Bangkok cooking & Khao Sok National Park

The morning after our first night out in Bangkok we had a (thankfully) late morning and rested around the hotel until we headed off for Thai cooking class. We also had to check out of our hotel that morning so commence hauling the 50 lb suitcase back down allllll the stairs. Our cooking class was so much fun! On our walk there we witnessed a motorbike crash. Luckily no one was hurt too bad. I'm incredibly shocked that this was the only one we saw on our trip. We heard somewhere that 90% of tourists who die in Thailand die on motorbikes so we decided to forgo those for the rest of our trip (or did we....). In cooking class we learned how to cook Tom Yum Soup, Pad Thai, and Massman curry. Pad Thai was the only one of the three that I had every had before and I absolutely loved the other two. They became some of my favorite things to eat after that. Probably the best part about cooking class was that they measured everything out for you and have all the ingredients in little bowls so literally all you had to do was cook it. I wish someone would always do the food prep for me. I'd cook way more often!

After cooking class we headed back to our hotel, got our suitcases, and headed to the train station to head south! The 12 hour overnight train is something I can only describe as "an experience". While we were waiting to leave Chelsey, Elly, and I decided we'd buy our tickets to get from Bangkok to Chiang Mai later in the trip. And after the our first experience we decided to just forget about the money we spent on train tickets (it wasn't much) and book a flight instead (which also was less than $100). I can't say that the trains was a bad experience but it just wasn't something I really wanted to experience again.  The main issue was that there were bugs EVERYWHERE. And when I say everywhere I mean everywhere all over mine and Camille's beds... while they didn't seem to bother anyone else. I could handle sleeping in the small train but I was just a little uneasy about the bugs crawling around me. Camille saved my life by letting me sleep on the top bunk where there were a few less bugs. She even found one in her pillowcase! Another issue was the bathrooms. They were Eastern style which is definitely not my favorite, but add in the moving and shaking of a train and I just decided not to use the bathroom for 12 hours. I actually think I would have slept ok except for the fact that the fan closest to me (definitely no AC) decided to stop working half way through the night. And I don't want it to sound like I'm complaining too much because I'm definitely glad we did it and ended up actually having fun but I just don't need to do it again :) Also, don't judge the roughness in this picture. Never underestimate what a few days in Bangkok can do to you.

Before they turned our seats into beds

my view in my bed

After we got off the train we drove a few hours more until we ended up at Khao Sok National Park. This was absolutely one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was just unbelievably beautiful and uninhabited. We took long tail boats to the floating bungalows where we were staying for the night. We stopped and swam in the rain on the way and it was pretty much a surreal experience. 

The floating bungalows were so cool! We spent the afternoon just swimming and hanging out, and more swimming and more hanging out. It was great! None of us could stop looking around and just being completely in awe of where we were. Unfortunately it was a little cold and at times a little rainy while we were there but we didn't let that stop us and still had a great time. There is no actual electricity at the bungalows. There is a generator that turns on from dark until 10 or 11 pm which is pretty cool. Our group hung out and played games together after dinner until the power went off. I was actually a little nervous about this because our bungalows are all connected by tiny little walkways and the bathroom is at the verrrry end of all the walkways. I was just a little paranoid I would have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and not be able to see anything and would just walk into the water. Luckily that didn't happen to me or anyone else but the thought definitely crossed my mind! We were all soooo sad when we woke up in the morning and had to leave our little paradise. It's definitely one of the most beautiful and awe inspiring places I've ever been.

I think we all would have spent the rest of the week at this place if they would have let us. Luckily they didn't and we had some more adventures coming up...