Thai Spice - It's the Real Deal

Krabi, Thailand | Railay Beach | July 23, 2018

Ahhh, Thailand. We landed in Bangkok and commenced our Thai adventure there for about two days - then set off to Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is the mountainous region where the forests are plush and well-nourished by the abundant rainfall in the region. The grass and trees are the brightest green, a color I had never seen.

Chiang Mai is also where we spent a day with elephants - three families of them - each consisting of six or seven elephants. As the day wore on, we observed how they interacted with each other, which resulted in a new-found and full respect for them by the end of our experience. It rained heavily that day, so the elephants (and their riders) all participated in a mud bath, which began innocently enough as we were encouraged to and followed the simple suggestion to go barefoot for the activities. The rain continued to fall steadily, and at one point, it was time to bathe these enormous creatures, so we joined the elephants in the creek bed and were instructed to heave mud at the elephants - often (somehow) missing the target and hitting the person opposite in the face. I gracefully attempted to bow out of the event, yet I was pelted with mud all the same. Overall, the never-ceasing rain, the lousy accuracy of the elephant bathers, and the daunting presence of the beautiful gentle giants was a humbling experience - not one that I expected - but one that I’ll never forget. That was the first of many memorable experiences we had in Thailand.

In Chiang Mai, we also participated in a cooking class. That day began at a local market where our guide pointed out all of the ingredients we would be using in our culinary class. Later, we arrived at the organic farm where the actual cooking took place. First, we were given a tour of the garden, which included a secondary lesson on herbs and other produce to be incorporated into our recipes, then we learned to make pad Thai, Thai curry, tom kha (soup), stir-fry, and sticky rice with mango coconut cream for dessert. Our class consisted of people from different parts of the globe, of varying ages, ethnicities (obviously), culinary preferences, and gender, and at the conclusion of our delicious meal, we were all sufficiently stuffed and satisfied! Another magical day in my book.

In the spirit of traveling (and knowing I would meet interesting people), I forced myself out of my comfort zone and elected to stay in a hostel in Chiang Mai. It was a great excuse to explore the area a bit more. I frequently walked to meet my travel companions and occasionally wandered the neighborhood with the intention of getting lost. The hostel I stayed in felt like a home away from home and like I had set out to do, I made a few friends along the way! One night we all attended a Cabaret show, and needless to say, that was entertaining! The performers were fully committed to their craft, yet they completely forgot the lyrics of the songs they were “performing.” Their costumes were something straight from one of Jay Gatsby’s soirees in West Egg; the makeup and glitter would have stayed intact for weeks on end if they wanted it to, and the ladies serving beverages to the crowd were not shy about showing cleavage for some extra Baht (Thai currency). I would not say it was necessarily talent-packed or Tony Nomination-worthy, but it sure was an experience, an entertaining one at that.

From Chiang Mai, it took us nine hours to get to Koh Samui - a day which included an airplane, a taxi, a ferry ride, and a bus - just shy of completing the entire "planes, trains and automobiles" trifecta. In Koh Samui, we spent our days lying by the pool and ocean, soaking in as much vitamin D as we could, and slurping down as many spicy cocktail concoctions the bar could dream up for us. This was the part of the trip where we indulged in some much-needed R&R for the three teachers I had befriended as their summer was about to come to an abrupt ending. As for me, I was just resting up before I departed on my next adventure.

While in Koh Samui, we also spent a magical night with "The Thai Experience," which was a hosted dinner with a table full of strangers from all over, naturally, and an endless supply of libations of our choice. The evening consisted of six or seven courses of rare Thai flavors and spices. With each dish that was presented, there were new twists on old Thai classics, raising the bar higher and higher with each passing course. This was another meal that left us with the feeling of needing to be rolled out of the joint, but it was well worth every minute of discomfort from being stuffed to the gills. Without a doubt, Thai food is a popular cuisine worldwide, but one must experience it from the motherland to really grasp a full appreciation for the unique variety of flavors. I don't know if there is anywhere in the world that serves Thai food with the fresh, eye-watering, mouth-on-fire, throat-burning chili that can be found in any and all dishes (upon request) in Thailand. It is a very real thing, Thai spice, so I warn: proceed with caution!

From Koh Samui, we spent a day in Krabi before the conclusion of our journey. In Krabi, we took a very rough ride in a long-tail boat from the shore to Railay Beach. There was zero point in having any clothing besides a bathing suit on or bringing a beach towel on this excursion considering all passengers and all personal effects were completely drenched with salty ocean water by the time we reached the shore of Railay. Regardless of the treacherous trek to the beach, it was much smoother sailing once we arrived. Despite only spending a few precious hours at the incredibly remote and scenic beach, we were able to enjoy the final moments of our trip as we sat beneath the blue sky filled with slow-moving stark white clouds while frolicking (yes frolicking) in the turquoise, bath-like water, which was surrounded by tropical cliffs that jutted out over the expansive ocean. This day was very different from that first day with the elephants, but it is etched in ink nonetheless.