Same Same but Different

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The night train up to Chiang Mai was a great experience. We got on the train to find that we had booked a bunk each in the air conditioned carriage, a luxury which we hadn't experienced yet. After a short while the train got under way and as it was a night train we went to sleep. I was woken up by the slightly effeminate/semi ladyboy waiter telling me breakfast was ready. After eating I had a wander up the train and found that in the intersection between carriages the doors were open so that you could stick your head out of the moving train. After a while of sitting there soaking in the jungle and hills rolling by it was plain to see why hobos in america would do so also, it was a great way to pass the time.

When we arrived in Chiang Mai it was immediately apparent that I liked this city more than Bangkok. For starters there was no hassle, it was less humid and the whole place had a more relaxed vibe. We found our hotel and had a walk around the old city where the sunday market was on. We grabbed some food and had a stroll around looking at the countless number of stalls that were up the main street. After a while it started spitting and the locals rushed to quickly cover up their stalls. At first we weren't sure why as it was only a light drizzle, but we so realised. Just as we got into THC, a reggae themed rooftop bar, it started absolutely hammering it down. We soon learnt to watch the locals, and run for cover if they do. After a few beers we on the rooftop, the roof being pulled back when the rain stopped, we then left and went to watch the football that was on and play some pool.

The next day we started our three day Jungle trek. We set out in the morning to a local market and bought some supplies and then headed off for our first activity, elephant trekking. This was fun and it was awesome to be so close to them but after later hearing other peoples stories of elephant training I was a little disappointed as they had a lot more interaction with them. We got to ride the elephants for about half an hour and feed them some bananas and sugar cane. When we had finished we set off trekking. Our guide was a man called Chang which in thai means 'elephant'. He was a complete mental case which we found out later that evening when we stopped at a local tribe for the night. We had dinner and then had a few drinks and played some games, and sang some songs. After failing to grasp the concept of the famous person on your head game Chang disappeared for a while before returning seemingly delirious. We had seen him smoking large banana leaf cigars and so were curious as to what he had been smoking. It turned out to be merely tobacco and he was just mental. 'I shot the tourist' was his favourite song, a personal take on bob marleys classic. He would also say a lot, along with the other guides, "Same Same but different". A phrase which we think was related to ladyboys which is why they found it so funny.

On the second day trekking half the group left to do bamboo rafting, which the rest of us would be doing the following day. The second day involved just walking through the Jungle, this time with a guide called Rambo, less mental than Chang but still cool. The highlight of the trip to this point so far came that evening when we reached our camp. We stayed next to a beautiful waterfall that we swam in and jumped off until dark when it decided to start pissing it down again. Not a very good nights sleep.

On the final day we had a short trek up a hill where we had a beautiful view out over the Chiang Mai area. Another short trek and we reached another river where we could jump off rocks into it and also float down a rapids, with the stones acting like a slide (though slightly more painful). We then took a ride in the back of a pick up truck to lunch before getting on the roof of another van to go to bamboo rafting. This was awesome on the main roads but when he turned off down the bumpy track towards the river we thought otherwise. After many a bruised back we stopped, only for the driver to hop out and point and laugh at us. Lesson learned. The bamboo rafting was relaxing floating down the river, but we had to get off at what looked like the best bit as the water was moving to quickly.

That night our tour group all went out for dinner, and we also met two dutch guys we had met on our trip to Kanchanburi. After dinner we went and watched some Muay Thai boxing, a completely brutal sport. The first round was 2 small children, no more than eight or nine, with each round the competitors getting older. There were a couple of savage knockouts that to be honest was pretty cool to see, but not something i would have wanted to be on the end of. We had some more drinks after the boxing and then said our goodbyes, hopefully meeting up with some of the people in vietnam and australia.

I am already in Luang Prabang in Laos but this has taken so long to write i will do the rest of the journey another time. All in all Chang Mai was an awesome city, some lovely temples, plenty to do in and around and also some nightlife as well. The food is the same but cheaper, the stalls sell the same sort of things but with less hassle. Over all comparing Chiang Mai to Bangkok I would say "same same but different".

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Comments

[Dad]

Sounds good!
Sounds like you are having a great time. Hello from all here back home and up north, keep up with the installments! Dad