After being in Bangkok for so long it was time for me to go exploring and see more of Thailand than just its capital.
Side note: Bangkok is the most traveled to city in the world.
BUT, the country has so much to offer, from the beaches in the south, to the mountains in the north. You can spend months... years here, and some do. My goal was to see a little bit of everything without growing roots and staying in one place for too long like I did in Bangkok.
Here's a picture tour of my time in Khao Sok, Koh Samui, and Chiang Mai.
Khao Sok (the far southwest), Koh Samui and Ko Pha Ngan (southeast - Gulf of Thailand), Chiang Mai (far north).
Cheow Lan Lake, just outside of Khao Sok national park. Its a man made lake with giant limestone pillars that rise above the water line. For some reason I took very little pictures on this trip and the few that I have don't do it justice.
We stayed on the lake in little floating houses. You can see them in the far right of the picture. The water was so clear and clean. After a long day of caving and hiking it was nice to take a dip.
My next door neighbor at Jungle Huts Resort in Khao Sok. I took this picture from 25 feet away and used all of my 30x zoom.
Aboard the traditional Thai long tail boat. This is how everyone gets around the lake since there are no roads.
Welcome to Koh Samui Island.
Big Buddha Temple (Wat Phra Yai). Shout out to Tracey for being my travel buddy while touring the island. She may be the goofiest most fun person I ever met.
The terquious waters of Koh Samui.
Ko Pha Ngan Christmas day full moon party. Haaawwwwool!
This picture isn't anything artistically special, but to me it represents the most difficult bike ride of my life. It's significant because I road from Lisbon to Berlin and this is the one that I struggled with the most. I went from my guest house, in the heart of the city center, to Wat Phratht Doi Suthep. It's a 30km ride almost straight up. It took me 3 hrs to climb the "mountain" with a 45 minute decent. The climb had me almost in tears, but the decent was exhilarating. Can't wait to get back in cycling shape.
Chiang Mai is a digital nomad hub. I know many people that call this place home, if only for part of the year. It's dirt cheap (check out the sign above, that comes out to about $1,000 PER YEAR for an apartment). You can be entrepreneurial and not worry about your living expenses.
Chiang Mai is said to have the best food in Thailand, although every region would argue, I would not. This is the famous Cowboy Lady. She serves up some great street food. Thanks Mr. Bourdain for the recommendation.