Thailand

Resembling the landscape of Northern Malaysia, Northern Thailand is covered with rice paddies, rolling hills, dense green vegetation and small rivers squiggling all over. Daily mid-afternoon rains are expected and are fit into the days schedule. While there are various cities along the way to the northern border, smaller villages are tucked a bit from the main highway.
Small markets, whether wet, dry or souvenir, randomly appear on the side of the highways. Live frogs bagged to suffocate and be purchased by hungry shoppers line the markets. There are crickets, worms, even eels all waiting to be consumed. A courageous group of foreigners decided to try fried grasshoppers and worms.
Just a bit cruchy to start and not too much of a tickle down the throat, grasshoppers don't taste the best...I would suggest having some water or maybe some beer available to help it go down. Unfortunately for us, we didn't have the latter so we were stuck with a grasshopper after taste. Silk worms aren't as bad, but still a bit crunchy.
Half the battle is the knowledge of what is being eaten. Then it's just a snack.

Historical sites from Sukothai to markets in Chiang Mai, there is a dichotomy of life...the quiet life or the loud one. The quiet life is lead by temples and small hostels squeezed into the tropical trees. Some temples are enhanced by Buddhas with a Greek sense, influenced by Alexander.
Others are plated in bright shades of glass adorned with different Buddhas, dragons and paintings depicting Heaven and Hell. Bike rides around the villages divulge hard workers farming, sewing, teaching. Usually yellow will be worn on a Monday to commemorate the King since he was born on a Monday and the color for Monday is indeed yellow. (For those interested the colors are as follows: Monday-yellow, Tuesday-pink, Wednesday-green, Thursday-orange [I was born on Thursday and have had the hardest time finding a pleasant orange that does not make me stick out even more!] Friday-blue, Saturday-purple and Sunday-red).
Tiger Woods, for instance will wear Red on Sundays in golf tournaments since it was the day he was born. Simplicity is a traditional Buddhist teaching and the quiet life speaks to such an idea.

Cities like Lampang or Chiang Mai speak more to the loud life. Night markets line the streets, bars play loud music to entice the tourists, songtaew drivers rush around trying to avoid traffic. Up a windy hill sits one of the largest temples, Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep Rajvoravihara (please don't ask for me to indicate how to pronounce this...I have no idea), where sometimes the monks can be heard chanting. Unfortunately, we weren't able to witness this, but we were able to snap photos of our own Buddhas.
In the same way that each day represents a different color, each day has its own specific Buddha. Monday-standing with right arm raised, Tuesday- laying on right side, Wednesday- standing holding an alms bowl, Thursday- meditating, Friday- standing with hands crossed toward the body, Saturday- meditating with serpents and Sunday- standing arms down. (Check out http://baanjochim.wordpress.com/2007/06/24/the-seven-days-of-thai-buddhism to get more information on the significance of each position). The tranquility is left on the hill overlooking the whole city while the hustle and bustle continues down below.

A classic way to end such a journey before returning back South is an overnight train. Some overnight trains consist of disco balls and an all night party of dancing. Lucky for us, we missed that one.
Instead our seats are made into small, short beds, lights stay on all night only partially shaded with a curtain and loud knocking noises meet the ears when the doors don't properly close. Tossing and turning won't do much until the last and final attempt to fall asleep bears the fruit of the staff waking everyone as it is almost time to disembark.

The return to Bangkok can either be relaxing or overwhelming. Bangkok is a city where there is a never ending list of things to do and places to go. Temples line the streets- the most popular being Wat Pho with the largest reclining Buddha (for those who were born on a Tuesday).
The Grand Palace is quite a site with the shockingly tiny Emerald Buddha. Snake temples are not far. Gardens are scattered around the city as are markets crowded with bartering tourists. (What a shock it will be to go to a store in Australia and not be able to barter). The Jatachuk market is one of the largest markets I have ever witnessed in my life.
There are around 8,000 stalls with different categories of every item imagined. Thai boxing is a popular event, when it's open. On the relaxing end, Thai massages are an amazing experience, canal tours provide a nice view of the city and a nice tuk tuk ride can take anyone anywhere.

From one end to another, it is difficult to move every 2 days or so, but the amount crammed into three weeks has been worth it.
Extra fees can throw a wrench into plans but overall, there are too many events to list that I would not have witnessed had I not done this tour. Every place we've been from Singapore up to Chiang Mai has been completely different and yet these places are so close to each other. I wanted a sense of the cultures and I certainly have reached my goal.