Chiang Mai, Thailand

  Chiang Mai, Thailand
Thursday, July 17, 2008

We had a crazy Formula 1 style mini-bus ride to Bangkok airport and when we got there we realised our flight was due to land at 2pm not take off at 2pm, so we raced to the check in desk and just made it in time.The flight went really well and we were delighted with the decision to fly for 33 euro each rather take an uncomfortable 12-14 hour bus ride for half that price. We got to the RCN Court Hotel at 3pm, rested and watched TV for a while then went to Chiang Mai's famous night market. In the market there was a huge selection of things on sale, from the latest Hollywood films on DVD to traditional handycrafts by local tribespeople, from Rolex watches to fake football jerseys, they had it all. After we finished walking round the market we went for a quick bite to eat then saw a sign for O'Malleys Irish Pub. We said we'd check it out but it wasn't great at all, more of a restaurant than a bar, quite expensive and not another Irish person in sight so we just had a swift drink and left for home where we watched a film on TV and had an early night.

Temples of Chiang Mai

Temples of Chiang Mai

The next morning I devised a walking tour of Chiang Mai for me and Lydia to take (she hates the walking tours!). It consisted of temples, temples and more temples. We saw about 10 of the most important of the 300 odd temples Chiang Mai has to offer then found a riverside cafe to have lunch in. We ended up sitting there for a few hours sipping drinks and watching the world go by - what a way to spend a Sunday afternoon! On Sunday evening Chiang Mai closes down one of it's busiest street and re-names it "Sunday Walking Street". Local tribes and minority groups come into the town on Sunday evening and set up stalls to sell their goods. Some of the stuff was nice and, as with all markets we've been to in Asia, if we were going home the following day we would have bought a lot of stuff. The traditional food villages they set up were good too with plenty of "meat on a stick" and other snacks to keep us going while we walked round the market.

Karl on Elephants Head

Trip on an Ox Cart

Had a bit of a practical day on Monday. We did a lot of research into Laos, deciding on what we wanted to do there. Most people who go to Laos spend a maximum of 2 weeks there, we want to spend a month so we're looking into going off the normal tourist routes and that requires a lot of research! After a few hours online researching we went to the post office and sent off some postcards we'd been meaning to send for a while. In the evening we went to a shopping centre and to the cinema to see Hancock. Before the movie started the whole cinema sttod up for the national anthem while a mini-video of propoganda for the King was shown on the screen. That was a bit weird but then again, the King really is worshipped in Thailand.

On the Bamboo Raft

Scenery from Bamboo Rafting

Spent most of Tuesday researching Laos again. We would like to spend time with a family in the north of the country if possible and we're spending a lot of time looking into things like that. We also want to go trekking for a few days so we're looking into where the best place to do that is. Laos is quite a poor country with bad infrastructure so getting from A to B will be a challange once we leave the normal tourist route. So after spending the majority of the day researching Laos we found a decent bar that evening called the Chiang Mai Saloon, had dinner and a few beers there that evening.
On Wednesday we decided to make up for our lack of sightseeing over the last few days and started off with an elephant trek. It was a lot more comfortable then the elephant trek in Nepal but there wasn't as much to see. The highlight for me was when the mahout (elephant driver) asked if I'd like to sit on the elephants head and drive the elephant the way he does. It felt weird sitting up there with nothing to hold onto only the elephants ears and when the elephant walked I could feel her shoulder blades moving under me, it was hard to stay on! When we got off the elephant we went on a traditional Ox-Cart contraption to take us back to where we started the elephant trek from - did they never hear of suspension or shock absorbers back in the day? After that trek we saw an elephant show, which wasn't great, wild animals doing tricks, dancing, playing football, painting pictures etc. When that was over we had a lovely traditional Thai buffet lunch, we were both stuffe afterwards and made our way down to the river where we went on a bamboo raft. There was good scenery along the way down the river and we had a bit of a laugh with the 2 German girls and a couple of Americans who were with us on the raft.

Long Neck Tribe

Orchids

After the rafting we went to see a tribe called the "Karen Tribe". They are originally from Burma but a lot of them have now crossed into northern Thailand. They wear brass rings around their necks to make their necks longer. Nobody really knows why they do this, they are a few theories out there but it seems to be just a traditional thing. Some of the tribe who don't have long necks have huge circular disks in their ear-lobes intead. Either way it was fascinating to see them even if the traditonal village was very tourist orientated. On the way back to Chiang Mai we stopped off at a butterfly and orchid farm. It wasn't that impressive but there was a snake breeding centre next door and one of they guys let us hold a snake while he put another one around our shoulders. Ok, the snakes were quite small but they were still good to hold and didn't feel at all like I imagined they would.
Got bad news on Wednesday night when I returned to the hotel, my Nanny Moore had passed away. I didn't for one second think that, when I left Ireland in February it would be the last time I would ever see someone. She had been sick for a couple of months though so I was expecting the news any day. It still came as a shock though and it's hard to believe that on our holidays in Cape Cod last September she was the life and and soul of the party, up til the early hours every night dancing and singing away!

Lydia with Snakes

Karl with Snakes

Didn't do much on Thursday just rang home a couple of times, spoke to my Mam and sat in the hotel for most of the day. It was a religious holiday in Thailand anyway and most shops were closed along with all bars and the majority of restaurants.
Off to Laos in the morning, long day ahead!