Walk Unafraid, I'll Be Clumsy Instead

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  Chiang Mai, Thailand
Saturday, February 25, 2006

J: We arrived in Chiang Mai after another funfilled bus ride from Sukhothai on Sunday the 19th. We checked into our guesthouse, which is really quite excellent, and scooted off to find some food and take a walk through the Sunday Market. Although obviously overrun with tourists, the Sunday Market was much more what we both had in mind when we thought of going to a market in Thailand. The vendors line the streets with their various items to sell, be it intricate wallhangings, silk shawls and pillow covers, light cotton clothing, carved wooden animals and instruments, or food. The streets were sometimes jam-packed with people, and it was all so exciting that we had to make a concerted effort to keep track of each other. We were so taken by all the potential purchases that we pretty much just wandered through, excitedly pointing things out to each other. We bought a couple articles of clothing and then began the uber fun process of eating our way through the market, trying grilled rice patties, shrimp sausage (okay, only I tried it as we didn't want to have to run back to the hotel to get Missy's Epipen), wide rice noodles, and one of our favorite treats, mango and sticky rice

A Thai Feast That We Prepared

. We got back to the hotel exhausted, but loving Chiang Mai already.

Our first full day here we wandered around looking at some of the temples (Wat). At the first temple, I went inside before Missy and was a little creeped out. At the front of the temple there was a glass case with a monk sitting meditating inside and I honestly could not tell if he was real or fake. When I brought Missy inside to help me figure it out there was a couple in there having the same conversation (btw he was fake - wax, I think, which I do not enjoy at all, M: And, she was pretty hilariously sketched out by the whole situation. I mean, she was pretty convinced he was real, but he was in a glass box. It was VERY weird.). So we started chatting with them and before we had even exchanged names, they had asked us to go to dinner with them. Just love those Canadians. We also had a really fun exchange with a couple of young monks who were on somewhat of a recess between their classes at the Buddhist University here in town. M: Jessie started calling the monks MITs (Monks in Training). Many of them learn English and were pretty eager to practice and answer questions about Buddhism for us. That was pretty cool.

In the afternoon we hired a driver to take us out to some factories--silk, silver and gems, and lacquer

Degreasing the Spring Rolls

. They were pretty interesting as we got to see all of the crafts being made, but of course touristy and wanting desperately to sell us stuff.

That evening we met up with the Canadian couple (Peggy and Peter from Toronto) for dinner, a stroll through the night market (M: Where they have EVERYTHING. I mean, beautiful handicrafts, North Face backpacks and I'm not kidding, the DVD of The Da Vinci Code. I asked the guy how he got it, I mean, it hasn't even been released to the big screen yet! and he said it was a secret. Uh huh), and drinks at a fun bar called the Rooftop Bar. It was a great night and once again we were sad to say good-bye to new friends.

Tuesday morning we got up and went to a full day Thai cooking class. It started with a trip to the market where our cooking instructors taught us about various ingredients used in Thai cooking, many of which we have in the States. One of the great things, though, was that they offered suggestions for substitutions if they thought there were things we wouldn't be able to find in our home countries. After the market we hit the kitchen. We learned how to make Phad Thai, spring rolls, ginger chicken, chicken and fried basil, green curry chicken, banana and coconut milk, and black sticky rice and coconut cream. We had the best time, even though we though we might catch on fire during the ginger chicken cooking (see video). It was so much food that we were fairly certain we would never need to eat again (but alas we have reconnected with our appetites). Our instructors were hilarious - extremely knowledgable, entertaining, and loads of fun. M: I just hope that we'll be able to replicate these delicious dishes. We got a cookbook to help us, but make no guarantees.

Wednesday morning we left for a three-day trek into the hills of northern Thailand

First Waterfall on Trek

. It was a good time, despite the heat and the lack of guiding by our "guides." The waterfalls we saw were beautiful (and yes, we even got to swim in them) as were the rice paddies we walked through. The rest of our group was incredibly friendly and we ended up buddying up with two fun girls from Ireland (Lorraine and Jenny). People continue to get a kick out of the fact that we are sisters traveling together, which cracks me up. I cannot tell you how many times people have asked how we are possibly doing this together. How are we getting along and have we been fighting much? And the oh so popular, 'Wow, I could never do this with my brother/sister.' But it also makes me sad that more people don't have good enough friendships with their siblings that they would want to travel together. I know our relationship is unique and special, but it is also nice to get these constant reminders. Sorry to digress a bit...Back to the trekking. You may be wondering about our title for this posting and I am here to explain. Right before we left for the trek we were talking to a Brit who was telling us how crazy an outdoor experience the trek was. He warned us that it was kind of scary with snakes and tarantulas and walking along ridges that could easily be fallen off of and tree trunks over waterways that would take the utmost care to cross.

Needless to say we were both freaked out by the time we went to bed that night, thinking maybe we had made an error in judgment booking the trip. But we decided to go "unafraid", or at least to hide the fear. The trek turned out to be anything but scary. It was mostly a walk in the woods, but somehow we both managed to show our clumsy sides (and we weren't the only ones). Missy's fall was only a bit before mine. I am not sure how she fell exactly, but I was certain she had twisted her ankle and was totally freaked out.

Lacquer Painting

Now of course I can look back and chuckle as I see Missy in my mind's eye with this bulky backpack, slip fall, and pretty much roll over so that although she was walking in front of me, by the end of her fall she was facing me. She is fine and that is why we can all sit back and laugh with relief (M: Does anyone else notice the hilarious theme of me and falling?!). MY fall, more accurately described as a "slip," was a little while later. We had stopped by the water where there was a shelter and someone selling cold beverages and snacks (that just sounds so funny, but really it was true, we would be walking walking walking, nothing around us and then all of a sudden we would come upon a shelter or two or maybe a couple of small houses and someone would basically have a little convenient store set up). I went to buy us some cold water and a sports drink, turned to walk back to Missy, Lorraine, and Jenny and slid down a little slope of dirt, fully falling on my tush, scraping my arm, but NOT dropping the beverages. But like I said we weren't the only ones to fall. The walk was really slippery because it was so dry - the leaves, pine needles, loose sand all made for potential sliding.

The group came out just fine, though, and our last day, yesterday, was only a very short walk, then an elephant ride, and a bamboo raft ride.

Love Him!

M: I'll try to keep this short. The elephant was a pretty interesting experience. The one we were on was pretty sweet, although she ate constantly and then sort of snarfed elephant spray on us. That part was a little gross, but funny. The rafting was fun, but a little tricky because the rafts were literally pieces of bamboo put together and manouvered by a person at the back and one at the front with long bamboo poles. Trekking was interesting because it allowed us to be out and walking around in the hills. We wouldn't have otherwise ridden the elephant, who I like to call Duchess to go with the camel, Duke, or gone rafting. Again, it's hard to find a balance between wanting to see a culture, the hill people, and not wanting to intrude on the culture. I'm not sure we struck that balance, as we didn't meet so many hill people, but I'm also not sure how we would have. We've certainly been having more and more of these discussions. I feel lucky that my traveling partner is also an incredibly good source of thought-provoking insight. Anyway, we gleckel on...

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Mmmm...Thai Basil	Now We're Cookin!	On the Trek	Phad Thai!
Rooftop Bar with Peggy and Peter	Silk Weaving	Third Waterfall on Trek	Veggies in the Market
Village Night 2	Wat on the Grounds of Wat Chedi Luang	With Our Cooking Instructors

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