Monkey Life (Corey)

Our time in Chiang Mai has been nothing short of incredible so far. In a city that offers so many activities, the only constraint on what you can do is time. After our early mornings and late nights we tossed around ideas for what to do today. Joel and Wally were hesitant on zip lining due to a South Park episode centered around the activity's issues of large crowds and over zealous botony freaks. Ultimately TripAdvisor's stellar reviews convinced us to take the day trek through the Rain Forest via Flight of The Gibbon. With the gang all in disarray from last night's festivities, we boarderd our bus for the hour long trip. We passed the time with conversation with two of our fellow flight crew on the bus who had quit their jobs some 3 months ago and boarded a flight to Manilla only to find themselves strapped in harnesses in the tree tops of a Rain Forest with us. Hey... things could be worse. 

When we arrived, we were assigned two sky rangers to help ensure our safety and enjoyment, which luckily are the only two guarantees of Flight of The Gibbon. With regular sky ranger, Jack, off for the day we were assigned Aof and Tim.  Having noticeably a bit less pep in our step then we should Tim asked about our night out. Of course, after learning we spent the night at Tawan Dang his immediate reaction , after he recomposed himself from laughter, was to pick up the radio to call over to Aof in a different treetop. However, Tim validated our decision to of going to Tawan Dang and reiterated the the establishment's credo "Give 100%, Live 100%" before launching us off a platform.

Our guides were definitely loving life, having moved from the north east of Thailand to work as a sky ranger where they get to enjoy the sweeping views of the Rain Forest and swing through the tree tops all while messing with freightened tourists. Fortunately, Joel and Wally's fear of our rangers boring us with facts of the different flora and fauna didn't come true as they seemed more concerned about pointing out that they weren't ladyboys then pointing out the plethora of banana trees that filled the Rain Forest. After 32 stations, we repelled down from the trees to enjoy a long lunch with our flight crew in a bamboo hut featuring an authentic Thai band who willingly serenaded us. After lunch we hopped on over to the local water fall to relax before heading back to Chiang Mai to hang by the hotels infinity pool prior to going back out into the town for our final night.  

Chiang Mai is known for its night market and plays a perfect host for some much needed haggling. Since Jay, Mike, and I continuously debate over who would win in mattress price negotiations, we had a chance to show our skill. The process is somewhat ceremonial.  They toss out some arbitrary number, you counter with half the price then you settle somewhere in the middle after realizing you've spent 20 minutes arguing over 50 cents you've acquired your souvenir.        

We enjoyed our best dinner to date at Whole Earth a Thai/Indian Vegeterian/Non-Vegeterian restaraunt.

After dinner, we hopped in a Tuk Tuk and headed to Tha Pae Boxing Stadium to get a glimpse of Muay Thai. Tickets to the 7 bout event weighed in at a 400 baht. However, for 600 baht we could enjoy "VIP" amenities.  Needing the full experience we dug deep into our pockets for the extra baht. After being escorted to our ringside seats, we watched as the fighters used their brute kicking and punching strength to weaken their opponent. We quickly found out that our seats were equivalent to the splash zone at Sea World as the fighter's sweat rained upon us with each punishing haymaker that was landed in our corner of the ring. As the night progressed the stories that we've heard about the fights being fixed seemed to be true. Each bout shared the same triumph over tragedy tale as Rocky and locals were happy to wager on the fights  mid round. This comes with one exception, the "special fight" of the night, which featured 8 fighters blind-folded. 

As exhaustion settled in from the day we retired back to the hotel for a few hours of shut eye before our 4 AM wake up call to catch a flight to Ko Samui. 

An elephantastic day in Chiang Mai (Joel)

We woke up refreshed, a full night's sleep was well deserved and well received by all. The shock and awe of being half way across the world wore off to a degree. I say that though in a good way. We very much appreciated being in Thailand, but with the cloud of bewilderment lifted; each adventure could truly be enjoyed for what it was.

The morning began bright and early as every moment of our next journey would be precious.Not having time to take a gamble with a traditional Thai breakfast we opted for McDonalds (Mike and Jay) and Quest Bars (Joel and Corey). The group gathered in the lobby awaiting our pick up to the Patara Elephant Farm. 

When they say elephant caretaker for a day, it's tough to really know what you are getting yourself into, but every person we knew that had completed this excursion pleaded to our crew of four to include Patara in our itinerary. I want to take this moment to thank you all, as Patara was one of the most memorable and life altering experiences I have had to date.

We entered the van to meet the remaining four random members of our tour of eight. The forty-five minute ride up to the jungles was spent swapping stories and travel recommendations with a young couple from Canada and a friendly German couple. Side note: people in Germany traditionally have roughly 30 days off a year and are encouraged to use them!

We arrived at Patara with elephants wandering the premises, and it was at that moment reality dawned on all four of us..."elephants are freaking huge!" The owner of Patara delivered a heart felt speech, with a bit of off color humor woven in, about the farm's mission and our itinerary for the day. From that moment forward our day would be dedicated to taking care of our elephants. 

Formal elephant introductions followed. Each one of us were assigned an elephant based on our personalities. Corey was paired with a mother and it's boisterous baby, Mike with an elephant whose backside would make Kim Kardashian envious, Jay with most senior elephant on the farm aptly nick named "old yeller", and I was paired with the stubborn and cautious brute who was always much happier after being fed. After a brief feeding and health inspection (dung check included) we were off to the waterfall to clean our new friends. 

Climbing aboard an elephant for the first time was a bit intimidating, I admit, considering it could crush me like an ant at any second. That said, after a few minutes washing and scrubbing May-bu-ton I started to feel a genuine bond and the nervousness subsided. An hour and twenty-five minute trek bareback on our elephants followed. We weaved in and out of the jungle up and down the mountainside to our our next destination - lunch. The spread was fantastic, plenty of vegetarian options for those who required.  After not having a complete meal in several days, being served a well prepared meal with fresh fruit was more than greatly appreciated. 

A brief respite lead way into some fun interaction with the baby elephant, Paula, in the water. Corey and I hopped back in disregarding the potential discomfort of wet shorts for the remainder of the day, because really...when do you have the chance to do that again? Another short trek back to camp followed. We fed our elephants for a final time and bid adieu to all the members of Patara.

The van ride back served as the ideal venue for our afternoon naps, a pattern that appears to emerging. But before we rested our eyes we reflected on what an amazing experience Patara truly was. To anyone considering coming to Thailand I would highly recommend it. It's worth every baht and will leave you with a life full of memories. 

With our afternoon massages booked and  an hour to kill we decided to take a visit back to MaiPhai café, to partake in some delicious smoothies made by Clive, or as we have come to know him "Cool Clive". Feeling more adventurous we opted for the herbal enhancements this time. Get your head out of the gutter guys; while Clive is Jamaican we aren't talking about those types of herbs. With our circulation now on point we headed to our massages and back to the hotel to begin our first true night out in Chiang Mai. 

Tawan Dang was our destination. Now when the person who recommends a location refuses to give you any details about said location and just urges you to see it for yourself, you tend to be a bit skeptical. After our tuk tuk ride hit the 20 minute mark the nervousness in the tuk tuk was palpable. It didn't help when a random cab driver along the way laughed in our faces when hearing of our final destination.

We arrived at Tawan Dang and were immediately rushed in the doors past the "no guns" and "no outside food" signs. We finally laid eyes on what I would best describe as local Thai dinner theater. The venue was huge, the food and fare was cheap and the entertainment was certainly a new experience. 

Traditional and new age Thai was intermixed with American covers. Highlights of the night included a womens group performing traditional Thai dance and a rasta Thai performance by a Thai man in dreads. Tawan Dang is definitely a local venue, from the best I could tell we were the only westerners there.....and that my friends, made us a rare commodity. While I'm fairly sure they were all laughing at us, it was with smiles on their faces and willingness to let us enjoy our evening alongside them. After a few hours we decided to part ways with our new favorite spot in Chiang Mai and head to The Zoe in Yellow to dance the night away with locals and tourists.

Welcome to Chiang Mai! (Mike)

We woke up the next morning still feeling the effects of our night out in the Capitol.  Luckily we escaped the Bangkok hunger games  and looked forward to starting our next adventure in Chiang Mai. We had an early flight so we took breakfast to go and headed to the airport. In our cab ride, we listened to an interesting array of American music covers-think Kids Bop but for adults and rampant on radio stations throughout the country. 

After landing and checking into the hotel, we decided to explore the city. To get the true local experience, we decided to travel like Thais- on motor bikes. At only $5 to rent per day, we were sold.  To start, we traveled to the top of a massive mountain to visit the Doi Suthep temple and take in the views of Chiang Mai. 

What better way to experience the streets of Chiang Mai than to be tossed in the middle of everything on a motor bike? Imagine 5th avenue during rush hour but instead of buses and taxis, tuk tuks and mopeds. After getting acclimated to the driving etiquette and avoiding a few close calls with oncoming traffic, we flew through downtown and climbed up the steep mountain with its razor sharp turns. The temple was beautiful and granted us excellent views from atop it's tall peak.

After our time at Doi Suthep, we decided that we had pushed our luck far enough and opted to explore the rest of the city by foot. After a quick lunch outside, we headed downtown. The streets of Chiang Mai are packed with tasty food vendors, welcoming open-air bars and tons of different shops and activities.  Now keep in mind that at this point of the trip, we only had about 3 hours of bed sleep in 72 hours so we were beginning to feel the effects. With massage parlors on every corner, our bodies practically begged us to go. We went with a recommendation to check out Green Bamboo which was packed when we arrived and unable to accommodate us for a few hours. We thought this was a good sign considering how aggressive most of the other massage places are. 

With time to kill we trudged our tired bodies down the street and luckily stumbled upon Maipai, a local smoothie bar. We met the owner, Clive, an ex-banker who recently moved here from London to export local herbs. Maipai is great for some insightful conversation and delicious, natural smoothies- definitely check them out if you're in Chiang Mai.

The massage was exactly what we needed. They were able to fit us in that night, but due to space restraints, Joel, Corey and I all shared a room- I had something different in mind when I pictured my first couples massage.  No massage would be complete without a trip to a fish foot spa, so we made sure to stop at Dr. Fish on the way home. This has been a bucket list item for quite some time so I'm glad we got a chance to cross it off. 

After a quick shower and change we ended our night with dinner at Good View on the river. Our lack of sleep was quickly catching up with us as we struggled to stay awake and simple tasks like adding money for the bill became next to impossible. After a long, adventurous day, we couldn't have been happier to hit the bed for our first real night's sleep in days.

Beginnings in Bangkok (Jay)

Welcome to Bangkok! Our first stop in the adventure of a lifetime. With just under 24 hours in the capitol of Thailand, we walked out of the airport determined to make the most of every minute. Sweat pants became sweaty pants, though coming from a bitter cold, we welcomed the sizzling Thai heat. We doused ourselves in bug spray, pushed through our jet lag, and headed into the hustle and bustle of Bangkok.

Traveling to the other side of the world it begins to dawn on you that language barriers can be made out of titanium. Hand motions are different, expressions aren't universal, and gestures take on whole new meanings. Our confidence in our communication skills quickly dwindled as we were met with blank stares, dumbfounded looks, and a consistent reply of "same, same....but...different." Luckily, though, we found a saving grace in the form of a young woman named Pim. Referred to us by my colleague from work, we made the strategic move to hire a tour guide to maximize our time. We left the heavy lifting to her as she guided us through the check in, currency exchange, and transportation process. Once settled, we set out with Pim to eat our first meal of the trip. Warning: if you're a vegetarian traveling to Thailand, B.Y.O.S (bring your own snacks). Flabbergasted by the concept of an American Vegetarian, Pim needed us to confirm with her no less than four times that Corey and I actually refrained from eating meat and weren't playing some foreign joke on her. In a country where seafood is a staple,street vendors sell meat on every corner, and insects are considered delicacies - it should come as no surprise that vegetarian is a word that hardly exists. Luckily, we found a hole in the wall place that was able to accommodate us with a savory bowl of noodles and soup.  Stomachs full, we set out to explore the city.

We traveled mostly by boat, which Thais use as the primary form of public transit throughout the city. We visited temples, market places, and the streets of Bangkok - gaining a glimpse of the Thai lifestyle and culture. In between our haggling with Tuk Tuk drivers and selfies with Buddha statues, we found an appreciation for the simplicity of Thai life. Their carefree and positive attitude became contagious as we continued to venture through the city. The pictures below document some highlights of our sight seeing.

Pim our tour guide throwing up the deuces.

After our long day of sight seeing - we headed back to the hotel for a much needed shower. After, Pim drove us to what she believed to be a vegetarian friendly restaurant (possibly the only one in Bangkok). Seeing a plethora of meat options on the menu - duck, chicken, fish, pork - Joel and Mike were happy. It wasn't until Pim clarified all the meat was fake, and literally the entire menu was vegetarian, where the joy of Corey and I rivaled the disappointment of Joel and Mike. We all found something we liked however, and enjoyed our conversation with Pim. She taught us some Thai customs, and in exchange, we explained the concept of heaters, the lyrics of Ridin Dirty by chamillionaire, and the hand-in-your-face motion.  We finished dinner, said our goodbyes to Pim, and headed out to experience Bangkok nightlife. 

Important to note was our infatuation with the exchange rate. 33 bahts = 1 dollar, 500 baht = 15 dollars. When an entire day of sight seeing, food, and transportation cost less than 5 dollars - it becomes easy to live like kings . It can be a dangerous mentality to have. Our first stop of the night was Antique, a harbor-esque area on the waterfront of Bangkok. Full of shops and restaurants, the last clear memory was finding a good deal for a beer tower (10 beers) for 500 Baht.

The rest of the night can best be imagined as the part of Hangover II you don't see from sunset to dawn. Flashbacks of jammed Tuk Tuk rides,   singing on the streets, and making friends with the locals are what fill my mind as we fly to Chiang Mai. If our time in Bangkok is any indication for the rest of our trip, we are in for a hell of a ride

- jay 

So It Begins (Corey)

It all started nearly 3 years ago, when I was inspired by the trip set forth by our fellow travelers and friends at TheSeatRip along with expertise from Kdash and many others along the way.  So thank you for your inspiration!  The crucial piece was assembling a crew that would want to embark on this adventure of a lifetime. How this all came together was nothing short of a fairty-tale. Joel, after about 30 seconds was in and we were already on are way to having a travel crew. Our next two members were fellow Terps, Jay & Wollins. Jay and I were neighbors freshman year of college and shared many classes together at RHSmith. In one of those classes I was introduced to Wollins. The two of which had been previously planning a Eurotrip of their own. That plan, however, ultimately fell through leaving one man's trash to be another man's treasure. It took a bit of convincing to get these boys to agree to take their talents to South East instead. Often times my pleas seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.  Somehow, someway, flights were booked in August - some 7 months ago. How did we know this group could work? Fortunately, we got to have a test run weekend in Pittsburgh and if you can survive that place you can survive anything. 

As our trip approached, it's hard to not over look the fact that we are extremely fortunate to live in a nation who's civil unrest is derived from the possibility of outlawed boozy brunches in NYC.  As fast as weeks flew by leading up to our trip - was as quickly as the Thai protests over a government rice subsidy program escalated. Street bombings and random acts of violence were becoming common place in Bangkok, and as the number of casualties rose, concerns about our trip from family and friends did as well. However, only a few days before our departure, protests that once had a stranglehold on the city's central business district had disseminated into smaller and more peaceful protests in parks (so we were told). Crisis averted for now. But just as the smoke from the Olympic torch was beginning to clear, Russia sparked another conflict in the Crimean peninsula adding intrigue into how our total 24 hours in Moscow as a transit hub would affect our trip. 

As cliche as it might sound for a young 24 yr old going to Europe to watch the movie Eurotrip - one must watch The Hangover Part 2 before heading to Bangkok.  Upon arrival at JFK ready to board our Sochi branded Aeroflot airbus, we had the swagger of an Olympian. However, the Russian gut check was immediate. We were told that our 2 vegetarian  meals were not accounted for and that Joel, having packed initially for carry-on only, lost a heated argument with the Russian airline and would have to check his bag. We were fairly sure that 1) he is now a marked man in Russia and 2) the bag will never be seen by Joel again. We quickly had a new plan on how to handle flying Aeroflot Russian Airlines - avoid laughter and smiling at all costs in their presence. As we made our last calls before boarding we entered the plane with as much adrenaline as Felix Bumgardner must have had prior to his iconic plummet to earth. We're looking to avoid the plummet, but felt the same excitement. The blinking plane icon showing the measly 4700 miles between NYC and Moscow was daunting, but lucky for us, the sons of two doctors had come up with a magic potion that if executed correctly was intended to deliver us in Bangkok well rested and ready to rock. We cheersed our pills and we were on our way. We're not sure if it was the pills talking, but by Wally's calculations our plane must have to be traveling close to or exactly at 90mph so we should expect to be in Moscow in 5 days. Luckily, the presumably first time flyer was a bit wrong as the jumbo jet topped 600 mph for the majority of the trip. Naturally I tried to fight my way through the Hangover Trilogy. Viewership for those who know me was intermittent at best. Joel passed out like a baby but was awoken to a surprise Kosher meal. Jay took the time to enjoy Good Will Hunting and Wollins watched between 6-7 hours of Taylor swift music videos. He claims he was sleeping, but we all know he wouldn't sleep through that. What can we say. The man knows music. Aeroflot planes are equipped with a camera to give you a cockpit view of landing and take-offs from your own private seat. It's the closest I've ever been to flying a plane that's for sure. Upon approach to Moscow our views from the window were reminiscent of the James Bond games we played growing up. A frozen tundra with identical trees as far as one could see. 

Once we disembarked in Moscow we expected to be amongst thousands of travelers in the nations busiest airport, however this was far from the case - and a bit unnerving. It was empty. Perhaps the imminent prospect of war had scared people from traveling? Maybe we were in the wrong terminal? We had a 7 hour layover with plenty of time to kill so we grabbed a bite to eat and hopefully would figure out the answer. Our first waitress approached the table and as we uttered a word of English -  she immediately left for the day. After a few more servers passed us by with a friendly smile, one younger university aged gal, Viktoria, came to our rescue with her talented English!  She assured us that Russia is an amazingly beautiful country and not the "monsters" that they are portrayed to be in the media. She was also so kind to offer us the free wifi pass code which I reluctantly accepted knowing Russia's cyber security issues. But hey - shooting a text to Mom telling her you made it into a country on the brink of war was worth compromising my phones identity.   Viktoria also let us in on the secret to why it was such a slow day at the airport - it's National Women's Day in Russia!!! We had to celebrate!  Shout out to all the women in our life. We enjoyed lunch and our time with Victoria. We're expecting her to come visit us in America sometime in the future. We also spoke with a nice Ukrainian man, Timur, who had flown from Kiev to Moscow that day. We were a bit perplexed that that would happen given the current state of affairs. Regardless, we were mostly on high alert  assuming he was going to steal our identity. Because in Soviet Russia you don't steal identity, identity steals youuuu!

Anyone who finds themselves in SVO airport in Moscow with upwards of 6 hours to pass will absolutely not have any issues shopping duty free. We were convinced the only reason our layover was so long was so that we would be forced to buy stuff from the boutiques. The four of us, battling to stay awake in order to best use our available sleeping hours on the plane, had to entertain ourselves. No better way to spend the time than some highly inappropriate hypothetical questions we hope the Russians didn't understand.  I can only imagine what Snowden went through in his time at SVO. 7 hours was long enough for us and Tom Hanks should be proud of our ability to survive in this terminal.

As our plane orients toward Bangkok, we begin warming up our vocal chords to John Legend's "All Of Me" for what we imagine will be a week packed with lots of late night karaoke.  Our friendly Russian passenger's eyes quickly darted at us giving us the confidence that we'll we will soon be stars of Asia! We look forward to many amazing adventures that are ahead in this action packed two weeks. You'll hear the narrative from the rest of the team on various days. We hope to spend more time living in front of the lens than behind it but we assure you words alone won't be able to capture this trip so stay tuned for photos. 

We hope you follow along and take this two week journey through Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Phagnan, Siem Reap, Hanoi, and Ha Long Bay.  We're open to comments/suggestions so please share your thoughts!

-Corey