When I arrived in Chiang Mai, I was a little skeptical about sharing a dorm room with 5 other people. I had reserved it months in advance, and so once I arrived in Thailand and realized how easy it is to find a guesthouse here without a reservation I started to have some buyer’s remorse! But honestly, it couldn’t have turned out better. (Traveling is full of nice surprises :)) As soon as I walked into the room, I see a big guy on one of the bottom bunks bandaging up some rough-looking wounds. Naturally, I asked what happened and he tells me about some ill-thought out mountain biking adventures! His name was James. From Canada. (Canadians are hopelessly friendly.) So I’m getting on well with James and then his friend, Adam, joins and we start talking like old friends. James is going to visit his sister in Bangkok for Songkran (Thai New Year), and Adam is going to stay in Chiang Mai before returning to the Philippines for work. Cool guys. Very laid back.
Then in walks in Scott (Scotty, the boys call him.) Bursting with energy. He’s putting away his boxing gloves and talking about Muay Thai, his passion. At first I thought Scott might be too much of a “guys’ guy” (sorry Scott!), but I was wrong again… Super nice and considerate fellow. He invited me to join the following day for a visit to the Tiger Kingdom, and I was more than happy to have someone to see the sites with. The two Canadian guys joined in and we had tons of fun.
I told Scott about my video blog and asked if I could interview him, as I hadn’t interviewed an Australian yet. (He got a bit red in the face but agreed to do it!) We shot it at the beautiful Wat Phra Sing Temple. Here’s my interview with Scott. He gives me a simple but perfect answer of what makes him feel loved…
(If you’re staying in Chiang Mai and want to meet other travelers, by the way, I really liked Dozy House. Cool but not too crazy. Friendly staff, too.)
Amanda in Asia 