| gonetraveling.com "I am a part of all that I have met. Yet, all experience is an arch where through gleams that untraveled world where margin fades, forever and forever when I move." |
| chiang mai |
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| After mapping the weather and tourist patterns before we arrived, we decided that Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand would be the ideal place to begin our Thai adventures. A twelve-hour train ride from Bangkok, we had plenty of time to window-shop Thailand before we arrrived at our destination. From the train, Thailand is all countryside. In fact if we were to describe Thailand based solely on what we saw through that train window, we would say this country is 90% underwater. Wood homes teeter on stilts over knee-deep swamps, and shallow boats seem to serve as their prime mode of transportation. While it made us wonder about the type of town we would be staying in, we were wide-eyed with excitement from the beauty staring back at us. Villages nestled among working rice fields, exotic plants boasting dreamlike colors, and water buffalo grazing their day away; it was almost impossible to tear our eyes away from the window for those entire twelve hours. |
| 2002-2003 |
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| > thailand |
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| In an attempt to avoid another Bangkok Brothel incident, we pre-booked our hotel in Chiang Mai--big mistake if you don't know the area. While plush for the price, we discovered our hotel was far from town and required a taxi for the places we were hoping to walk to. We spent our second day in Chiang Mai hunting for a new place. We were lucky enough to stumble upon, and land a room at Gap's House. Primarily known for their cooking school, enteraining owner Eddy has created a true Thai oasis two streets from the heart of Chiang Mai's action, yet quiet enough to know you are still on vacation. He offers traditional Thai rooms outfitted with hand-selected antiques, a lush garden for lounging (and drinking beer, Eddy's 4:00 pm pastime), and a sumptuous breakfast of eggs and toast everyday for less than $15. Not to mention that they have the best vegetarian buffet we have ever tasted--even Fletch agrees. It was so relaxing at Gap's House, we spent many of our twelve days there lounging with Eddy, indulging in the 4:00 pm pastime and listening to him giggle as he would turn away travelers due to his always full rooms. In fact, we went back to Eddy's three different times while criscrossing Thailand. Most of his guests were repeat visitors. |
| Discovering Gap's House |
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