A hell of a ride – in total 26 hours by night bus – took me to Bangkok to see my family again! Really great to see Bonnie, Heleen and Nienke again after more than four months traveling in Asia. No worries anymore, all resorts and transportation between the cities was already arranged beforehand. Last ten days relaxing and not thinking that much, only the “day trips” we could decide by ourselves. My role was to play a little bit for “tour guide”. Let’s do it, off to northern Thailand with our happy family!

First of all, it was time for Bon, Leentje and Nien to get used of the craziness in Bangkok. Especially they needed to get used to the different style of driving, temperature and culture of the Thai people. After five months, I was not shocked anymore, but still enjoying it. On our first night we got a good impression of the Thai culture, by visiting a cultural show about the history and habits of the Thai people. A show with more than fifty participants, impressive to see! Impressive as well, was the Royal Palace of the King. Golden temples everywhere and they were decorated with a lot of colorful paintings and statues. In the late afternoon we went to Ko San Road for a rough Thai Massage.

Our next destination was Kenchi Buri, famous for the Bridge over the River Kwai. In the past, many  prisoners of the world war two were deported here to build the railway between Thailand and Myanmar. During this project, a lot of workers died because of diseases and exhaustion, including a lot of Dutch people. In the afternoon we had some time for relaxing in a beautiful resort. Ayutthaya, the old kingdom of Thailand, was our next destination. Once, this was a palace, and we saw there old ruins of the big temples. By night train we went to Chiang Mai, a train ride of twelve hours.

Chiang Mai is an enjoyable city in North Thailand. The city, way smaller than Bangkok has a lot of touristic sights, nightlife and activities. In our first day we went to visit the village of the Black Hmong, a hill tribe living just out of Chiang Mai. Before our visit to the hill tribe we was Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, one of the famous golden temple around Chiang Mai. One of the best experiences we had the second day in Chiang Mai. In the early morning we went to a elephant sanctuary. After a two hour drive through the jungle we reached the village where they kept the elephants. We could feed the elephants, hug them and a small baby elephant gave us a kiss with his trunk. Finally we went for a swim and we could wash the elephants. All elephants were treated very well and they could enjoy their natural environment. This was a very special experience.

Famous in Thailand is the street food, so we went to a night market for special Thai dishes. In the beginning my parents were a bit afraid to eat all these “new dishes”, but the food was delicious and well prepared. We ate spring rolls, pad thai and other delicious delicates. In the evening Nien and I visited a boxing game between international and Thai boxers. The skills of the fighters were excellent and we even saw a few K.O.’s. Especially the audience was great to see, everyone was encouraging their favorite fighters.

Our last three days we spend in Chiang Rai, in the north of Thailand. In two days we saw the white temple Wat Rong Khun and the black house Baan Dam. Temples in a total different order, the white temple was more looking like a citadel, waiting for the white wizzard to walk out of the building. The black house was created by an artist and had only a art purpose. The other day we hired a taxi driver who brought us to the hill tribe village of the Long Necks. All women in this tribe are wearing neck rings, another part of their culture. These rings can have a weight of five kilograms and every year the number of rings increases. We continued to the golden triangle (borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand) and the opium museum. Finally we saw a tea plantation in Mae Salong, located in the mountains.

Happy new year, Thai new year was celebrated between 13 and 15 April. This celebration is called Songkran and is the start of the rainy season. Everyone in the streets has water guns super soakers and buckets with ice water. During these three days, nobody keeps their clothes dry. A huge “splash battle” on the streets, everywhere in town. Pick-up trucks with bunches of people are driving around and throwing water on the audience (and other way around). People are partying everywhere and there is a lot of music around and people are drinking beers and whiskey on the streets. Why spoiling water? Rainy season is coming.

On the 13th of April we flew back to Amsterdam Schiphol. Five months ago I started my journey in Myanmar and continued to 7 other countries including Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia and Thailand. Today, at Songkran festival, I have my #20 flight back to Amsterdam! It was a real adventure and I am thankful for all the amazing new friends I have met during my journey, you made this experience unforgettable...