Chiang MaiChiang Mai was our first destination and definitely my favorite. Here, we participated in many exhilarating adventures which included: interacting with Asian Elephants, taking a 2 hour trek through a jungle (on a mountain) in light rain to a hill-tribe village that specialized in producing coffee, visiting a temple high up in the mountains made of gold, participating in an Alms Giving Ceremony where we gave offerings to monks (pictured on the right), bargaining at the markets, interacting with other hill tribes and providing the kids with gifts/toys and supplies, exploring the terrains (caves, waterfalls, etc), and overall interacting with the local Thai people, learning about Buddhism, and meeting tourists from all over (Iceland, UK, and the U.S.)
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PhuketPhuket was a very different atmosphere and presented itself as a beach town, with a lively environment. The people here were not as friendly as Chiang Mai, the assumption was made that it must have been because it was more popular in terms of Tourism and the locals probably had to put up with more. In Phuket, we explored the beaches, took a boat adventure to different islands with some great sailors, visited a floating city where the inhabitants lived in homes on the water, visited Khao Sok National Park where we saw some breath taking sights, interacted with more elephants, and wild monkeys, and spent time experiencing different cuisines (Greek, Italian, Thai, and American).
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BangkokBangkok was a bigger city that was similar to New York and Miami with towering buildings and structures. Their railway transit system was very convenient and made it very easy to get around the city. While in Bangkok, we visited the Grand Palace where some of the royal family resides (which was off limits), saw more temples, zip-lined with a great local staff, and overall took in the city life culture of Thailand.
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