Double Trouble... Thailand: Chiang Mai & Krabi!

Bangkok has had its moment in the sun, I want to delve into the reasons why Chiang Mai and Krabi both made the 'Double Trouble' cut! That wasn't a question! Temples, beaches and 007 references complimented the middle and final parts of my first trip to Thailand. Chiang Mai kept me busy with elephants and a Golden Triangle whilst Krabi served Indian food and a beach vibe. 

That night train from Bangkok revealed a calmer situation, the pulse of Bangkok's city vibe had been dialled down. Those calmer settings were appreciated, located in the north of Thailand, I was ready to see elephants, Chiang Rai's Golden Triangle and some Muay Thai fighting. I knew that my three days in Chiang Mai would be chockablock but I wasn't mad about that, it was all about making memories because sleep can always be made up later on. Mango Sticky Rice and Thai Green Curry came into my life, allowing me to create a second "Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner..." for the first time in the same trip. After I had clocked those stupas, it was time to head out of town but not before a boozy night-out, that was a whole living choice, at this point in my life, I don't want to learn from my mistakes. I wanted to be responsible, I had no intention of riding on any elephant because I wasn't about to be an accomplice in animal cruelty, absolutely not! I did my best to find an ethical provider, it was a conflict because was it really ethical? Oh!

I have everything in the wrong order because Mary Jane had a hold on me during my Chiang Mai sector. I had clocked the elephants after a night-out, that was right but before I saw the Muay Thai fighters I had been floating on a 'Guava Jam' cloud with a relaxed setting placed on the highest setting! The day before that I had vowed that Khao San Road would've been my last moment of excess with a herbal matter but that wasn't so! Nothing that a McDonald's and a nap wouldn't cure, within a few hours I was right as ninepence! The Muay Thai fighting was on-point but they almost had me sitting in the cheap seats when I had paid top dollar for free-flow drinks and snacks! They rectified that situation but it wasn't a big deal, because the Muay Thai was a knockout amazing performance, to be honest it was Drag of another kind! The green had left my system but honestly, that pre-Krabi sleep was deeper than no other! I just wanted to 'The Fear' to disappear! The order of this is all over the place but so was my head in Chiang Mai! A state!

The morning after a supposedly demure evening? My 'Golden Triangle' experience was about to test me to my limits but the life-saving elixir thats 'Thai tea' would save my life! Driving from Chiang Mai all the way to Chiang Rai killed me, it was a day longer than any normal life expectancy, seriously! Ram Bar had taken me out onto the town, I needed to see some Kratoey cabaret! Knowing that I would only have one shot of that experience, I embraced the 'Long Neck Village' with my own 'National Geographic' photo even if I was dying inside. The time on the road was enough, I knew that lunch would soon happen, I had already enjoyed the '7-Eleven' stop. The 'White Temple' was worth the crowds, I got my snaps in my own time with the distance gave me peace. The 'Blue Temple' amazed me with its beauty because the previous stop was silly! I enjoyed the ice cream that was served inside a coconut shell, it was all worth it. Before I went on my own 'Golden Triangle' bandit chase, it was time for a break! Sure, Chiang Mai was a lot! 

The miles had been done and countless stops had already been made, I had sure got my money's worth from this trip! The infamous tri-border area grew closer, I wanted to see what the third Las Vegas was shaping up to be? After another long drive, it was safe to say that China's next master-plan was coming into sight! The group was marshalled onto a long boat, the Mekong River element could finally begin. Sailing along the Mekong like pirates? Well, you know Myanmar's part of the river was looking underdeveloped whilst Laos and Cambodia were making money moves! The drive back to Chiang Mai was long but the progress the Golden Triangle was supposed to make in coming years would have more traction! No lies told! Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in their full form had been busy, I had squeezed the juice out of that sector of my first Thailand trip and didn't I just know that! It was time for some beach time in Krabi before reality would slap me in the face! How rude? Yes, many more adventures awaited me! 

Would I be relaxing on a beach in Krabi? No, I'd be at the bar with the quickness! For the first time in a long time, I had left one sector of my trip completely free without any tour bookings made. As if I had already had the fear from 'Mary Jane' and her visits, I decided to throw caution to the wind whilst in Krabi. 'James Bond Island?' She found me and I ended up booking a whole tour! Leaving Krabi after another night-out, I wasn't feel well but you know at this point I just didn't care! I still don't! Seeing a river city, yes a whole town was on stilts, the lord knew that I needed to dry out because that island was Muslim majority. Halal she better did! I settled for a juice without a spirit! The happy hour 'Long Island Ice Teas' hadn't done me any good, to be honest I didn't care a damn! I had befriended a fellow Englishman, we took the canoe ride through the caves and that was enough for me! It was great meeting someone new because I needed a focus for the day, it was going to be another long one! All for the content, eh? Yes, ka!

James Bond Island was something else, she was crowded and those tourists had no respect! I was accompanied by the same mentioned English friend but we agreed that a photo was all we needed of that experience. The view into the ocean blue was unstoppably beautiful but you know things needed to be preserved, I am not a fan of overtourism. Leaving James Bond Island behind us, it was time to head to the mainland, that was a relief. I knew that the final temple wouldn't take it out of me. I knew that getting back to Krabi would be the remedy, the whole trip had been sensory overload, I needed to have a good nights' sleep. Krabi had been amazing, the availability of Indian and Nepalese food was out of the world. Each night that I was in Krabi, I ate an Indian banquet for a cut price, it was also so crazy to speak with a Nepalese waiter who said that his ancestor had been a British soldier! Too close to home? Maybe! Krabi was the medicine I needed to get over Bangkok and Chiang Mai, I started my cool down. Oh, the green had been banished! 

A 'COVID Travel Plan?' Yes, in the darkest depths of 2020 I had looked towards a time when travel would be possible. Thailand's Krabi had been one place that I had looked towards and with particular focus on 'Railay Beach' to be precise. I knew that getting the boat from my closest pier over to Railay Beach had to be done. I braved those ocean waves to make it around the bay, I was glad that I had chosen to stay where I had. Being my final day, I knew that catching a glimpse of that long boat parking space was needed. The mountain peak looked epic, exactly the same as it had done in photos during that uncertain time period. I spent a little bit of time on that piece of Krabi. The breakfast impressed me much but the monkeys definitely didn't, it was an experience nevertheless! The long boats healed me, I had been travelling freely for two year to that point, so my world had healed with Thailand as a backdrop. We must never got back to such a dark time, I never want to be grounded again! I needed to get back to the mainland, so quick! 

'Double Trouble' really has become a regular thing? Quite the mood? I am not mad because both Chiang Mai and Krabi gave me the come down that Bangkok's energy left me needing! From those stupas to the infamous Golden Triangle, it was a manic part of my Thailand trip! The long boats healed me as I mentioned before, they were the nature I needed after getting far too acquainted with Mary Jane Holland. The stupas gave me culture and Chiang Mai's culinary delights gave me extra content. Back to Krabi, I was able to head back to Bangkok for the night before my awful Spring Airlines flight back to Ningbo. I am not one for the beach, I know that spending time 'Beside The Sea' rather than in it was the best thing for me. The Indian food enjoyed during my Krabi stay had me looking for flights to Mumbai or Bombay, if you like? Seriously, Krabi was an Indian's seaside paradise! This is where I leave my Thailand experience. Where's 'Double Trouble' going to celebrate next? I will take it home, home, home, home, home! 

Bye, Thailand! 

Desperately Seeking Adventure