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The Ring of Fire
Entry 48 of 66 | show all | print this entry |
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Saturday 6th March
The overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is and experience not to be missed. Once you have figured out how to convert the chairs into beds it's all very cosy. Everyone has a thin curtain for privacy but for those that wish to cool off by sleeping in the buff be warned: once the train reaches top speed those little curtains begin to flap.
In the morning the train had reached the mountains south of Chiang Mai and it became cold, crisp and clear. But for the bamboo forest, rural villages, monkeys and ruined templesit would have reminded us of a spring day back home.
At the train station all westerners swap clothes with the Thais; they wear t-shirts and jeans, the tourists fishermans' trousers and smocks. Not to be outdone we visited the intense night market, haggled and battered at close quarters and are now the proud owners of an ethnic wardrobe.
Sunday 7th March
In Chiang Mai you are never short of cheap food, transport or massage. Having never had the benefit of a professional back rub before we sought out a decent looking health spa. It was quiet went we entered but a garbled voice called out from behind a screen. A minute later a young Thai woman appeared in a state of semi undress; tying the belt back around her dressing gown. As she had a job to finish off she advised us to come back in 15 minutes.
We found it very difficult to come up with an innocent explanation for the young masseuse's behaviour so we decided not to return. We did end up getting a neck, back and shoulder massage by a couple of more mature ladies with iron thumbs and chop socky technique which was just heavenly.
Feeling relaxed, we took the advice from another travel pod writer (vagabonder) and took a songthaew out to Wat U Mong for the lecture by a buddhist monk. It took the form of a question and answer session. For the first 15 minutes he was peppered with questions such as 'Why do monks wear orange?' 'why do kick boxers wear that thing on their head?' etc. He eventually informed us to aim 'higher with our questions at which point everyone fell silent.
Monday 8th March
Chian Mai has become the place to do a Thai cookery course and it's such a laugh. Started with a tour around the local market where they educated you on what vegetables and fruit really look like.
The main chef at the school was mad, every instruction he issued was followed by a crazy wide eyed stir and nyyyyaaaaaahhhhh cry. Whipped up a green curry, phat thai and fish soup under expert guidance. Can't wait to get home and try it out on you all.
Tuesday 9th March
Every time you take a tuk tuk, taxi or songthaew truck in Thailand you feel you have to be on your guard. Today we wanted to head out of Chiang Mai 16km up a mountain to the sacred temple of Doi Suthep. Followed all the advice from the LP about where to get songthaew from we checked price with the driver before we got in and everything seemed straight forward. Then the scam part begins, moving people from one truck to another; you presume its the same price but the driver is different and the price goes up or they want to offer you a 2 way deal etc.
We eventually agreed a price and enjoyed getting above the smog haze for a few hours, Doi Suthep is worth the hassle. A golden temple on the forested mountain side. The rich murals on the walss tell the story of the young bhuddas ascent to wisdom. Feeling spiritually refreshed we were ready to start negotiations all over again to get back to Chiang Mai.
Wednesday 10th March
Mad tuk tuk ride to the tribal museum east of town. The museum is housed in a 3 storey pagoda in the middle of a lake. Watched a few videos and a slide show, gathered some information for our trek out of Chiang Mai which starts tommorrow. It is difficult to know where is the best place to book your trek, after shopping around they all seem to offer similar combinations of elephant rides, bamboo rafting and hill tribe visits. We met a couple of Canadians from the cookery course who recommended the one they had just finished, see how it goes.
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