02/14/2023 Doi Inthanon National Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Today is Valentine’s Day! Accordingly, I wanted to give Joseph and Morgan plenty of space for doing their own thing, and they needed to dedicate their day to work. I booked myself a tour to Don Inthanon National Park for the day. Another early morning to meet the tour guide Maxi and board a shuttle full of people. Before we completely left Chiang Mai, we stopped at a market for food, and snacks. Here, I ate breakfast with Maxi, enjoying spicy Thai food and good conversation about Thailand and our lives.

After falling asleep listening to my latest audiobook (The Art of Living by Thich Nacht Hanh), I woke up after the 90 minute drive to Wachirathan waterfall. This waterfall roared with power and strength surpassing all other waterfalls I had seen in Thailand. I admired the multiple rainbows vibrantly radiating from the waterfalls, and then hiked away from the viewpoints to a rock closer to the waterfalls. Here, an older Chinese woman followed my lead to a rock tucked behind a tree closer to the falls, and we sat in silent meditation together until I had to return to the shuttle.

A quick shuttle zip brought us to the King and Queen Pagodas. The architecture of these Buddhist temples was stunning, as were the surrounding gardens. From the areas surrounding either pagoda you could see mountain ranges lightly brushed by clouds.

Following the visit to the pagodas came a moderately difficult 90 minute hike to the best viewpoint in Doi Inthanon. Finally, a beautiful landmark that required a little effort to get to! In total, we hiked over 800 vertical feet, covering 2.3 miles. Our hike was accompanied by a tribe member of the Hamong tribe, as is required by the National Park on land they protect. The first leg of the hike was very uphill and through lush forest, until the forest opened to a vast field up to the final view point. Thankfully visibility was favorable on this day, despite the dry season’s considerable pollution from burning in Northern Thailand. The views did not disappoint and were well worth the trek.

By this time it was about 2:00 in the afternoon and everyone had worked up quite an appetite. We shared good conversation over good Thai food, before leaving and heading to a local market. At this market, I bought and enjoyed a carton of massive juicy strawberries, despite other people on the tour warning me of the pesticides or manure that is likely still on the fruit. I’m wearing two bracelets blessed by monks, so I don’t think I have to worry about eating a couple unwashed fruits. We then made way to our final stop, a small Karen village (same tribe we stayed with during Chiang Mai Trekking excursion), where a local tribe member gave us several teas and coffee to sample.

Our tour group consisted of our local Thai guide Maxi, myself, a girl from London, a couple from France, a man from China, a couple from Switzerland, a solo traveler from Rome, and an American family with two daughters. At this point, we were all pretty open with each other and making good conversations comparing cultural differences and experiences. Despite exhaustion, the good conversation persisted through the entire 2 hour drive back to Chiang Mai. I’m normally not one to book tours and prefer exploring things on my own, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the cool people I’ve been fortunate to meet that have come with the orchestrated tours throughout this Asia journey.

Once back, I showered then met Joseph and Morgan at a riverside restaurant called Keeps, where they had just finished their Valentine’s dinner date. Perfect timing for our throuple to celebrate Valentine’s Day together. After I finished my order of seared beef and shrimp friend rice, we then made way to the famous Chiang Mai Night Bazaar. Several city blocks lined with street vendors on the sidewalks and empty lots with almost everything you could imagine. Art, clothes, hats, bags, shoes, toys, knick knacks, jewelry, and food; You name it, they have it. We wandered the market for a couple hours before turning in the night.