November Part 2!
I had trouble deciding on my last trip in SEA (before meeting with my mom in the Philippines & Japan) between Laos and another part of Thailand, but I decided on Thailand because my US Passport didn't require a visa-- Laos will have to be for another time :`] Anyway, I did three things on my trip to Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai -- A Cooking Class, visiting the white and blue temples, & visiting an Elephant Sanctuary. The cooking class was on a whim-- I rarely cook as a college student, so I figured I would try it out. I booked it through Klook at a place called Grandma's Home Cooking School. The instructor was so much fun! She kept saying "Oh my Buddha" & called all of the dishes we made hot and sexy (because it was literally spicy). We made Tom Yum Soup, Pad Thai, and Blue Sticky Rice with Mango! The rice was blue because it was made out of this flower called the butterfly pea. All the ingredients were grown within the garden we went to, and the Auntie was super knowledgeable about the different plants that we used to cook with. The next day, I booked a day-trip to Chiang Rai. This lovely auntie took us to some beautiful places, from a hot spring with a foot bath, the iconic white temple, blue temple, and the golden triangle (a river system connecting Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand). After the tour, she even offered to give me a ride back to my hostel on her moped :) On the last day, I was able to visit an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. There are 4 ethical ones located throughout different provinces. Of course, I visited the one in Chiang Mai. We got to feed the elephants bananas, pet the elephants, and even wash them in some muddy water! Our tour guide was super cool and even did some art on the side. It really is different experiencing these animals more naturally than in a zoo, and it was nice to know they were well taken care of too. A great thing about a lot of these tours -- they offer professional pictures with a DSLR and everything. For under $50, that is a steal, and it's something you should definitely take advantage of.
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This month had A LOT of traveling so I'll have to put it in separate posts, but for this one, I'll talk about my experiences in Ha Noi and Kuala Lumpur!
HA NOI, VIETNAM In Ha Noi, I visited Train Street & Ha Long Bay. For Train Street, it's basically this railroad with an active train going back and forth. There's a lot of conflicting information regarding this online as laws change constantly about visiting this place, but here was my experience:
After that night, I booked a day-trip tour on Klook to Ha Long Bay. It was pretty cool-- we were on a small cruise ship for only $50, travelling around the bay seeing the different rocks, hiking points, and views! There was also this pretty cave too. On the day I went (Saturday), there were a LOT of tourists, so if that's not your thing, I think booking it on a weekday would be best. KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA I went with Raymond and Hazuki! Malaysia is a direct neighbor to Singapore, so of course we needed to go there. Bus is the cheaper option, but flights aren't too expensive as well. The key places that we went to:
I won't explain too much what these places entailed-- try explore them yourselves :) Onto Thailand in the next post! |
AuthorJust me! In Singapore. I like adventures! Btw, click on IMPORTANT INFORMATION under Categories for things like class structure, necessary apps, and anything pre-departure related. Blog per Month!
March 2024
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