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Asia » Thailand » North-West Thailand » Chiang Mai
March 11th 2006
Published: March 11th 2006
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(Gem Writes)

It has been just under two weeks since we added our last entry. We have had some real adventures in that time, i just cannot believe how the time is flying!

We spent a couple of days in Bangkok exploring. We met up with Sarah and Jon, a couple that we had met in Australia and had stayed in touch with. It was great to see them again and catch up with each others travel adventures.

We spent a whole day at the Grand Palace and Wat Po, which is home of the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand. They are both very impressive, the Grand Palace is quite vast and took us a few hours to explore. It was hard going in the heat! It is amazing to see, just so colourful and different to the buildings we have in Europe. The Grand Palace is home to the famous Emerald Budda who is actually very small, lots of people come and give him offerings. His outfit is changed to suit the season!

Whilst we were in Bangkok we went to the cinema, what was so amazing was before the film began, the National Anthem was
Campervan Bar, BangkokCampervan Bar, BangkokCampervan Bar, Bangkok

Avoiding the Government's clampdown on late-night drinking
played and everyone had to stand up as a show of respect to the King of Thailand. Whilst the anthem is being played, the most cheesiest video is played of the King visiting people around Thailand! It was so funny! The people are very royalist in Thailand, there are huge images of their King everywhere and most people have pictures or paintings of him in their houses. We definately don't have the same thing back in England!

We enjoyed our time in Bangkok, it is a fun city and you definately see lots of unusual characters there, lots of lady boys for sure!

From Bangkok we got a night train up to Chang Mai in the North of Thailand. We actually really enjoy the night trains, maybe because we get a chance to sit still for a while.

We stayed in Chang Mai for three days, we got to know our way around the city, it is a lot smaller than Bangkok but has lots to offer. We spent our time walking around, peering in at some of the Wats (temples) that are on every other corner. We also did some shopping at the famous Night Bazaar and the sunday market. The sunday market was brilliant as they pedestrianised part of the city, it was just about the best market I have ever been to. The local hill tribe women come to Chang Mai to sell their goods and there is also lots of yummy food on sale.

Whilst in Chang Mai we did a one day cookery class at an organic farm just outside the city. It was excellent, so much fun! There were six of us in the group and our Thai teacher called 'Nice'was very sweet. We went to a local market and she taught us all about the produce e.g. the different types of rice and chillies etc. It was a bit smelly and there were some disgusting things on sale, whole pigs heads springs to mind as an example. It was very educational though. We then went to the farm and was given a tour, they grew so many different things, herbs, an abundance of lemongrass, vegetables, ginger, you name it they had it. We actually picked our own ingredients which was amazing, you can't get fresher than that! It was then to the chopping board. We cooked rice, green curry, tofu and basil leaves and Som Yam soup. We then got to eat our dishes for lunch and relax for a while. It all looked and tasted very good, we gave ourselves a pat on the back. In the afternoon we made spring rolls, which was a little fiddly and finally bananas in coconut milk. The whole day was lots of fun and a great experience. I hope we will be able to remember how to do it when we get home.

We then headed off up to Pai, a small town North West of Chang Mai, nestled in a valley surrounded by hills and forest. It is a very pretty place, we spent a whole week there and only returned to Chang Mai today. I think we both could have spent a long time there. It is a real travellers hangout, with an alternative vibe. Lots of hippies, meditation classes in the morning, yoga in the afternoon etc. We had a relaxing first day after checking in to a lovely bungalow set around a herb garden. I treated myself to a Thai Massage (well, it only cost 2 pounds), it is quite a painful experience actually, they pummel you and bend you into some strange positions, it isn't the most relaxing massage you will ever have, but it is supposed to be very good for you...

The following day we had an amazing experience elephant riding. I had been on an elephant before, last time I was in Thailand, but this time it was much better. We weren't in a group, it was just Dave and I and of course the Mahout (the elephant trainer). Our lovely elephant named Ban Wat had been rescued a few years ago along with her baby, Joy from the logging industry where they were being overworked. Now she only has to work 2 hours a day as the owner only lets her do two rides. They are very well looked after, unlike some of the elephants in Thailand, who are being mistreated. She is such a beautiful creature and it is just amazing to be so close and spend time with her. We rode bare back down to the river and then went in the river, she let out the loudest noise from her trunk, we nearly jumped off her back in fright, but she was just happy to be in the water. She splashed about and we got thrown in on numerous occasions! It really was magical if a little painful on the leg muscles! (not enough yoga, need to be more supple!)

We then went to some hot springs down the road from the Elephant Camp to take a soak (the closest thing to a bath we can get). It was very good, although a cold tub would probably have been more suitable, it has been so hot in Pai this past week, about mid 30s.

In the evening we went to a little cinema where you hire a room and watch the DVD of your choice, very homely. We then went to a lovely vegetarian restaurant called Gingers that we ended up eating at every night as the food there was excellent. At lunchtimes we would eat at a cafe called Pai Blues and then Gingers for dinner! Boring maybe, but the food was so good there.

The following day we headed out on a two-day trek with a guide called Noom and another English couple called Cat and Scott. We had such a cool time, although the walking was tough going in the heat
Buddhas at Wat PoBuddhas at Wat PoBuddhas at Wat Po

A huge number of buddhist images.
and Pai being very hilly, well there wasn't much flat, just up or down! On the first day we walked for about 6 hours, stopping lots on the way. It is the dry season now, so the forest looked like autumn. The views when walking were beautiful. We had noodles for lunch and Noom made us chopsticks out of Bamboo. He also showed us how to make rope along the way, by stripping some wood from this particular tree, it was all very clever! We set up camp next to a big waterfall and all went and took showers in the waterfall. Our guide built us a shelter to sleep under out of bamboo sticks and banana leaves (see photo.) He then taught us how to make utensils to eat with out of the bamboo, we used the machete to make our own spoons! He then cooked up a feast over the open fire using the bamboo to cook in. I should say, our guide Noom was from a local hill tribe village, we also had a lad called Chi carrying all our food in a basket on his back, he was from the same village as Noom.

We had a fun night drinking Sang Som (Thai Whiskey) around the fire, we didn't sing camp songs, but we did feel like scouts! It was lots of fun and we got on really well with Scott and Cat.

We all woke up early the next morning and Noom cooked us boiled eggs and toast for breakfast, using the bamboo of course! (I have learnt you can use bamboo for almost anything). We then had another up-hill hike for 3 hours to Nooms village. There are three main type of hill tribe villages in Thailand - Lahu, Lisu and Karen. They all speak different languages and live slightly differently. Noom was from a Karen village, the Karen hill tribe people are famous for their colourful weaving, which you see on sale all over Thailand. All of the hill tribes live close to the land and although have been heavily influenced now by the western world, they still have maintained their traditional way of living. They work on the land and sell their produce at markets.

At the village we had lunch in Noom's house and met his son who was 3 years old and so cute! We had a
Opening dance prior to Muay Thai fightOpening dance prior to Muay Thai fightOpening dance prior to Muay Thai fight

The fighters pay tribute to their trainers and carry out various actions around the ring to music before the fight begins.
tour of the village and went into some caves that were in the village. It was nice to spend a few hours relaxing as it was so hot. When the sun cooled down we carried on walking to where we were being picked up from to go back to Pai, it was another couple of hours walk and we were joined by Nooms son who was going to Pai with his dad for a couple of days so that he could eat ice-cream, (something he couldn't get in the village!)

Back in Pai, we took a much-needed shower and had dinner and then spent the rest of the night with Scott and Cat at their bungalow next to the river drinking Sang Som. It was a great night, we chatted and drank and didnt leave there until 2 in the morning, not bad after two days trekking!

Yesterday, we were feeling a little worse for wear from the Sang Som and spent our last full day in Pai relaxing and reading and also watched a DVD at the cinema. We had our final meal at our favourite restaurant Gingers and just generally chilled out.

This morning we had a lie in and had lunch before getting the minibus back to Chang Mai. The road between Chang Mai and Pai is extremely curvy and not great if you get travel sickness! Unfortunately today a guy sitting behind us in the minibus was throwing up the whole way, poor thing! It was an interesting journey, but I was glad when we were back in Chang Mai and returned to the lovely guesthouse that we had stayed in previously.

Tomorrow we head further North up to the border between Thailand and Laos and on Monday we cross the border into Laos where more adventures await us.


Additional photos below
Photos: 38, Displayed: 29


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Fresh vegetables at the marketFresh vegetables at the market
Fresh vegetables at the market

Buying ingredients for the cookery class.
Outdoor kitchen for cookery classesOutdoor kitchen for cookery classes
Outdoor kitchen for cookery classes

On an organic farm outside of Chiang Mai.
Cookery teacher Nice cuts lemon grass for lunchCookery teacher Nice cuts lemon grass for lunch
Cookery teacher Nice cuts lemon grass for lunch

That'd cost about eight pounds in Sainsbury's...
Thai green curry looking readyThai green curry looking ready
Thai green curry looking ready

Of course, they tend to call it just 'green curry' over here...
Admiring our self-prepared lunchAdmiring our self-prepared lunch
Admiring our self-prepared lunch

Three dishes with sticky rice and jasmine rice.


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