Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Chang Mai - "Elephant City"





After the beaches I wanted to end my trip (I know, already, right? Haha) in Northern Thailand. Chang Mai is a formerly walled city with a river moat and has easy access to hills and jungles in the north. The location was a perfect base for more adventures, including a day at an elephant farm (I got to feed and bathe elephants that were rescued from street begging, land mine accidents or abusive owners); a 2-day jungle trek to visit local villagers who live in the mountains and return via river rafting and bamboo floating; and finally more rock climbing!

While I write this from the Bangkok airport, I can’t believe that my trip is already over, but at the same time I am excited to go home and have tacos, hamburgers, Texas BBQ, water from a faucet (it does pain me to go through so many plastic bottles per day), a wardrobe with more than 7 shirts, 3 shorts and 2 shoes to choose from (or as my dad would say, “2 choose to choose from”) and of course my friends and family whom I missed dearly.

I am also extremely grateful for the opportunity (I kept telling myself, when else in life will I have time, money and no commitments), for the hospitality of host countrymen/fellow travelers/locals/new friends and for a better understanding of different cultures and traditions. The world sometimes truly feels small yet so vast at other times. Seeing different perspectives and different ways of life increases my curiosity for learning and at the same time my gratitude for the opportunities I have had in life. I encourage everyone to step outside of your comfort zone and learn to put faith in humanity so that you too can be rewarded by the knowledge that people from all over the world can be open, helpful, friendly and genuine. And when you meet travelers you’ll remember what it felt like to be helped out and maybe you’ll extend a hand to the person who looks lost on the street or asks you for advice.

I hope you enjoyed the blog and if you ever need travel advice for Brasil, Argentina, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia or Thailand (that was a mouthful!) please feel free to ask me. Of course I have a ton of photos too so I’ll try to organize them and find a way to share them with you.

Safe travels.

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