Friday, October 04, 2013

Epic Adventure: Days 1 and 2 - Bus travel, elephants and tigers

The actual start to my epic adventure was not actually that interesting. After a taxi ride to Future Park with Kiki and some last minute errands there, I managed somehow to say a tearless goodbye (barely) to my dear friend. It's not just that I'll miss her while traveling this month, when I return, Kiki will be off to her next adventure in Africa. For future reference, I don't recommend starting EpicAdventures with a goodbye.... Even when you know it is truly a "see you (much) later," it's just not the most awesome way to start a trip. 

I'd like to forewarn you that most of the posts for the next month will be composed on mobile devices, so I apologize in advance for the inevitable plethora of typos. I'm also having problems editing the size of the pictures, so the blog is just going to look a little ugly - sorry :(

After saying our goodbyes, I hopped on the ever reliable bus 29 from Major Cineplex in Rangsit to Mo Chit BTS in Bangkok (20 baht). (For my normal readers, expect these posts to be far more travel detailed than normal. I got a lot of help from reading the blogs of travelers who have gone before me, and hope to be able to pay it forward). From there I walked to the closest moto taxi stand and paid the list price (60 baht) for a ride to the Mo chit bus terminal. 

There I found a place advertising the bus to Chiang Mai (nakhonchai air, window 22a, outside) and booked my ticket for 657 baht. I asked multiple times if this was a VIP bus, (because it was cheaper than I expected) and was told that it was. As I continued to walk around, I realized I should have checked out the other companies (there were many to choose from) before purchasing my ticket. I also realized that my ticket was not VIP but "gold class" which was actually cheaper than 1st class. I was a little concerned (I wanted to actually get some sleep so I could hit the ground running the next day) but it was done at that point, so I just hoped for the best. 

I roamed around the bus terminal, grabbed some pad see uw for dinner (35 baht), an inflatable pillow because I didn't have one yet (70baht), and some water and snacks for the ride (55baht) and hit bathroom (3baht without TP but not a squatter!!) (to my non-traveling friends, yes you usually have to pay to use the bathroom at places like bus terminals, and you should always, ALWAYS bring your own TP) The bus arrived about 20 minutes late and I was surprised to find it was already pretty full and not many people were getting off. (Not sure where its original starting point was). I quickly learned that gold class was FINE by me!!! 


Snacks provided on arrival!


Dinner also provided on arrival!

Entertainment options (note all the movies under the movie category seemed to be in Thai, but there was a category called movie soundtrack that had a small selection of movies in English.)

The seats reclined quite a bit and there was a little bit of a leg rest. Also, the seats had a massage option, kind of like those you find at pedicure places in the US. If you're larger person you may still feel a bit cramped on this bus, mostly because the aisle is smaller than those on planes. They also provided a large blanket and the a/c was never blasting to freezing levels. All in all pretty sweet ride. 

On arrival in Chiang Mai, I found a moto taxi and got him down to 70 baht from the 150 he originally quoted (probably still a rip off but it was 6am and I just wanted to get out of the terminal). For all my western friends who think things like staying in hostels or couch surfing are scary and dangerous... (PinkPrincess - you know I'm talking to you!!!) This has been my place in Chiang Mai for the last two nights, and thanks to couchsurfing.org, it's been FREE. The person who lives here is actually vacationing in Bali right now, so it's pretty much like having a totally free hotel room! Oh, she did ask me to water her plants, so I guess she got some labor out of me in exchange for the room. Lol. Thanks to CS and my host!!



A quick shower and change and it was off to see the elephants. I found a songtaew and got him down to 300 baht for the day to take me to Mae Sa elephant camp and Tiger Kingdom and bring me back to my place. Again, pretty sure I over paid. Both places take a little over half the day total, so I probably could have gotten a couple of the temples in town for that price as well. 

The ride up to the elephant camp was nice. Some might find it a bit bumpy, but the combination of bumps and windy roads climbing through lush lines of trees reminded me of my beloved Costa Rica. The weather helped as well. I've become quite accustomed to the 90+ degree days of Pathum Thani and if I had to guess it was probably in the upper 70s/low 80s with, of course, one billion percent humidity. Definitely reminded me of CR. 


The elephant camp was alright. A friend was able to get me in for free so it was worth it. Not sure I would have paid much to do it though. The elephants do a show including playing soccer and basketball. They also paint some rather impressive pictures. If it hadn't been free I definitely would have sought out one of the places that has the elephants in more natural environments. 


Next was the Tiger Kingdom. There are different packages available depending on the size of tigers you want to see. I opted for the biggest and smallest and got the photography package because I was traveling alone and knew I wouldn't be able to get good pics myself. The pricing is based on which tigers you want to see. Mine ended up being 1040 baht and the photography is usually 299 per tiger group, but the woman said since I was alone she would do it for 200 per group. I also opted for the buffet lunch for 200 baht because frankly I hadn't eaten all day and I wanted to stuff my face. All total, 1640 for tigers, lunch and photos. 

This is one of the baby tigers. There are much better photos coming, but the photographer photos get burned to a cd, so I'll have to post those at the end of the trip. 

I got them to snap a few with my iPhone for instant gratification purposes. 


This was the largest tiger that was allowed to be with people and they said he weighed over 200 kilos.

The tigers were truly amazing. I understand there is a lot of controversy about if they are drugged or not. I can't begin to say one way or the other. I know that some of the small ones were particularly feisty and the larger ones who weren't sleeping, while not up running around, were certainly alert. They seem very well cared for and the staff is incredibly attentive. 

That night I walked around Chiang Mai a bit and found a very farang pub, Mad Dog, for some good pizza and shitty beer (most beer here is shitty in my opinion). I hopped a tuktuk home and called it a night. 

The total cost of the two days, from the cab from my apartment to the tuktuk back to the condo I crashed at, was 3,382 baht (roughly $109 USD).  I'm hoping my average cost per day will come down a bit, but I'm not willing to miss out on something incredible just to hit a budget for the day. I definitely splurged on food too. 

For travelers reading this, feel free to comment with questions. I'll do my best to answer them. 

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