Chiang Mai and Pai, From My Point of View... (#1 Thailand Travel Series)

This is my first edition of the Travel Series...

Travel for me is a spiritual experience. To be able to get out from my little box and see other cultures helps to expand my perspective and have a greater appreciation for the little box where I mostly spend my time at, as well as a better understanding of myself and my own culture.

This starts with my honeymoon trip to Thailand in 2016...

The photos are taken, directed and edited by me and mostly taken by my husband. I hope you enjoy the photos and my random train of thoughts, and I also hope that this will inspire you to just - as my favorite Youtuber Damon and Jo said - 'shut up and go'...

Wat Phabong, Chiang Mai. King Bhuminol Adulyadej had passed away right before I went to Thailand. Spending only 4 hours strolling around this beautiful quaint little town, I've come to realize how he is dearly loved by his people. His image and influence are sprawled all across town, subtly enhancing the sacredness of Thai monarchy. It's only fair to pay respect for the man whose heart is felt by the everyday people in Chiang Mai, and who was a symbol of both national unity and modernity.

The rally against Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (my fellow Indonesians will relate to this) and Trump election were going on at this time. Being there, seeing all these wonders made me contemplate human values. They are such an emotional subject. If they come from the right place, it can create peace. Or a piece of art. Like many of the temples I visited in Chiang Mai, or how Buddhism is practiced here. But when misplaced, it is heartbreaking to see the chaos that they are able to create.

From Chiang Mai, we took a 3 hours bus ride to Pai. Pai was once a quiet market village just 146 km northwest of Chiang Mai. Today, tourists from all over the world flock to Pai. Once there, we rented a motorbike (150 Baht a day, around $5 CAD) and headed to Phupai Art Resort, where we stayed for 3 nights. The resort is surrounded by beautiful views of hills and rice fields. This actually reminds me of Ubud, Bali.

About an hour from Pai, there's this beautiful natural hot spring, Sai Ngam Hot Spring, a.k.a. The Secret Hot Spring (not so secret anymore). We floated and let nature embrace us in its warmth for a couple of hours. It was truly a magical experience.

We took a break on the way back because of this 🙌🏼. No explanation needed...

Another thing I love about traveling is FOOD. I LOVE trying different, even weird, cuisine from all over the world. This is at Pai night market. There are tons of amazing foods to try here. I was actually looking for a scorpion, but couldn't find it, so I decided to try this grilled squid with 'magic sauce' instead. So delicious and fresh...

I'm trying not to make this a long post. So I will make several posts on Thailand itself. Thank you for reading my first one. I hope you enjoyed or are even inspired by what you see... See you in my next post!