to and from our hostel, our hangout time with the elephants, and lunch.

We got to feed the elephants bananas and sugar cane, pelt them with mud for their "mudbath" and then go swimming in a river with them. It legitimately might have been the best day of my life.

February 15:
Wake up in Chiang Mai.

Van from Chiang Mai to Pai.

We caught a mini bus from Chiang Mai to Pai for about 150 baht ($4.28). (I think it is even cheaper if you go directly to Arcade bus station in Chiang Mai and buy from there. We booked through our hostel). The ride is pretty wind-y, but the roads are wide and I never felt unsafe. It took about 3 hours total, including a short rest stop at the half-way point.

Arrive in Pai.
Pai is a small mountain town in Northern Thailand. The air is clean, and everything is cheap. It's tourist paradise-- in fact, it feels like it was built for tourists alone. There's hostels everywhere, themed bars, and pretty much everything is in English. It felt like I was in a little American mountain town.

Carrot on the Moon breakfast

We stayed at a newish hostel called Carrot on the Moon. Max and I again opted for a private room and bathroom, which set us back 850 baht/night ($24). The hostel was very basic, but the proprietors also ran a bakery, and made elaborate homemade breakfasts every morning. They also let us try their new bread recipes throughout the day. Overall, while Carrot on the Moon cost a bit more than the surrounding hostels, the free food made it worth it. It was also worth it to be a short walk from the main street.

The first night, Max and I walked around Pai on foot. There is one main drag, that turns into a Night Market every evening at 6. There's all kinds of clothing, bags, food, jewelry, and souvenirs, and they are all dangerously cheap. There were lots of tourists walking around dressed in harem pants and hippie fringes everywhere. I got mystery street meat, bunch of bruschetta, and truffles from a street vendor and I didn't even spend $6 US.

February 16:

Wake up in Pai.

Pai Canyon

Max and I woke up early and went to rent bikes from a great place called Vespai. I guess we got there too late in the morning, because we ended up with the smallest Vespa-style scooter ever. It did manage to get us around though. We checked out Pai Canyon, which ended up being a more rigorous hike than I could have expected and did a little sight-seeing.

Note: We heard that we had to check out the Famous Pai Circus Hostel, and we did. We did not stay there because numerous backpacking groups advised that they were experiencing an epic bed bug problem. I can't speak to that, but I was so excited to go to the Circus School, since Max does contact staff and I love hula hoops. The place had nothing cool to offer, really. There was barely anyone there (sad for a party hostel), but they had some warped hula hoops in a box in the yard. When I asked if they had any contact staves, they had NO IDEA what I was talking about.

February 17:

Wake up in Pai.

Mae Yen Waterfall

We woke up even earlier to go to Vespai and get a bigger, better bike. We took our new bike out to the mountains to hike up to Mae Yen Waterfall. The trail was meandering, criss-crossing a stream constantly, so I am thankful we wore sandals. There was a 30 minute section of the trail that was extremely steep, but for the most part, anyone could do it.

Hammock chill spot at Valahalla bar.

It took us about 7 hours to do the entire hike, and then we stopped for drinks at a little treehouse bar nearby called Valhalla. Max and I crawled out onto a limb platform and drank mojitos before heading back into town.

February 18: (travel day)

Wake up in Pai.

Get on 7 am bus from Pai to Chiang Mai Airport. This cost us 200 baht each, and took about 3 1/2 hours.

Then, flight from Chiang Mai to Krabi, with a layover in Bangkok.

We got to Krabi at around 9 pm, and took a cab ride for 900 baht to Bananas Bungalows.

February 19-23: (All Krabi)

This leg of the trip was completely unplanned. I picked Bananas Bungalows on the recommendation of a friend, and I am so glad that I did. We ended up staying there for five days and I have no regrets.

Bananas is about 40 minutes outside of the main town of Krabi. I've heard that Krabi and all the islands are very crowded, but somehow, Bananas does not feel this way. It was tranquil and perfect.

There are more animals at Bananas than people. The owner has: 7 chihuahuas, at least 5 cats, dozens of doves and parakeets, over 10 rabbits, and 6 guinea pigs. The place itself is beautiful.

some of the happy creatures at Bananas Bungalows

It runs on an honor system. If you order food, you write it down in a notebook. You can grab beer, or muffins, or candy any time and write it down in the book. If you rent a bike for the day, you write it in the notebook. It was nice to never carry money with me.

We slept in a private bungalow with yet another private bathroom, which was 500 baht a night. No air conditioning, no hot water, but we did have a mosquito net. We also had a siamese-looking cat for a roommate who would break in through the roof late at night if we decided to lock him out.

Max and I explored all over Krabi. We did a crazy 2 hour steep hike and climbed the 1200+ steps of the Tiger Cave Temple in one day! We rented kayaks (400 baht) and paddled out to an island, and I got stabbed by a sea urchin. We woke up at 4 am to go walk in the water and disturb the bioluminescent plankton.

We flew back to Ho Chi Minh City on the 23rd. I am by no means done with Thailand, but for a trip that was only 10 days long, our itinerary and pacing were pretty perfect.