All Of These Stars Will Guide Us Home

May 26, 2014

All Of These Stars Will Guide Us Home

| Thailand |

25 weeks ago I'd been to 5 countries, including Canada. I'd dreamed of going on a backpacking adventure longer than a few weeks. I wondered what it would be like. Would I get lost? Would I feel lonely? Would I ever want to come home? What would the world look like through MY eyes? Who would I become? Now, after over two months of being home I still can't seem to understand that this really all happened. That I went. That in getting lost, I only found better more beautiful places. That I did feel lonely and that was completely okay. I did want to come home and that was one of my biggest surprises. The world looked bigger, more beautiful, more resilient, had more kindness, more emotion and was in general BETTER than I ever could have imagined. I didn't change, I became more of myself. I learned more about myself, and maybe in that sense I changed some but for everyone who always asks ' do you think you changed? ', No, I don't think I changed, I think it made me a better version of myself. I can't believe I did it. I want to go back to everywhere I went. I want to cry when I look at my photos (sometimes I do) with both joy and sorrow. I am not meant to stay still. The world is here to be seen, felt, loved and cared for. It's meant to be in our hearts, in my heart, in my life. So as I finally, finally, finish off my last part of my blog I will say my advice after travelling would be:

. go .

. feel .

. love.

. have no boundaries .

. have no fears .

. have no regrets.

. respect .

. learn .

. listen .

I've now been to 11 countries. I would like to see at least 100 more. The world and the huge population of diverse people who make up this fascinating world and all of the beautiful places that contribute to the joys of traveling are waiting for you.

After our adventuring through Indonesia we headed for Thailand. First stop, my personal favorite, Chiang Mai! Being late to book we didn't get in to do some of the things we'd hoped, but that gave us tons of time to tour the city and experience what the area had to offer. We flew in late and arrived at our hotel. It smelled very mildewy and was instantly moist and damp if the air conditioning was off for even 30 seconds.

On our first day in Chiang Mai we ventured out into the heat to start with a cafe breakfast and head up the mountain to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a sacred Thai Temple. The first temple was said to be from 1383 however has obviously changed very much over the years. At the top of the mountain there are many vendors selling local food and merchandise. Once up the many steps, a beautiful view of the city can be taken in from behind the temple. The day was hot and the sky blue, we enjoyed the beautiful golden temple, Kris was blessed by a monk and we signed our name around the bright orange scroll to be placed around Chiang Mai Temples. That evening we trusted googlemaps (not sure I've ever actually benefited from this) and wandered the city searching for the Night Bazaar. When we finally reached the Night Bazaar we enjoyed some Thai food and local performances.

On my bucket list was the Chiang Rai White Temple. Seeing as we had an extra day we signed up for an extremely long day tour to get there. Though on the tour there were a few stops we could have skipped, we over all had a great day experiencing Northern Thailand. The country side was full of beautiful, lush, green, rolling hills. When stopping at the "Golden Triangle" where Thailand, Laos and Burma meet, we took a boat ride to the Laos border for a quick trip through a market. The boat trip navigated through the river where our guide explained each land border we could see meeting the river side. The White Temple, "Wat Rong Khun" was breathtakingly beautiful. The sun sparkled into the glass and mirrors used on the exterior of the temple. As we got closer we realized there was something quite different about this temple. Unusual heads and faces hung from the trees, cement hands creeped out of the surrounding moat and as we ventured inside, the temple walls were covered in paintings of current history from the Word Trade Centers to Michael Jackson and Edward Scissor Hands... Though not what we expected the temple drew much attention and was far from anything I'd seen in my Asian travels. The temple was built as an unconvential buddhist temple, which definitely makes it stand out in our memory, as well as it's beautiful white design. From our night life and day adventures of Chiang Mai we headed to Bangkok.

In Bangkok we enjoyed the nightly festivities along Khao San Road and Rambutree. The streets were bustling with people and vendors, bars with loud music, and locals performing stunts and entertainment. We consumed delicious street food and bartered our way through town to see some temples. We took a TukTuk through the hot, busy city to Wat Pho, a buddhist temple, to see the massive golden reclining Buddha. Within the same complex are many smaller temples and the area itself holds over 1000 Buddha statues. In the evening we ourselves reclined on Khao San Rd and enjoyed our, about 3$, foot massages. We sat at a street side restaurant for evening drinks and happened to sit next to 3 Canadians. Somehow 5 Canadians always leads to an adventurous night.

From Bangkok we headed south for Phi Phi Island. The convenience of being able to travel by foot around Phi Phi gave us lots of opportunities to check out shops and restaurants. We of course watched the extremely talented Fire dancers at both Carlitos and Slinky Bar as they threw flaming batons, jump ropes and performed their nightly stunts. (This is always extremely impressive to me). For part of our stay we splurged and stayed at a beach side resort with amazing buffet breakfasts and a gorgeous pool that looked over the white sandy beach and clear aqua waters. At sunset we took in the beautiful view of Phi Phi island from the view point where you can see either side of the island and the two bays, it really puts into perspective how small the island is. Walking the island to Long Beach along the forest paths and white sandy beaches can really make you never want to leave Southern Thailand. The mountains and sea is absolutely stunning. On our last morning we hired a private long boat and headed for a cruise to Maya Bay. Always busy with tourists, the bay is still beautiful and so are the surrounding islands and mountains.