Christmas Roadtrip

For the Christmas break, I decided to drive far, drive as far as I could along with seeing places. I overpacked with enough winter clothes, water, camping equipment, food and I was on my way.

Alvord Desert:

I'd seen some photos of Alvord Desert in South East Oregon and had been wanting to go there for a while. Being a slightly dumb guy that I am, I decided to drive there during winter time. The drive itself was quite far from South Bay. I reached Fields and got gas and amazing food at Fields General Store Motel. It is pretty much the only place to grab good food and gas before getting onto Fields Denio road. The burger and milkshake is really delicious over there! Also, an older lady named Nancy who works there is a total sweetheart! If you go there anytime soon, do tell the brown guy traveling by himself during Christmas who drives a Jeep says hi!

The drive on Fields Denio road was gorgeous with the Steens mountains on the west! Such a gorgeous view. The road is mostly gravel and had a fair bit of snow on it. There is a hot springs along the road where you can chill and heat up for $5. I didn't have the time to stop by, but from what I've read, it's a unique experience! Also, I fucked up and didn't stop by Mann Lake (I guess that is where  you can actually see the desert, please correct me if I'm wrong). And by the time I got out of Fields Denio road, I realized I missed the actual desert and I just drove through it.

https://flic.kr/s/aHskQ72j11

I then head to Columbia River gorge, and thus began my drive through hell. I drove via John Daly highway, and boy it was snowing heavily (no network for most part and nobody else on the road either). And it got dark too. I was scared shitless, but drove on and on and on. At 11pm in the night, I reached The Dalles. I thanked every god I could imagine for bringing me safely to the town in one piece. Folks, don't drive when visibility is poor. Lesson learnt, I will never do that again. I got a beer at Rivertap Pub, I think I got a stout and it was delicious! Highly recommend the pub!

Columbia River Gorge:

Early morning, I drove to Multnomah falls hoping there would be a lot of snow as I'd not seen a frozen waterfalls in a long time. Well, I was disappointed. The falls was nice, but, I've been there twice before, nothing different. So I did the usual scenic loop. I drove to Portland next and got lunch at a thai restaurant called Pok Pok. They serve northern Thailand food (Chiang Mai). I got a Koh Soy and it was delicious. I got some food to go too as this was Christmas eve and most restaurants were closed. Highly recommend this place! Food was amazing! I got back to my motel in The Dalles (in hindsight, I should've stayed somewhere closer to Troutdale). 

Next morning, woke up early, drove on the Mt Hood scenic byway. It was way too foggy and was snowing. Couldn't see shit, it was very disappointing, I really wanted to get a shot of Mt Hood from Jonsrud viewpoint. Bummed with the shitty weather, I started my drive up to Seattle.

https://flic.kr/s/aHskSjEtmi

I took the I5 then the 101 North to Seattle. The drive was incredibly beautiful. I got to Port Townsend and was pretty hungry.I got food at Golden Ocean restaurant (Chinese restaurant). I got a soup and it was by far the worst thing I've ever eaten. Food was terrible, so I barely finished it and head to the ferry. In hindsight, a Chinese restaurant in Port Townsend is a terrible idea! I took the ferry to Coupeville. The ferry ride is pretty beautiful! If you are in the area, take the ferry! It costs $8 per person (car). The ride from Coupeville to Seattle via Deception pass was a gorgeous one! 

Seattle:

I reached Seattle, and oh boy! What a view. There is something so ethereal about entering a city with its skyline visible! It is such a great feeling! Man, Seattle is wonderful! I met my friend and we got dinner at Saba Ethiopian Restaurant. I had high hopes for this place, but if you've had food at some of the other Ethiopian Restaurants in bay area or Chicago, this one doesn't compare. The food was alright ( I have a high bar for any ethnic food :P ). My friend and I went to Gas works park to see the Seattle Skyline across Lake Union. This is such a good view! This spot would be great for sunrise too! 

The next day, we had a small edible, then went to the MOPOP! That is the museum of Pop! Previously known as EMP. The museum has different sections, from video games to music to some weird fashion stuff! I had such a good time over there with my friend! They even have sound rooms where you can jam with different instruments from guitars to drums to piano! It was fucking incredible! To end the day, I visited an old friend of mine living in Bellevue for dinner!

https://www.flickr.com/gp/129034279@N06/3F01kz

Olympic National Park:

I'd initially thought of driving to Vancouver, but that required going through the customs. I had a lot of stuff (nothing illegal) packed in my Jeep and I was in no mood to unpack everything and then pack! Seemed like too much of a hassle, so decided to go to Olympic National Park instead. I took a ferry from Edmond to Kingston. The views on this ferry ride were far superior! I could see Mt Baker and other Cascade peaks! Was quite amazing! I drove to Port Angeles where I was planning on staying for the night. I got lunch at Cafe Garden (American style), the food was good and cost about $13 with coffee and a burger. I drove up to Hurricane Ridge and man, it was snowing a lot. The rangers at the entrance booth told snow chains were mandatory, so I had to stop and put them on. Honestly, my Jeep was behaving just right on that snow, but I put the chains on. During winter, Hurricane Ridge is closed beyond the visitor center. However, the view of the Olympics is pretty sweet from the visitor center.

The whole area was covered in feet of snow! There was a section setup for skiing over there. I had no interest in skiing so I drove back down to Port Angeles as I couldn't see shit due to heavy snow. I got dinner at Next Door Gastropub. A really cool pub with amazing food. I had one of the best burgers I've had over there! I got a couple of stouts too. Highly recommend this place if you are in the area!

Next morning, I drove up Hurricane Ridge once again as the weather was slightly clear. Oh man, did I get lucky! The view of the Olympics was just stunning! Highly recommend everyone to visit this place even though most of the area is closed. The view is worth the drive!

Next stop was Hoh Rainforest. I'd been to this place before, but I didn't get any good photos. So I went again. This time, I walked around at my own pace, clicking a lot. Parts of the forest was covered by snow. There is something magical about a place that has overgrowing moss, green trees and snow. So fucking cool! I did the little Hall of Mosses trail. 

https://flic.kr/s/aHskSjAe98

One thing to note is, the drive on Olympic Highway is beautiful. Do it during daylight. 

Not being able to photograph Mt Hood was bugging me a lot, so I looked  up weather around Mt Hood and it said "Partly Cloudy". And that was good enough for me. I drove down to Troutdale for the night. I stayed at McMenamins Hostel in Troutdale. This is in a pretty cool building with lots of wall paintings (looks like something out of Eyes Wide shut with some weird sex stuff). But, you know, there was no sex. The shared dorm was clean, bathrooms were nice and clean. Highly recommend it to anyone in the area and traveling solo. One advice, carry ear plugs, there is always a dude snoring like snorlax.

Mt Hood:

Woke up, got a coffee at a Starbucks closeby and drove to Jonsrud Viewpoint in Sandy, Oregon. The whole scene looked like a painting with fog rising above the tree line and Sandy River snaking along. Sunrise was gorgeous and I was appeased! The hard work paid off! Right after sunrise, I started my drive back to Seattle.

I stopped by in Woodland, Washington to get some food. I initially thought about eating at America's Family Diner and Catering, but a sign on their window put me off. It was something very passive aggressive and overly patriotic thing about them being politically incorrect and some other BS. Being a brown dude, I didn't want any of that hate. So I went to another brown place, Casa Tapatia Mexican restaurant. Delicious mexican food. I got enchiladas, Chile Rellenos and some guac! Everything was really good! Highly recommend!

Mt St Helens:

I decided to to take a detour and stop by Mt St Helens. The road was snowy, but the drive was beautiful. I hiked upto Ape Cave. But the stairs leading to the cave was completely covered in ice. I had my hiking shoes on and had my camera on me, so I didn't dare go down there (which I regret not trying). I began my drive to Seattle.

Seattle:

I stopped by Kerry Park for sunset. Gorgeous view as always. I met up with my friend and we went to Optimism Brewery. Great selection of really strong beers! Huge place with plenty of seating! Unfortunately, they don't have any food inside, just a food truck outside. We got beers, then went to Mediterranean Express and got Chicken Shawarma wrap! Man, it was one of the best Shawarmas I've had! Highly recommend and under $10!

North Cascades National Park:

Early morning, I started my drive to North Cascades National Park. The drive was very foggy. As I entered the park, I was welcomes by snow capped mountains. The road was covered by a small layer of snow (couple of inches I think). When I got into the park, I was the only person except the guy who clears the snow (good guy I might add). I am big fan of big mountains, snow, clouds, fog and all of that together! I spent a few hours just exploring the area (there wasn't much to explore as everything was closed due to heavy snow). I drove till little after Diablo viewpoint after which the road is blocked by snow. I have made a note to return to this park during fall! The drive back to Seattle was quite beautiful as the fog had cleared out from the highway.

https://flic.kr/s/aHskLxiSxE

Friday night was UFC 207, so my friend and I got stoned, ordered a bunch of good food and saw Rouset get her ass kicked. Good times!

Seattle:

On dec 31st, I went down to the famed Pike Place Market. Man, the food there is insanely good. I had food at a Filipino restaurant over there (https://www.flickr.com/photos/129034279@N06/31388801823/in/album-72157675136143884/). Food was good and cheap! I walked around the market, talking to local vendors, eating stuff along the way. Reminded me of the market in Chiang Mai. I returned to my friends apartment, took a quick nap, went out with my friend for new years eve! We took the giant wheel. Crazy view of Seattle from the big wheel! We stopped by the really gross Bubblegum Wall, be careful to never slip over there, or you are going to get a lot of gum in your hair!

https://flic.kr/s/aHskLxqZLy

We got beers at Old Stove Brewing, good beers! We drank at a bunch of other places, and by 11:30, we were substantially drunk. I wanted to see the fireworks, so I picked up my tripod, we stopped by some random street close to his place, I got my shot and then we drank a lot more. I don't remember much, it was a good night!

Next day, I started my drive back to South Bay. I stayed at Weed, California for the night. In the morning, I drove to McArthur Burney falls. Once again, I was disappointed as I wanted to see frozen waterfalls, I got some shots and drove back home. 10 days and 3800 miles!

Chiang Mai

    This was the most impulsive trip I've done so far! Found a ticket to Phuket from SFO for less than what it would cost to fly anywhere else in the US! It was a steal! I bought the ticket a month before thanksgiving. The closer I got to the date, the weather report said it would rain a lot in Phuket. So I did the obvious thing and bought domestic flight to Chiang Mai, which turned out to be a great idea as I'm more into nature and architecture than night life.

  My flight was a really long one (did I tell you I got it for real cheap?), which had a stopover in Wuhan (exceptionally terrible airport). Landed in Phuket in the middle of the night, exchanged some money right before the Visa-on-arrival booth (2000 Baht for visa on arrival). Just a tip, the guard who takes your application will ask 300 baht extra for "VIP" service, which is bullshit, so do not pay them. Pay the required fee and get done with it. Took all of 5 minutes to get the stamping. I bought a sim card for week for 450 Baht (I think) which included 3GB of 4g data which is pretty cheap! I went over to the domestic terminal and was too early for my flight to Chiang Mai, so I ended up taking a nap on one of the seats. Just a tip for those who want to check in bags for Air Asia, it costs a little cheaper to purchase the check in baggage option 4 hours or more before the flight (the difference is a few hundred Bahts).

  At around 8am I boarded the flight. The view of the Islands from the plane is quite amazing. Long windy rivers(?), beaches etc was quite stunning. Thailand is pretty damn green! Landed in Chiang Mai and took an Uber (I have 4G data!) to my hostel (Chiang Mai Hostel). The hostel is a small one with 3 rooms, 4 beds each (mixed dorms I think), 2 bathrooms. All the beds come with mosquito netting. All the travelers I met were quite pleasant (except this Dutch girl who spoke loudly about her adventures at 1am in the room). The hostel cost $5 per night and I paid in Baht. The hostel is in quite a good location as it's in the old town and walking distance from the Night Gate Market ( amazing food).

  As per the suggestion of the hostel guy, I started off the day (noon) by grabbing lunch in a small restaurant by the road, I had some Khao Soy (omg, it was delicious). My first stop was Wat Phra Singh (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Phra_Singh). Beautiful temple with some exquisite architecture. There were many people praying, many tourists hanging out talking to the monks. Was a nice quiet place. My next stop was Wat Chiang Man (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Chiang_Man) is the oldest temple inside Chian Mai. More impressive Buddha statues, quiet, peaceful. I sat there for a while reflecting at all the poor choices I've made in life which led to me Chiang Mai all by myself, lol. Here a inspector (inspects the temple building), spoke to me about the temple, sharing it's history. Also he tried to get me to buy stitched suits in the night market, because his cousin in the UK comes every year to get one stitched. Good stuff I tell you. That is when I told him I wanted to walk around some more and started walking towards the Silver Temple (Wat Sri Suphan). It is quite an incredible temple which on the inside is covered with Silver (maybe some other metals too, but the Thai people were saying it's all silver). A gorgeous temple and more so when they light it up at night! Just a heads up, women are not allowed inside this temple, so you know, look at it from a distance and pray for equality one day! 

  I was getting quite hungry, so I head to the Gate market where the food blew my mind! There were so many options to choose from! Noodles, noodle soup, fried stuff, sushi, fresh fruit juice, kebab, they had so much good stuff! I was a little wary at first. So I watched where all the white hippie people ate, then decided to try that. I drank a lot of fruit juice too because it cost only 20 Baht! I spent about 100 Baht on dinner which included 2 dinners + juice. Since I ate so much street food, I was on tummy ache alert for the night with some medication right by my side, and voila, I was totally fine the next day! Success!

   I had booked a half day Elephant Nature Park visit through my hostel (1700 Baht), to my luck they didn't have anyone else sign up for the half day tour, so they put me on the full day tour! I did the tour through (https://www.facebook.com/elephantfamilysanctuary/) which was fairly well organized. They picked me up from my hostel around 8am, picked the others, and then we head to Elephant Nature Park. On the way we stopped at a small market to grab food, drinks etc. I had some Thai breakfast in the market ( I wish I wrote down the names) and some fruits.  All the people in my group were pretty excited like me to play with the elephants. And play we did! Once we reached the park, our guide (Tony) introduced us to the Mahouts and the elephants. All the elephants there were young, from 2 to 13 years old. Sooo cute! We played with them, feeding them bananas, sugar cane, petting their heads, scratching their bellies, kissing them etc. Some good old fashion lovin. We were served some really delicious traditional thai food (some were pretty spicy). After lunch, we prepared some medicine for the elephants which was made of salt, tamarind and bananas. We made small balls of them and fed the elephants (it helps with their digestion I think and general immunity). Then we went into a little pond to have a mud bath with the elephants where we played with the elephants. I hugged them a lot, really a lot! Then we cleaned up by going into flowing water with the elephants and playing with them. This is pretty much a dream come true for me! I have never felt so happy playing with something! After it was done, we said our goodbyes to the elephants ( I kissed them goodbye and they kissed me back, I think she likes me). 

  Our guide took us to a waterfall nearby. Sadly the water was a little too deep for me to get into ( I can't swim), so I took out my tripod and took photos of the waterfall. A really hot latina was busy taking selfies right beside me with my camera in the frame, if you are reading this, HI :). The waterfall was  pretty crowded and was an ok waterfall. And that was the end of the tour for the day. We drove back to the Old city and got dropped back to my hostel.

   I met a couple from Lithuania on the tour earlier who had expressed interest in seeing one of the Cabaret shows with ladybois. I was curious too, so we got dinner at the gate market, then walked to the night market (where the cabaret is located). The cabaret show was 200 Baht I think and was worth the money! The show was part funny, part cabaret. A warning to those who sit in the front row, guys, you will be kissed! I have a feeling some of the guys were way too enthusiastic about kissing, hmmm I wonder..front seat..hmmmm...I really liked the funny parts where there was a lot of physical comedy and gross jokes. The cabaret part was good I guess, if you like seeing good dancing, personally not a great fan of seeing people dance. I highly recommend this show if you are in Chiang Mai (it is not kid friendly, just an FYI). And that was the end of night for me!

   I rented a scooter through my hostel guy for 200 baht a day (no insurance, helmet provided). I woke up early and rode to Doi Sutep (which is on a mountain) hoping to catch sunrise, but I was too late. Also I fucked up and forgot to carry a jacket with me. It was pretty cold up the mountain. The ride up is quite pleasant and beautiful! Windy roads and green mountain! The temple gets very crowded very early, so get there as early as you can. The temple looks kinda like any other temple to be honest. The view from the temple viewpoint is the main attraction in my opinion. You are literally among clouds. I walked around the temple taking photos, praying to give me the strength to not fall sick from all the food I'd been eating like a fatass! There is an entry fee to get into the temple (50 Baht I think) for foreigners (wow a brown guy is a foreigner, so cool!)

  After the temple, I visited Bhuping Palace. I should've worn pants as pants are mandatory. So I had to pay 20 Baht to rent a pajama pant. The palace was very underwhelming as you see it from the outside. The flower garden on the other hand is quite beautiful and worth the entrance fee (50 Baht I think). The whole area is a short stroll. I took a few photos here. A very excited gay Thai dude wanted to get a photo with me (awww shucks). I obliged and got a slight ego boost, lol! I then router my phone to Sticky Waterfalls,  holy shit! Sticky Waterfalls! Yes, it is a sticky waterfalls. Which means you can walk where the water falls! The rock is pretty porous and causes a lot of friction on our feet. There are 4 levels to the waterfalls. So I put on my 10 year imaginary hat on and ran up and down the waterfalls for a total of 5 times in my underwear ( I forgot to bring swimming shorts). I was laughing the whole way up and down. It was at this moment I realized I forgot to pack the waterproof case for my action camera, oh fucking well! I highly recommend this waterfall to anyone who wants to unleash their inner child, come on, forget the handjobs, this is what Thailand is all about, lol!

   Speaking of handjobs, I drove back to the night market right after to look for a place to get a good thai massage as my feet and back were hurting a lot. I saw a nice place and thought, well, this could be nice, they look legit. WRONG! 30 minutes of the worst massage I have ever gotten, then the girl asks me if I want something special. I was getting pissed by then because I knew I was being scammed into a shitty massage, so I told her to continue giving me my shitty thai massage for another 30 minutes. The girl wasn't happy and she continues pestering me for a handjob. But being the upright citizen that I am, I refused and continued on with the shitty massage and 200 baht later, I regretted wasting 1 hour of my life. I was pretty hungry by then, so I went back to the gate market and ate like a monster. Since it was saturday night, I went towards the Silver Temple where they have the saturday night market. Man, so much cool art, music, food, the whole place was exploding with so many amazing things. I got a really good foot massage for an hour (150 baht + 20 baht tips). The guy was really good (unlike the pretty thai girl wanting to tug me). I highly recommend getting a massage in one of these markets! Cheap and good! I bought a couple of souvenirs and called it a night!

  Sunday morning, I had some breakfast in the local market, then rode to Doi Inthanon National Park ( I am crazy about national parks). The scooter ride by itself was long and boring, took me about 1:45mins to get there. As you wind up the mountain, it starts getting cooler and cooler. This mountain is the highest point in Thailand! Pretty cool if you ask me! I stopped by Mae Klang waterfalls first. Gorgeous waterfalls, but be careful while getting close to the water, it's pretty slippery, ask me how do I know it, coz I fell on my ass and bruised my right leg. I got a few good photos of the falls. Next stop was Wachirathan Waterfalls. A huge waterfalls which is quite gorgeous, do not miss it! I did the short guided tour of Doi Inthanon Nature Trail. It is guided as they don't let you in without a guide, because apparently it's easy to get lost on a well made trail, yeah sure. The guide fee is 200 Baht, I was lucky and split with a group of young kids who didn't mind me tagging along their ground. In retrospect, it is money going to the locals, so it's not all that bad! This nature trail is a 3-4 KM long trail which takes you through forest, open areas where you can see as far as you can! It quite a beautiful little hike! Highly recommend this, but keep 3-4 hours for this, you are only as fast as your group.

   I rode the scooter up the mountain to the highest point. The highest point has a sign saying it's the highest point, so nothing great about it. On the way down, I stopped by the Pagodas! Oh boy! These were truly beautiful. Since I was in a foreign country all by myself, I decided to trespass past the no trespassing sign to get a better view of the pagodas (see the photos). Looks like it's a pretty popular spot to trespass as I met a couple of other photographers there! Fog was quickly settling in closer to sunset. It cleared off for a bit, I got my shots, then set in again (wind was blowing pretty hard). I watched sunset from the Pagodas, then head back to Chian Mai in dark. It was cold, dark ride.

  Knowing this would be my last night in Chiang Mai, I went to the sunday night market. Again, lots of cool art (more artists showed up for this). There was a band playing some really trippy music (with a dijiridou). The food was off the charts! Mango with sticky rice, noodle soup, coconut water, fruit juice, I just kept eating. Then I stopped by the temple which has a really nice massage for 150 baht and it's legit. I got a shoulder and neck massage for the night and that was it.

   For my last day in Chiang Mai, I went back up to Doi Suthep. I stopped by Wat Pha Lad to start off my morning. It's a temple overgrown by moss and plants all around. It looks quite different from other temples. I hung out here for a while and then rode to Doi Soi. There is a really nice Flower Garden in Doi Soi. There is supposed to be a waterfall too, but it was more like the hostel shower. A very pretty and well maintained garden though, a pretty cool place for a short visit if you do visit Doi Suthep. There is a market in Doi Soi too, where you can buy souvenirs and also get some delicious food. Knowing I was running out of time, I rode back to Chiang Mai, got a full body massage at the temple (https://goo.gl/maps/E9QVvrNLWYU2). I highly recommend this place if you want cheap legit massage. I'm guessing some spas may have better massages. In the evening, I went out with my Canadian dude dormmate for dinner. Funny dude was going hard on tinder in Chiang Mai (what's up with you firangs and tinder, always in search for coochie lol). And that was the end of the trip, I took a Tuk Tuk to the airport and took a long ass flight to SFO via Wuhan (shitty airport).

Notes: Shop around for exchange rates within Chiang Mai. Everyone thinks I am muslim for some reason, maybe it's the beard. Maybe it is why I get randomly picked for checks at the airport. I'm Indian and I am hindu :P. Lots of creepy old white men with suspiciously young thai women. Lots of Western dudes with local girls through tinder. I'm guessing Thailand is the Vegas of the world, what happens in Thailand, stays in Thailand, except STDs, which you got from that hippie chick, that stays. Elephants are awesome! Food is amazing! Do not fly through Wuhan Airport!