The transition from 2014 to 2015 couldn't have been more surreal, social, relaxing, and inspiring. Due to the long holiday break, Katrina and I went north since it was just about the only time we would be able to visit. We visited the three main cities: Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, and Pai. Each city offered new adventures, new sights to see, new people to meet, and old faces to reconnect with.
Chiang Rai was our first stop in our journey to ring in the new year. We took an overnight bus from Suphanburi to Chiang Mai, then had to hop on another bus to drive an extra 3 hours to Chiang Rai. The trip was long and exhausting, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the city. Since we arrived a bit later, we decided to relax while we waited for other OEGers to get to Chiang Rai. The first day consisted of walking through the bazaar (both day and night), getting much needed massages, listening to live music while enjoying some good drinks, stumbled upon a flower festival (which we have dubbed "Selfie Stick Festival"), danced with the locals, and watched the clock tower light up every hour. Day 1 was very successful.
Day 2 was even more amazing. We met a new friend, rented motorbikes, and visited two of the main hotspots. Both locations are supposed to represent Heaven and Hell, and you can definitely see it at each place. The first spot was the Black House. The local artist wanted to create something that opposed the idea of Heaven and created this small village of odd statues, intricate dark carvings, skulls, animal hides, and dark, wooden houses. It was eerie and creepy, but strangely intriguing with how the artist was able to use strange objects to create something quite beautiful. The next stop was the amazing White Temple, which symbolized "Heaven." The White Temple was definitely one of the most stunning things I've seen here in Thailand. The temple had interesting aspects to it, like carved snakes, hands reaching out from below, random Batman and HellBoy head statues hanging from the trees, and other oddities. However, these strange aspects didn't take away the beauty of the sunset, the gleaming reflections, and the serenity that surrounded it.
Chiang Rai was our first stop in our journey to ring in the new year. We took an overnight bus from Suphanburi to Chiang Mai, then had to hop on another bus to drive an extra 3 hours to Chiang Rai. The trip was long and exhausting, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the city. Since we arrived a bit later, we decided to relax while we waited for other OEGers to get to Chiang Rai. The first day consisted of walking through the bazaar (both day and night), getting much needed massages, listening to live music while enjoying some good drinks, stumbled upon a flower festival (which we have dubbed "Selfie Stick Festival"), danced with the locals, and watched the clock tower light up every hour. Day 1 was very successful.
Day 2 was even more amazing. We met a new friend, rented motorbikes, and visited two of the main hotspots. Both locations are supposed to represent Heaven and Hell, and you can definitely see it at each place. The first spot was the Black House. The local artist wanted to create something that opposed the idea of Heaven and created this small village of odd statues, intricate dark carvings, skulls, animal hides, and dark, wooden houses. It was eerie and creepy, but strangely intriguing with how the artist was able to use strange objects to create something quite beautiful. The next stop was the amazing White Temple, which symbolized "Heaven." The White Temple was definitely one of the most stunning things I've seen here in Thailand. The temple had interesting aspects to it, like carved snakes, hands reaching out from below, random Batman and HellBoy head statues hanging from the trees, and other oddities. However, these strange aspects didn't take away the beauty of the sunset, the gleaming reflections, and the serenity that surrounded it.
The next morning we headed to Chiang Mai, where we met up with a whole bunch of other OEGers. The two main highlights of Chiang Mai included my first time ziplining and celebrating New Year's Eve in the city with floating lanterns, which is what Chiang Mai is known for. Katrina and I decided to do ziplining, both our first time ever and I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful area to experience it. We signed up for the "Silver Package" with Eagle Trek, but was bumped up to the "Gold Package" for free! This meant that we got to experience more crazy ziplines, more abseiling, and crazy bridges and obstacles. This experience definitely helped me get over my fear of instability and heights. It got to a point where I was laughing with excitement and twirling purposefully on my zipline. We were also in Chiang Mai for the beautiful floating lanterns for New Years. We were chuckling about the lanterns that were stuck in the trees because we believed that meant that they were going to have a rocky year. Well, I should've kept my mouth shut. My lantern got stuck in the power lines for all of 2 seconds before floating off to join the other well wishes in the sky. Later that night, a small shard of glass pierced through my flip-flop. No harm, no foul. But on the next day, New Year's Day, I experienced my first motorbike accident. I am safe and only received a minor scrape and bruise. I know people who have experienced worse accidents, and I'm thankful that I walked away with only little bumps and bruises.
Our final destination for the week was a little town called Pai. In terms of sight-seeing, there isn't much to do here. Pai is known as a "bohemian hippie-ish" area that is surrounded by beautiful sights and sounds. We stayed in a hostel known as SpicyPai where we slept with mosquito nets and was a little walk outside of the town. But I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful area to stay. New friends Diego, George and Pat joined us in Pai, and we watched the glorious sun set behind the hills while we say in front of the large white Buddha. Pai was more of a relaxed atmosphere, and it was nice to be in a town where we didn't need to bounce around from point to point to make sure we see all the sights. We enjoyed great friends, great food, a beautiful atmosphere, amazing music, and stunning artwork. Pai was the best way to round out the weekend due to the calmness that the town offered.
This was my first New Year's out of the country, and it was definitely weird to welcome in the new year 12 hours before everyone back home. But reflecting back on the past year, I can't believe how far I've come mentally, spiritually, and physically. My dreams of traveling the world are finally coming true. For the most part, I've been able to accomplish this all on my own financially and have received nothing but the most amazing support from my spectacular and magnificent family. I am able to pat myself on the back for all that I've achieved. This year has had some head-in-the-cloud highs and lower than dirt lows, but having these experiences have helped me become a stronger and well-rounded individual. I volunteered for a month in the amazing country of Peru, I backpacked Europe in 6 weeks, moved to a foreign country, worked 3 jobs that helped shape me for the future, and met the most amazing people from all around the world. To say that I now have friends and family in Peru, England, Germany, Australia, Thailand, Barcelona, and of course back home is one of the most unbelievable thoughts. The connections that I've made around the world are helping me realize that the world truly is small. I've felt my Uncle and Nomma with me every step of the way, and I can only imagine what 2015 has in store for me.