April 19th, 2008 - Opted not to do the Thai cooking course, I’ll pick up a Thai cook book instead. I didn’t want to take the whole day cooking and it was kind of expensive. Just wanted a day to rest and plan my next segment, Southern Thailand Islands!

I spent an hour or so after breakfast trying to find the best way to Koh Tao. Unlike last time, I didn’t plan to far ahead but this time I waited to long. Kat and I were going to take a train to the island but the trains are slim and book up weeks in advance. We ended up flying although taking different routes.

I guess you have to find that fine line between planning too early and planning too late. You live you learn I guess.

After travel planning I walked around some different parts of the city and hiked around the outskirts of Chiang Mai just to see the countryside.

Kat was having a miserable day travel planning because the flight I was on was too expensive for her budget and the buses and trains were not feasible options. her foot was also sore and she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to do her Scuba Certification. Stressful to try and plan for something you aren’t sure if you’ll be able to do.

I bought her a Tolberone when I saw them in the grocery store after my hike, she said it was her favorite during one of our convos the previous day. I was hoping it would pick up her spirits before we headed back to the Night Bazaar after realizing we missed a huge chunk of it. It seemed to work, you can’t ever go wrong with girls and chocolates.

We met up a little bit later and limped our way towards the market. I stopped at a couple of bookshops hoping to find a decent Thai cookbook but was unable to do so. While we were in one of the shops, we were talking about the book/movie The Beach. I told her I’ve heard of it but never read it, she was appalled. We searched the shop for it and she sneakily bought it behind my back and gave it to me. It was a very nice gesture, especially for someone who’s watching their budget closesly. I thanked her very much for it, especially since I just can’t get into the book I brought with me “ON the Road” by Jack Kerouac. I had no idea how long The Beach was, but when I saw it I thought there was no way I was getting through that especially with how slowly I read.

We walked through the red light district of Chiang Mai since it was on the way to the Market and it was quite dirty. Thai women and he-women lined the street with the farangs sliding behind closed doors looking behind them as the doors close to see if anyone noticed them ducking into “Happy Massage” parlor. You know the one thats dimly lit with the half naked “masseuse” standing out front in high heels. It was all very creepy. Thankfully, I didnt get half as many cat calls as the average farang probably since I was walking with a female.

The Night Bazaar was just as disappointing as the last time we thought we went. Too much touristy goods and touts trying to sell you everything and anything.

Oh well, worth a shot.