Muay Thai in Chiang Mai

Trip Start Oct 01, 2006
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Trip End May 17, 2007


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Wednesday, January 24, 2007

We got to Chiang Mai on the 21st Jan having got a 5 hour bus from Sukhothai straight here.  Luckily I had checked our place out on the net and got an address for our guesthouse, so it wasn't too difficult to find for the tuk-tuk driver.  We didn't do a lot that day, just wandered around a bit to get our bearings basically.  In the evening we went and played pool at Sharkeys, and everywhere was empty.  It turns out places only get busy late, so we started on the beers earlier than most.  We went to a few bars just to try and cover more ground, then ended up in a place called Spiceys.
 
The 22nd wasn't exactly strenuous either.  I pretty much chilled out, played cards and read a book most of the day.  Oh and I payed someone to wash all my clothers for less than a quid!  The main event for the day was the Night Bazaar, which was a bit hot and sticky but proved worthwile in terms of spotting a few potential purchases for when we get back from trekking.  We went to the Saloon bar to have a couple of quiet ones, and we ended up playing pool with a couple of Swedish guys from Malmo.  It turned out one of them played football for Malmo 2 years ago and is on Champ Man... His name was Christofer something - must scout him on my return!   We were on our way back to the guesthouse via a small Soi (sidealley) when we heard some music.  There were a few Reggae bars that looked quite good so me and Ross went to a couple of them, before leaving promptly after a gay Thai guy took a shining to Ross!
 
Yesterday was a bit more productive... we went to the 2 main temples in Chiang Mai - Wat Phra Singh (1345) and Wat Chiang Man (1296) - and saw the old entrance gate to the city.  We also managed to buy a football to take with us on our travels!  I also sampled a local delicacy - the Chiang Mai sausage - which ended up being the biggest mistake I've made in Thailand.  We went to Muay Thai (Thai boxing) in the evening, but the start of the night was ruined for me by the after-effects of the sausage.  Those squat toilets don't particularly enhance the experience either.  A few trusty Imodiums later and I could enjoy the spectacle of the boxing.  There were 9 fights, ranging from young kids (not particularly fun to watch unless you are the fat, greasy, old man with a high-spec camera sat next to us...sicko) to proper adults (whom the old man hadn't bothered to stay and watch).  The adults was quality, with some hefty blows going in.  Some places only have show figts, but not where we were - a stadium a bit out of town with a few Thais betting on the fights.  It was a great experience and I'm glad we went.  We stopped at a few bars on the way back to town and ended up in Spiceys again for the rest of the night.
 
Today is a rest day as we have to be up early for our 3 day, 2 night trekking trip.  On the trip we'll do bamboo rafting, elephant riding, and stuff.  Should be a highlight of the trip hopefully.  My next entry will be all about that!
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