CNY Travel to Guangzhou, Chengdu, Bankok, and Phuket
This post is a bit late but it was worth it to document the experience fully. With Chinese New Year and Spring Festival being a major holiday, most people get some time off, our school got two weeks.
Restrictions have been lowered for travel into china to only needing a 48 hr neg pcr test.
My goal was to condense as much enjoyment into my 2 week break as possible while still maintaining the laid-back vacation pace.
I succeeded.
My first stop was Guangzhou. I left work early and went home to prepare. I had opted to take a long cab ride from home but in retrospect wish I had planned ahead enough to catch a train. Next time.
Guangzhou was pretty cool. My first night day there I sought out an observation deck from which I could see the city.
At 480m high the Canton Tower doesn't just kiss the clouds, it fists the clouds. I had been informed that visibility was low prior to buying my ticket so cannot complain. I had a good time so I won't complain. It was surreal standing in a cloud. The last time I had experienced something like that was in a Costa Rican cloud forest.
JAN 13-15
On my second day in Guangzhou I cycled to Sha Mian Dao. This little colonial island is surrounded by a shallow canal and features architechure from european colonization.
I walked my way to the metro station and passed this dried goods market.
I met up with Faye (the lovely woman from NYE) and we went on the Guangzhou Hash together. The plan was to meet her at the train but she ran late so we met up at the A point for the trail.
Faye and I skipped the hash dinner and went to a restaurant together instead. She stayed with me that night and saw me off at the airport before my flight to Chengdu the next day. I started missing her the moment we parted ways.
JAN 15-19
Chengdu was very cool. On the first night I walked around the mall across the street from my accommodation.
I got a lot of activity in the next day. My first full day I cycled an hour to Sichuan (Panda) Tower. I had some tough luck with observation decks on this vacation though and it was closed. So instead I visited the nearby Nature Research Museum.
I was able to link up with a friend from work who also had plans there (Huy Ha)
I caught a taxi to an ENORMOUS mall where I got Tex-Mex with Huy.
We parted ways and I went via metro to Tianfu Square in downtown Chengdu.
Then I cycled to Chengdu Scenic Area Zhitongche and enjoyed a ton of street food.
I also was able to meet with a Chinese friend (Aaron) who I had not seen for six years since we last hung out in Sweden. He showed me around his hometown and brought me to a very popular spot for hot pot.
After dinner we checked out Jiuyan Bridge.
On the 17th I took the metro and cycled to the Panda Research Center and saw all the adorableness that I could handle.
The following three dishes contain bamboo based ingredients including bamboo shoots, bamboo embryo, bamboo hearts, and bamboo fungus.
Afterward I met up with Aaron again and we got dinner and walked around Olympic Park in Chengdu. I forgot to take pictures of the food but took pics of the dessert.
As we were walking the lights shut off. This was somewhat disappointing because they were really pretty. We finished our walk and parted ways at the train station and I returned to my accommodation via the metro. When I got back to my apartment I decided to walk around a bit. I enjoyed a couple drinks at a live music bar (the name of which I cannot remember) and checked out the lights at the 528 Mall nearby.
On my final day in Chengdu I did little more than walk around a bit and get food. I did laundry, arranged shipping for my cold weather clothes, and caught up on sleep in preparation for my trip to Thailand.
JAN 19-27
I woke up early on the 19th and made preparations to fly. The front desk of the serviced apartment agreed to mail my clothing back to my home in Shenzhen for me. I made it to the airport a bit too early but was glad that I had.
This is a photo of my last sunrise in China before leaving for Thailand.
When I arrived in Bankok I caught a long cab ride to my hotel. I stayed in a five star hotel called Swissotel.
My first destination was a cannabis store called Alchemi Botanics. As of January cannabis is legal in Thailand. I enjoyed this very much.
I walked a lot but found that the majority of the food I found was Chinese food. I was disappointed because I had just left China and had already eaten a fair deal of Sichuan cuisine.
The traffic in Bankok is crazy. There were barely any street lights or crosswalks. In order to cross the street one has to work up the nerve to walk into traffic and hope the cars stop. They always stopped but it was nerve wracking. Eventually I opted to go back to my hotel and order room service.
On my second day in Bangkok I had breakfast, worked out, took a swim, and then got ready for my day of activity. I started by taking the subway to Sukhumvit for a massage a reputable spa. I wanted to get a facial but figured I would get one later. Afterward I stopped at another dispensary and got some spring rolls. Then I got a coconut to rehydrate. Later I got a red curry. I went back to my hotel to relax a bit before returning to the Sukhumvit area for more street food. 
I tried some bugs. They were pretty good and tasted a bit nutty.
I also enjoyed some tiny bananas.
On the 21st I was scheduled to leave bankok but still had a whole day before my flight. I was up early for hotel breakfast and then got a coffee and stopped at a dispensary called Space Herbs. After a smoke I walked around a little but did not take many photos. I returned to the hotel for lunch and then decided to pay for 2hrs of bottomless drinks. I hadn't realized that this also included an order of tapas until they brought the tapas out.
Later that evening I enjoyed drink and a snack at the hotel bar.
I had a grasshopper and a white Russian but only photographed the grasshopper.
I had my share of drink and food and was very full. So I took a nap before packing up my stuff and heading to the airport later that evening.
Phuket was a great time. I spent most of my time in Patong but also booked a tour to Phi Phi Islands and Koh Khai. I also visited Aquaria Phuket which is in a mall called Central Phuket and Old Phuket Town in the main town on the island (Phuket Town). At this point I have grown tired of making sure these photos are in the correct order. Just know they are in reverse order.
January 21 and 22
January 23 an 24
January 25 and 26
Thailand is a pretty cool place. I got a daily massage. If my feet were sore I got a foot massage and if my back was sore I got a back massage. On average this only cost 200-400 baht. I never got a facial while there, but can do this next time. I barely got to do everything I had wanted to, but I did a lot.
On the adventurous side of things I rented a jetski and took a tour to Koh Phi Phi and Koh Khai which included beaches and snorkeling. I went to Aquaria Phuket, Phuket Central, and Phuket Old Town. I watched live music every night. I spent time on the beach and walked around patong. The food and drink was amazing. The list of activities I did is far shorter than the list of activities I wanted to do. I will have to go back
My last night in Thailand I was locked out of my hotel room because Na Siri Lakeview Hotel had canceled my reservation without telling me.
I was able to get the travel agency through which I booked the hotel to fix the problem but I had to pay the cabbie an extra 500 baht for waiting for me for an hour. I was pretty pissed but the situation was resolved and I got compensated for the issue. I flew home on the 27th and was surprised to find that a coworker, friend, and neighbor of mine (named Anna) was on the same flight. We ended up being seated next to each other. Ironically I had been in Phuket at the same time as three of the people I work with but never ran into them while I was there. I only ran into Anna at the airport while checking into my flight.
I got so many videos and pictures that at this point I am tired of putting them into the correct order. The videos that follow are from my time in Patong, Phuket, and Phi Phi. They are not in any particular order. This post ends here. It has been two weeks in the making and I am tired of writing and editing.
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