Overcoming fears, defying the odds, challenging myself, learning to trust, making new friends, and discovering myself; So, obviously this trip I took to Thailand is filled with astounding memories and incredible stories.
Do check out my previous post(s) on Thailand travel series listed below.
#1 The Road Not Taken
#2 A Break To Our Expectations…
#3 The Odyssey Begins!
#4 A Juicy Landing!
Here comes our first stop in Thailand, Chiang Mai!
As the jet propelled smoky bird was thundering through the clouds, the sun was setting atop the mountain. To say the least, it was a feast to our eyes to witness the green landscape beneath the clouds bathed in the tinge of orange twilight.
The only info I had about Chiang Mai that it is a greenish countryside in Thailand didn’t go waste after all. But was that the only thing? Obviously, it is a NO. There was more to it and the truth is we barely did justice to that beautiful city!
We landed in Chiang Mai as the clock struck 7 in the evening and got into a waiting car from ‘GRAB’ cab service. Thanks to Ashok, for sorting out most of the things like this cab service. I don’t have the faintest idea of what I would have done without him at that point. Probably, it would have been challenging to figure out things on my own as it was my first travel plan abroad.
As the cab trundled through the city for an hour I just fell into a short nap and Ashok was keeping an eye on the route.
Finally, there we were after an hour at the hostel ‘A Good Place.‘
You certainly read it right, the name of the place is “A Good Place.” Frankly, I was quite sceptical at first to stay in a hostel as I have never done that before. No offence, but I am not the one to blame here. Trust me, after seeing the living conditions of hostels here in Hyderabad and Bangalore, no one would dare to book a stay at a hostel ever again!
As soon as we got down from the cab, we asked the cab driver to help us unload the luggage from the car trunk completely unaware that asking so is quite unusual in Thailand. Poor fellow didn’t utter a word and also helped us with 2 huge trolley bags and insanely stuffed backpacks. Once that is taken care of, we paid him and started walking into the hostel.
Image Source: A Good Place Hostel
Certainly, there are times when you are anxious, sceptical, hungry and tired; so you might ignore your surroundings like a warm welcoming face. That’s exactly what happened to me as I walked into the hostel with a huge baggage and two flight of stairs to climb.
Now that the baggage came into picture, I couldn’t forget those sensible stares from our dorm-mates as we were dragging those huge trollies and backpacks into the dormitory. Trust me, it took me 2 whole days to recover from that.
Image Source: A Good Place Hostel
This was one of those craziest moments when my stomach was rumbling. Furthermore the place was new and the people whom I share a dorm with were also new. So, naturally when I heard that I had not reciprocated the warmth that a few people showed to me at the outset I felt awful and embarrassed. I still feel the same! But, on the other hand I learned something out of it.
I learned couple of things a hard way on that day; to sum up in short…
- No matter how tired you are always smile back at the people most importantly when they are welcoming you with a warm smile.
- Above all other things, carry only the stuff without which you cannot survive.
Well, a lot happened after that! But wait! I am not going to spill all the beans now itself. Thats a story for another day!
Do you want to hear more about this trip? Then, just watch out for the next part! Until then, the writer is signing off with the same excitement!
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