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Published: March 23rd 2007
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After leaving Singapore we spent a couple of days in Bangkok, hidden away in our hostel trying not to see anything until we return at the end of April to meet friends Matt & Sarah, when we would see the city properly.
Our next stop was Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. We got there on a 'VIP' overnight bus which we subsequently found out we paid well over the odds for. The Thai's seem to try and charge the tourists (Farang as they call us) anything they think they can get away with. We were the only Farang on the bus and no doubt we were paying more than all the others put together! But it was still cheap by western standards.
We arrived in Chiang Mai too early to check in to our hostel, so after brushing off a couple of taxi drivers harrassing us for our business we wandered over to a small stall at the curb and enjoyed an excellent cup of coffee sitting amongst the other early risers. Inevitably we were joined by a taxi driver, but he was a nice old man and he convinced us to go with him to our guest
house. The taxi turned out to be a small red bus called a songthaew. We hopped in the back.
We stayed at the Parami Guesthouse which is an excellent place to stay, if a little out of town and is where Paul acquired the name 'Mr Paul'. Whilst in Chiang Mai we planned to do some hill tribe trekking and also a Thai cooking course, and they booked all of this up for us. They even sorted out our Vietnam visas for us.
The hill tribe trekking was fun, if a little touristy (and we opted for the non-touristic version). It involves 3 days of trekking through the forests north of Chiang Mai, an overnight stay with a remote hill tribe, elephant riding and bamboo rafting. During the overnight stay with the hill tribe, the children put on a dance in tradition costume for us. Unfortunately this was clearly just a show for us and not something they would be doing on a average night. Its frustrating that you go there to learn about a new culture, but by being there in inadvertably affect the very thing you are trying to see. The trekking itself was good though,
even though the forest is very hot and dry at the moment.
We were worried that the elephant riding may be a bit cruel, but its no different from riding a horse really. They seem to be treated well by their 'drivers' and it was certainly the elephants that were deciding which way to go and not them - we detoured via every green bamboo bush on our one hour ride. They are amazing creatures. Paul even had the chance to sit up front for a bit as well (its not like the driver was doing anything).
We finished our trip with a bamboo rafting trip, the drivers of which seem intent on getting us to fall in the water. Our raft was more of a submarine anyway so we spent plenty of time in the water, which was a nice relief from the heat.
We did our cooking course at the Thai Farm Cooking School (www.thaifarmcooking.net/). This was a highlight of our time in Chiang Mai. We visited a market first where we learned about typical Thai food ingredients. At their farm, which was 45 minutes outside Chiang Mai, we spent some time touring their herb
gardens, picking and tasting various ingredients. And then to the cooking - we learnt how to make a red curry paste, and then went on to cook a red curry, sticky rice, fried chicken with cashew nuts, papaya salad, pad thai, and our favourite, mango with sticky rice. One word of advice from Paul - don't confuse soy sauce with soya oil. The former smokes quite a bit when you put it in a hot wok instead of the latter.
Chiang Mai itself is nice city. Known as the city of smiles, it certainly lived up to its name. We spent plenty of time chilling out in cafes and restaurants and soaking up the atmosphere. A must for anyone in Chiang Mai is the night market - which has some really great buys at bargain prices. There's also a huge number of Wats (temples) in the city and we spent some time looking round some of these.
And so onwards to Laos...
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John
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Shower
Now - that's the sort of shower I've been looking for - plenty of room for two or three more :)