Thailand part 1

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19/01/12 - Thailand (Bangkok) - And we're off

We were an hour late for take off but the pilot said he would get us there early (he must know a shortcut). I sat next to a couple and said hello. They replied simply by saying 'i'm sorry, we're French'. Um, ok.

After 10 uneventful and uncomfortable hours i landed in Bangkok. After a quick (ish) wizz through immigration and customs I went out to find Hot Bobby waiting for me in his bright shorts and oz hat looking the typical tourist.

Bobby looked after me and seemed a pro with the trains. I got to see Bangkok for 10 minutes above ground between trains and first impressions were hot, muggy and congested, with air so full of pollution i had to choke down what oxygen i could find.

We reached the main train station and had 2 hours to wait before boarding our overnight train to Chaing Mai. As we were sat chatting about our trip everyone in the station suddenly stood up. It took us a moment to realise they were not all dashing for a train but were stood because their national anthem was being played on the television. We did not want to show any disrespect so we joined them (luckily it wasn't a sing-a-long).

Bobby bought some interesting looking snacks which were bbq pork steamed buns. I can best describe them as white squidgy dough balls with mixture inside and were delicious but a strange sensation in the mouth.

We boarded the train and were in a 2nd class cabin with air conditioning. A Chinese couple who do not speak English joined us.

Shortly after we started moving we had a waiter name Sammy (who was wearing too much makeup for a man) come to see if we wanted dinner and to order breakfast. I wasn't hungry but that didn't stop bobby from ordering a meal for 2. Sammy bought our dinner to the cabin which was far too big for 2 people. We had rice and 3 other dishes with sauce, all of which had some questionable looking items in them but all tasty (other than the whole baby squid).

The beds were comfy and i soon nodded off after bobby finally got bored of the 'lets keep Emily awake' game. Unfortunately the train driver decided to join in this game with sudden breaking in the night, luckily the safety ropes kept me from falling off the top bunk. It was a smooth journey otherwise.

This is definitely the way to travel but apparently i'm not allowed my own train.




20/01/12 - Chaing Mai - The heat is on

I woke early when the rest of the train decided to get up and thought Bobby would like to wake up to... I was wrong.

The sun finally began to rise and illuminated a mountain range in the distance, we must be getting further north. We passed terrain varying from green woodland to watery rice paddies and luxury homes to run down shacks.

As we passed through some villages it was clear that the hustle and bustle of daily life gets started early here with busy market places teaming with people before 7am.

We had a sleepy breakfast on the train and prepared for the next part of our journey.

Getting off the train and into the sun felt like walking into an oven but i soon started to adjust and found it hot but bearable.

Time for my first experience in a tuk tuk and what an experience it was. The tuk tuk seemed very nippy as we zipped through the streets of Chaing Mai. I think the speed of the tuk tuk was an illusion created by the fact that we had no seatbelts and no doors as well as the fact that the driver got so close to other vehicles that i could have taken the food from the basket of the scooter next to me without stretching.

We got to our guest house and the people there were so helpful and friendly. The manager gave us a map and told us where to go and what to see in Chaing Mai. Then helped us to book on to an elephant trek.

We checked in and i finally got my shower and started to feel human again.

Armed with our map it was time for a walk to explore our surroundings. It is clear to see the luxury of Thailand as we passed buildings with intricate designs. Some walls and buildings were covered with coloured glass that twinkled in the sunlight like gems.

We stopped in the shade for a while and as we did so a Thai lady came and asked if she could smoke near us. She said it is frowned upon for locals to smoke outside but not tourists.

While talking she took our map from us and explained where we should go and what to see at certain times of the day. She ended up talking so much that she never did light up her cigarette.

We were outside the statue of 3 kings when we decided to take the ladies advice and hire a tuk tuk with driver to go on a temple tour (for 1 hour this cost around 80p).

First stop was Wat Si Suphan which was a beautifully design temple with golden dragons leading up the entrance. We removed our shoes and entered the temple where a monk was silently praying. There were large silver plaques on the walls depicting various scenes and all expertly crafted.

We could hear what seemed like building works going on outside but as we went for a walk outside we discovered the hammering was actually from a dozen or more monks carving patterns into sheets of silver like we had seen inside the temple.

As we walked around the temple we were greeted by a very offical looking man in a uniform. He explained he was a temple inspector and decided to take is on a tour around. He showed us a second temple that was completely covered in silver and explained that the monks created this for the king. I was not allowed on the temple as women could not enter but i could tell it was covered in silver inside too.

Our 'guide' explained that many couples come to the silver temple to have their wedding rings blessed. The temple is seen as lucky because 500 years ago the monks buried holy relics and precious things beneath.

Outside the silver temple was a tree with golden leaves. Each leaf was bought by someone and has their name and a message engraved on it by the monks who then put it on the tree for luck.

The temple inspector asked us where we are travelling to next and we told him Laos. He said the temples there will be a similar design as Chaing Mai because they were all built when Thailand, Burma and Laos were one country before 3 kings took over the rude of a country each (the statue of the 3 kings).

He then took our map from us and told us all the places we should see while in Chaing Mai. Everyone seems very friendly here. He asked if we were on our honeymoon and Bobby said 'no, she is my sister'. Thanks bobby.

The second temple we visited was Wat Chedi Luang. This was a very large brick temple which looked rather run down and very plain compared to others we have seen but had a lot of character. There were other smaller temples around which were as luxurious as seems the norm. There were many monks here all dressed in the traditional orange robes and some of them were very young, not even teenagers.

Back to the guest house and we booked ourselves onto a Thai cooking course for the evening.

We were picked up and joined by around a dozen other travelers, some Brits, Norwegians and a group from Malta. We got talking to the people from Malta who explained that writing in Maltese is so difficulty that they actually find it easier to write in their second language, English.

We chose what we wanted to cook and our teacher took us to the market to look at all the ingredients we would be using and what purpose they have in the dish. She also explained what alternatives we could use that are available back home.

The market was full of colour and had a lot of fruits and vegetables that i did not recognise. There was meat left out in the heat with make shift fans with tassles to keep the flies off.

Back in the kitchen we had a work area each and were given the ingredients and instructions on how to prepare them. Our teacher had so much patience with everyone and a great sense of humour. There seemed to only be a few ingredients for each dish and i thought it would be quite tasteless.

I made a tofu soup, stir fried cashew nuts with chicken and green curry paste and chicken green curry. Bobby made hot and sour prawn soup, pad Thai and masaman curry. Everything tasted amazing and was full of flavour with the fresh taste of Thai food.

We were given a recipe book of everything we cooked today and those we didn't get a chance to try. I really enjoyed this course and will definitely be cooking Thai in the future.



21/01/12 - Chaing Mai - Elephants

Up and ready for a busy day.

While waiting for the bus to come i sat and watched the people next door light some incense and place it on their own mini temple (i noticed most buildings have one) and then silently praying while kneeling before the temple. The whole ritual was peaceful and purposeful.

Picked up by a minibus which has been the first mode of transport to look like it will actually make the journey.

Stopped off to pick up a couple from Norway and 4 girls from Ireland. The bus took around an hour to get to the elephant sanctuary.

We hopped off the bus and each carried a big bag of bananas down a steep hill to be greeted by a small family of elephants and a mahout named Bang Bang who decided to call Bobby a Lady Boy (i can see this name sticking).

The day started with us trying to learn the Thai words for stop, forward, back and turn... this took some time.

We fed the elephants lots of bananas and the mahouts got one to put a hat on our heads in turn and kiss us on the cheek which felt like it was going to suck my face off.

Next up Bobby (Lady Boy) was told to try his new skills to climb up on a 5 year old elephant named Toto using his commands. The mahout gave Lady Boy some bananas to give to Toto before getting him to go for a walk with some guidance.

My turn next. Toto raised leg for me and i was told to hold onto his ear with one hand and grab his skin with the other and pull myself up and onto his neck which i managed with a push.

It was a long way down and there was nothing to hold on to other than a few bristlely hairs that covered his head and body. I fed him more bananas and went for a short walk to get a feel for the commands. I think balance was my biggest issue and while he was moving and i felt I'd topple over his head.

Everyone else had a turn and it was time for the long walk. Bobby and i both sat on the mother of Toto who was huge! The mahouts had put a basic saddle on her so i had some rope to hold on to.

The walk started with a stroll through the river then into the woods. There were a few small trees that had fallen across the path and as we approached them i expected the elephant to stumble or waiver before tackling these obstacles but she just took them all in her stride and i didn't notice when we went over them.

After the walk it was time to wash all the elephants in the river, or rather have a wash with them. The mahouts gave us scrubbing brushes and led the elephants into the river all of which just collapsed before us and we were encouraged to cover them with water and scrub their skins.

After a few minutes of bathing our elephant decided to stand up which was really intimidating and i felt incredibly insignificant next to her. She started walking but i couldn't get far out of the way and she just glided passed me at less than a foot away without so much as a pause. These elephants have so much power but are incredibly gentle.

We had lunch with everyone and talked about our experiences and future travel plans.

We hiked to a nearby waterfall but didn't fancy a swim in the water.

Next stop was a local hill tribe village. I was looking forward to seeing the tribe and hoped to get a good feel of traditional way of life. Sadly this tribe have become totally used to tourists and as soon as we arrived we were surrounded by children trying to all jewelry for 5 baht.

The huts were interesting (although they had tv's in them). We saw a lady on a small loom who was making some material. There were examples of well made scarves for sale.

We left the village and headed of for Bamboo rafting. The rafts were very long with a man punting us along. It was made from 10 large sticks of bamboo tied together which floated well on the water. It was very calm going down the river even though we went down a couple of small rapids.

We passed some locals who kept splashing us so i splashed them back. We appeared to be their entertainment for the day.

After our big day out we hired a tuk tuk to take us to Wat Phrasingh which is a temple they light up at night. It was red and golden and beautifully crafted.

Dinner by the river and time for bed, its been a long day.



22/01/12 - Chaing Kong - The boarder

After check out we sat waiting for the bus to take us to the boarder.

While waiting i watched the family from our guest house preparing for some sort of ceremony. The 3 children were given a red envelope each which had golden patterns on it. They were full of smiles when they saw them.

The children were dressed in traditional Asian clothes which were bright and colourful with gold dragons on them.

The family and passersby were all excited by what was going on. The girls grandmother was putting their hair in bunches and then in small buns. All the kids were so excited that the parents had trouble getting them to eat their breakfast.

I sat outside on the step to wait for the bus and a lady from the guest house lit some incense next to me which filled the street with its sweet smell.

A few doors down another guest house lit some fire crackers which sounded like gin fire and set the streets dogs off barking at them.

I wondered if all these rituals were related and was tempted to ask about the children but i enjoyed the mystery of not knowing.

Our bus arrived and we were off to the boarder.

Around 4 hours into the bus trip the driver stopped at The White Temple which does exactly what it sat on the tin. The temple was huge and gleamed brilliant white in the sunlight.

Around the main temple were more smaller ones which were beautifully crafted, one was golden and one silver. There was also a well designed wishing well.

We arrived at Chaing Khong and began sorting our visas for the boarder crossing tomorrow which involved leaving our passports with the people at the guest house.

The guest house was lovely and we stayed in wooden cabins which were surrounded by green trees with vines hanging down and was very peaceful.

At dinner we got chatting to a girl from England (Hayley) and a guy from Canada (Mark) who are both travelling alone. Hayleys airline lost her luggage and are not going o compensate her (and i thought i was messed about).

Early night ready for early start.

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Comments

[maggie]

Ref
Hi Emily OMG I could not read all this but sounds good. You haven't enough to do if you have time to write all this! Everyone at the De Caf asks after you, I'll pass on where you are! Suffolk Staff meeting tomorrow at Lowestoft we are discussing communication!!! Spk soon xxx