T R A V E L // thailand - what to pack

i originally planned to pack a 28 liter bag and knew that was really unrealistic so i opted for a 46 liter bag (Osprey 46L Bag https://amzn.to/2qhY35h). it's also important to bring a smaller bag for every day carrying items (Fjallraven 20L Bag https://amzn.to/2ICTXfo). while i normally like bringing my own water bottle, i didn't bring one along because it's recommended to only drink bottled water here.

for the plane ride:

• Travel Pillow https://amzn.to/2qfmvFe
• Silkworm By Robert Galbriath https://amzn.to/2qhhU4F

skincare/toiletries:

• Tiger Balm https://amzn.to/2vkqvsY
• Sun Bum Sunscreen https://amzn.to/2GZqvDX
• tom's toothpaste https://amzn.to/37FvdzW
• 2 in 1 shampoo & conditioner
• soap bar
• travel toothbrush

clothing:

• 2x tank tops (i usually buy whatever is on sale at rei) https://bit.ly/2QSOAhW
• 2x shirts
• 3x dresses
• prana pants (similar) https://amzn.to/2tvVimc
• patagonia baggies https://bit.ly/2SWN4OG
• 2x bathing suits
• chacos https://amzn.to/2FmxKCP

climbing gear:

• five.ten rogues https://amzn.to/35qgTtm
• friction labs chalk https://amzn.to/35rBe1w
• black diamond chalk bag (similar) https://amzn.to/35qztS7

camera gear:

• gorilla pod https://amzn.to/2Eve78K
• go-pro hero 4 http://amzn.to/1TK35R2
• go-pro floating mount  https://amzn.to/2ENGO0Z
• sony rx iii http://amzn.to/1QGacEI

and when in doubt, you can buy inexpensive clothing and things you may use there!

T R A V E L // thailand - things i'd do differently

with everything we did in thailand, there's only a few things i would do differently.

1. plan ALL bookings ahead of time including flights and lodging. while it's fairly cheap to get around thailand and find accommodations, you will save so much more by booking everything ahead of time. we knew we were going to fly into chiang mai and fly out of bangkok and we identified all the accommodations in between, but getting from chiang mai to our other destinations we decided to "play it by ear". again, it wasn't a huge deal breaker but i'm all in the biz for saving money and because we didn't have good internet, it would have saved quite a bit of stress booking the flights in between
2. we stayed 3 nights in chiang mai and i didn't get to try enough coffee shops! we only got to visit 1 and there was so much more to explore
3. i know it's really unrealistic and seeing chiang rai would also have been ideal .. just means i have to come back next time! 
4. if you're a beach person, stay longer in phuket. the beaches are truly magnificent and the quick in and out was too short of a journey for us
5. we took a ferry from phuket to koh phi phi and it's at least a 2-3 hour ride so pack your lunch and snacks! you can buy food on the ferry and if you have any particular food restrictions, highly recommend packing your food.
6. while i'm not about using toxic chemicals, i really recommend using deet products to prevent mosquitos. i had over 60 bug bites and could have been happy with a little less bites.

let me know about your recommendations in the comments below!

T R A V E L // chiang mai x elephant nature park

you could not have anticipated the beauty and majestic-ness of these gigantic creatures.

literally have no words to describe the magnitude of these beings. they are meant to be out in wide open areas, eat 200-300 kg of food and 100-200 litres of water necessary for it’s daily nourishment. any other environment is not conducive to their lifestyles.

what you may not know is that they are not meant for riding. period. the reality is that they have been tortured, beaten and abused so they can "learn" to behave for the rider and for people's entertainment.  these poor creatures are literally suffering mental illnesses, exhaustion, hunger and dehydration. 

the tourist practices have literally landed elephants as an endangered species.

please do not EVER ride an elephant.

to learn more visit the following websites:

travel + leisure

elephant nature park

the dodo

@mollyvelasco // this elephant has been known to recognize shitty humans and won't let them pet her.
apparently i passed the test since she let me pet her

video starts exactly at arriving in chiang mai.

T R A V E L // chiang mai x thai secret cooking school

this was such an extraordinary way of learning the thai culture. whenever you visit a place, i strongly recommend doing a cooking class at the place you're visiting. honestly, what i cooked was probably the best version of the dish i've ever tasted. which sounds kind of dumb because it questions whether the authenticity of the dish since a local didn't actually make it, and in my opinion, it somewhat counts as local cuisine, right? 😉

comment below on whether you think this still counts as local cuisine or what you'd pick for your meal!

@brittnissx3 // picking your menu items

@bearahlee // all the variations of rice at the market

@bearahlee // mangos!

@brittnissx3 // you can make mango sticky rice at home!

@bearahlee // all the bikes at the market

@brittnissx3 // the set up

@brittnissx3 // the set up

@bearahlee // the garden

@bearahlee // flower with natural dying properties

@brittnissx3 // mise en place for holy basil chicken

@bearahlee // mise en place for curry

@bearahlee // grinding curry

@brittnissx3 // mise en place for papaya salad

@bearahlee // making homemade coconut milk

@brittnissx3 // mise en place for tom kha

@brittnissx3 // blue dye

@brittnissx3 // mango sticky rice

@bearahlee // the beautiful home of our host

video starts exactly at the cooking segment

T R A V E L // chiang mai x temples

you can literally spend weeks in chiang mai and never get to see every space. we visited so many places within three days here and on our last day we visited as many temples as we good and then some local places. we visited 3 temples, 2 coffee shops and 1 afternoon tea stop at a resort.

i wish i had spent more time visiting local coffee shops as that was recommended by a friend. so when planning your visit, look ahead of time of the places you want to visit and map them out to optimize your visit plan. see below of some of the wonderful places we saw.

@molly_velasco // wat phrathat doi suthep

@brittnissx3 // wat phrathat doi suthep

@brittnissx3

@brittnissx3 // wat duang dee

@brittnissx3 // wat chiang man

@brittnissx3 // afternoon tea at anatara chiang mai resort

@brittnissx3 // afternoon tea at anatara chiang mai resort

@brittnissx3 // anatara chiang mai resort

@brittnissx3 // night market

@brittnissx3 // thai tea at free bird cafe

@brittnissx3 //  coconut creamy kao soi at free bird cafe

@brittnissx3 // scone + coffee at the coffee klub

video starts exactly at this day's adventure.