HOSTEL SITUATION

I arrived at my hostel around 1 am and of course EVERYone was asleep. Since I lack an international plan I couldn't phone Gabrielle and my driver called the manager on duty. It took him 3 times until someone finally picked up and unlocked the door for me. The hostel had a vintage feel: Quills, typewriters, old looking vases, what looked to be a meat churner, etc. It was super cute, kind of how I would like a room in my future house to look. The breakfast was mediocre, it had the basics, eggs, salad, toast, grapes, and oats. Nothing special. I made oatmeal every morning. My second night in the hostel I awoke to a few bite marks on my legs...and when I say a few I mean my whole leg was covered in tiny bite marks. I immediately thought bed bugs. I notified the owner of my situation and demanded something be done (reimbursement, new room, return deposit, etc.) but after further examination she determined it couldn't have been bed bugs. She pulled up a picture on google and found the most severe case of bed bugs that she could possibly find. (The picture had boiling bites). Of course, my bites didn't look exact so she insisted they were mosquito bites. (I had two mosquito bites on my arm and you could clearly see the difference between the two). She gave me a new bed and said Gabrielle and I could wash our clothes. We washed one load of clothes, but since we mixed our used clothes in our bags we thought it be best to just wash them all to be safe. This caused havoc. We asked for more money (Coin wash) to wash our clothes and the receptionist told us she couldn't do so. We talked with the manager and he said there was nothing he could do about it. I remember his exact words were "That's not my problem". I just want everyone to be safe while traveling and have a nice stay. So, if you're ever in the Bangkok NEVER stay at Bangkok Bed & Bike. Just save yourself the trouble. They didn't have too many reviews on Hostelworld.com anyways so just make sure you do your research. I have provided you with some pictures of my "Mosquito" aka Bed bug bites below.

F O O D

In Asia, you'll find yourself eating Rice and Noodles with every meal. Gabrielle & I wanted to escape that tradition and find something new. We came across a place called Farm to Table it was a cute coffee looking place that had good vibes. The route to get to the restaurant included a detour through a sketchy ally, but all in all it was well worth the trip. They had a dozen different Teas you could choose from along with salads, pastas, and ice creams. I highly recommend this place if you're ever in the area.

One of our excursions included a trip to the spa. Infinity Spa was hands down amazing. When we arrived, we were greeted, seated, and given a "Welcome Drink" which was a mix of Natural blend green tea, fresh lime, and blue butterfly flower. We drunk it so fast and it was indeed relaxing. When it was almost our turn we were moved upstairs where they washed our feet and included a mini massage. Gabrielle got the deep muscle massage while I got the Thailand traditional "Thai" massage. Just for the record, those are two DIFFERENT things. If you're looking for a nice massage of the shoulders and body, then you should get the deep tissue massage. If you're looking for something different and new, then you should get the Thai massage. I didn't know what the Thai massage consisted of but there was pulling, tugging, and some massaging lol. Overall a great massage if you've never had one. Once we were done we went back to the lobby where they had sticky rice and mangos waiting for us with another glass of "Welcome Drink". BEST SPA TRIP EVER!

DAY OF TEMPLES

Gabrielle oversaw planning our itinerary for our "Day of Temples". She had about 5-6 different temples to visit but we ended up visiting two. My advice is to give yourself time to examine and see everything. Also, factor how long it'll take to walk, the temperature, and breaks in between. We did none of this and we were drenched in sweat, along with being exhausted. The temples are BEAUTIFUL though. We toured the famous Grand Palace along with Wat Pho. If you would like to see more pictures from my trip to Thailand, please click here

ELEPHANTS! ELEPHANTS! & TIGERS!

We booked our tour with Tours with Tong a tour guide I found on TripAdvisor She had a bunch of good reviews so I thought I we should try it out. We did a lot of communication via email (deposit, date, etc.) The Elephants were 3 hours away and transportation was included so the driver picked us up around 5 A.M. Once we finally arrived we were greeted with two majestic creatures. Both female, one 15 years old the other 23. Our tour guide asked right away who would be ok with going under water a lot and I immediately said "I am"!

We had to change into traditional clothing so we could pay our respects to the Monks.

We prayed with the monks and afterward gave them food as a thanks for their blessings.

Being with the Elephants is an indescribable experience. After feeding them a tub of rice, fruit & veggies we roamed around while they continued to eat grass in the fields. We went into the river for a dip, gave me them a mud bath for their skin, a Tangerine facial, went back into the river, another bath with a scrub brush to remove the dead skin, and had a water fight. BEST DAY EVER!

I would like to think we were both smiling

I hope you enjoyed this post about Thailand. Next up Bali, Indonesia!