Would you believe me if I said I had another late night? 😅 Day 5 was absolutely amazing so let’s dove into it! (Also my latest YouTube video is Surviving in Kansas City with No Money! You should watch it here!)

Day 5 started off not the best and then was VERY nice. For the unglamorous part of the trip, my body is still adjusting to this new country and the new food… soooo i had many bowel movements in the morning. But luckily I don’t feel sick and I believe it’s currently just my body adjusting! I went back to bed though and then I woke up on the earlier side and finally was able to get a workout in! The hostel I’m staying at has a nice little gym with dumbbells going up to 50lbs, so I was able to get a nice chest/tricep day in! There were a few other people working out too so it was nice to chit chat with them in between sets.

After breakfast I met up with my friends Asher and Ivan to grab breakfast at a street vendor around the corner from us. This meal might be my favorite so far! It was a Thai chicken with basil and it was just heavenly! Also only 60 Baht too, which just still blows my mind.

After breakfast Lola and I made plans to meet up and grab a moped to bike to a National park! On my walk to meet her I saw sooo many beautiful houses and interesting alley ways. It’s pretty cool to be able to just wander around like a local.

After we met up, we wandered to a couple bike shops and eventually found a shop that we wanted to use. Originally we planned to each ride separately, but I’ve never ridden one before… I thought I might be able to figure it out so I did some practice in an alley but I really did not feel comfortable riding on the buddy streets of Chiang Mai. Also the driving culture here is wild!

Lola however was AMAZING at driving. I was honestly so impressed. She had never had anyone ride on the back of the scooter before but she killed it. The ride to the park was a little over an hour and the views were amazing. So much so it caused a few near miss accidents so I’m very thankful that Lola was calm and collected and had it under control!

It was so beautiful out, super sunny, and no rain (a little foreshadowing for you 😂). We passed by so many amazing farms and fields, very much in the country side. We rolled into the park and found a spot to get food before exploring.

This park wasn’t the original park we wanted to go to. Originally we were planning on going to Doi Inthanon but it was going to be a tough bike ride. So we made an audible and went to the Sticky Waterfall! This park was gorgeous! Especially with the beautiful weather we had.

The waterfall is actually one that you can climb down and up. However we didn’t really realize this and didn’t dress accordingly 😅 but we made the most of it! There luckily was a wooden staircase to the right of the falls so we went down it to scope it out and WOW it was breathtaking. We were so deep in the jungle. Check these pictures out!

We got to the bottom and explored around the end of the fall! It was really fun walking through the water and watching the waterfall. We then walked up the path a bit more and noticed some areas that you could stop on part of the falls instead of climbing it!

After watching others climb the falls, we said screw it and decided to climb it too! It was super cool and the rocks are really grippy which isn’t usually the case with waterfalls. There were a few slick areas though and I almost slipped a few times but we didn’t in the end!

https://videopress.com/v/Tm5ojI5a?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

After we got up we were hanging at an overlook spot when a hugggeeee storm rolled in out of nowhere. We started heading forwards shelter and while we were walking a pretty big branch fell from a tree and it hit Lola! Luckily it grazed her but it was still a little crazy!

We hung out in a small snack area and shared a coconut smoothie. All of the fruit smoothies here have been incredible! After sitting there for a while we finally had a break in the rain and decided to attempt the ride home. This ride was A LOT sketchier than the ride there. However Lola did such a great job riding and dealing with the road conditions. It also rained on and off during the ride back which stung a fair amount. Luckily we made it back safe and sound and even with the sketchiness it was such a wonderful adventure.

After we got back, we regrouped with the rest of our friends we met here! I also gave the hostel my clothes so the could do my laundry so now I have fresh underwear again 🤪!

We went to dinner with a large group and had some good Pad Thai at a nearby vendor.

After dinner the hostel we were staying at put on a little bar crawl for us for 100 Baht. It ended up being a ton of fun and we stayed out wayyy too late but the people here are a good time.

I definitely want to have more nature on this trip than constant partying so tomorrow Lola and I are heading to Pai a day before the rest of our crew to check it out! I’ve heard great things about it and love that plans just happen the day before.

This is definitely a different way of living than I’m used to but I’m reallllyyyyy enjoying it!

I’m actually writing this on the 31st so hopefully you’ll get two posts today! I’ll probably write it on our 4 hour bus ride tonight!

– Elie