Dear Friend,

It’s been interesting switching pace from being in an intensive TEFL course to being back on the traveler’s path. Up until this past Sunday, I had been staying at a hotel recommended by SEE TEFL for an entire month. It was surprisingly the most consecutive nights I’ve slept anywhere in a very long time! I’m thinking back on the last year or two and I actually can’t remember an entire month in one city, even when I was still living in Seattle. So that’s something! (or is it?)

Anyway, on Sunday, I packed up my bags (a large backpack, a small backpack, and a small duffle bag) from the hotel and went across town to check in at the hostel I had stayed at previous to my TEFL class. The staff members were so sweet and excited to welcome me back, each giving me a big smile as they greeted me. Even though people smiling at you is not uncommon in Thailand, I appreciated the kind welcome. In fact, MOST people here will smile at you, which is very different than what I had become accustomed to in Seattle. I can distinctly remember people in my neighborhood looking startled or confused if I smiled and said good morning to them. The expression I usually received back seemed to imply, “Ummm…are you talking to me? Why are you smiling at me? Please don’t disrupt me.”

Anyway, I have returned to the hostel I had stayed in previously. It is a quiet, peaceful place near Chiang Mai’s Old City. I have a cozy bedroom to myself, and don’t mind sharing the bathrooms with the other guests (I actually haven’t seen anyone in hallway yet…No bathroom traffic at all!). The hostel staff keeps the bathrooms and showers sparkling clean, so that hasn’t been an issue. For ~15 USD per night, I’ll take it! The location is really good too; it’s very close to many street food vendors, the Night Bazaar, and a little gym that I have been frequenting. And it’s just a 15-20 minute scooter ride from the base of Doi Suthep mountain, which is where I found myself today.

Last month, my Aussie friend, Di, and I ventured to the large temple on Doi Suthep by catching a local bus from the Old City to Chiang Mai Zoo, where we then paid 40 baht (about 1.30 USD) to hop in a songthaew for the remainder of the journey. The songtahew driver was quite aggressive, so the ride was a bit nerve racking! We were glad to arrive safely and enjoyed the view, even though it was overcast. As we rode down, I noticed some people hiking and made a mental note to come back on foot!

Today, my classmate, Jay, and I thought we’d try the “Monk’s Trail”, which I had read could take you through the jungle up to the top look-out point at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (the large temple at the top of the mountain). The article said that there would be a temple tucked away about halfway up called Wat Pha Lat and we had no trouble finding that one! However, we followed the wrong path from there and ended up back on the main road with no visible trail markings. I also remembered reading that you do have to walk on the main road for about half a mile so I didn’t hesitate to continue for a little bit on concrete. However, after 20 minutes or so, we began to realize that we may have missed something. Another 30 minutes of walking on the road, and we became certain that we took a wrong turn somewhere. But at that point, we figured we were closer to the top than we were to turning back to find the actual trail!

Ultimately, I think we did about 8 km instead of 3 km on the way up for that slight mistake. But luckily, neither of us had anything we needed to get back for and the weather was absolutely beautiful. We definitely earned the delicious Thai lunch, smoothies, and coffee drinks we had when we got to the top! After we finished eating, we walked around the temple grounds and marveled at how beautiful it is, especially on such a quiet day. Because we were able to go on a Tuesday, there were very few people there and we really got to take in the stunning view of Chiang Mai. I would definitely do the hike again, especially now that I know how to find the trail. We made very good time coming down! 🙂

Thanks for reading! Off to bed now.

Love,
Marissa

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