Pseudo Summer Break

Okay, so awhile ago, during the month of October, I had this whole big scheme about traveling north. I even dedicated an entire post, Pseudo Winter Break, to talk of hippies, flannel, jonesing over patchouli oil, and getting to set off on my own to go wherever I wanted. I wanted to hit up the mountainous northern region of Thailand, get caught up in books, meet fellow travelers, maybe do some yoga (who knows?), but mostly just get to venture around and do a bit of exploring.

Then, Thailand does what Thailand does best during the rainy season and...it rained. It rained hard. It rained real REAL hard. It rained until it flooded and shut down any dreams of careless exploration. It actually rained so hard that Bangkok experienced the worst floods in half a century - Photos and Article About Northern Floods 2011.


All this rain kept me stationary over my pseudo winter break and really did a number on my adventure spirit. Yet, I prevailed! Today is another day and I am being given the chance to redeem my inner traveler by attempting my pseudo winter break plans...during my pseudo summer break!...and I shall succeed! (Yes, April is "summer" in Thailand. See what I'm saying about everything being all sorts of mixed up? No wonder I never know what month it is!)

Thankfully, I have made it to Round 2, I'm up, and I'm in the ring. Well, almost. I'll be there tomorrow, since Tim and I are catching a flight to Chiang Mai in a few hours. As for our plans? We are committed to spending 2 weeks exploring and Songkran-ing. I am beyond pumped for the Songkran portion of the trip because, songkran is maybe the best new year's festival ever...actually it is probably one of the best festivals of all time...for any reason! What makes it the best? It is probably because it is a week long, nation-wide, water war! Yes, water war! On top of that, it is a water war that revolves around the happiness and good fortune brought about by the coming of a new year. I'm not kidding. A water war that everyone participates in! There will be more details about this, but the point of this post is to say - I'm off tomorrow/a few hours from now, when the sun comes up. I'm cruising up to the north (finally!) and I'll be up there for 2 weeks of climbing and fun times - returning for Tommy's birthday and 2 weeks of climbing in Tonsai at the end of the month. Tonsai is the place where I am always paparazzi-ing on climbing trips. It is just so gosh darn photogenic, but the peninsula is also a climbing mecca and one of the most peaceful places in southern Thailand, so it is perfect for vacationing. All of this gets me so psyched. I can't believe that I get 1 month to travel around and see what this country has to offer! So here I go - to the great beyond. I don't have any plans beyond flights, so as long as I make the plane, I'm set. Haha, I think I can manage that! What did I say about if you dream something, you can do it? :) Dreams, baby steps, pseudo breaks, and great escapes. See you in a month, Phuket!