Chiang Mai at last!

---

Arriving in Chiang Mai we had a small feeling of triumph, we had made it at long last!! However, unfortunately due to the unavailability of buses we had to travel via Bangkok and the now, overly familiar Mochit Bus Station. This was our fifth visit! By the time we get back from Cambodia in a month or so’s time it’ll be our sixth visit, equaling our second longest stay anywhere in Asia!!

Anyway, back in Chiang Mai we checked in at the Safe House Guesthouse located to the east of the old city and were delighted to find out that half of the place was being renovated, but being the weekend no work was going on and this allowed us the time to arrange alternative accommodation at the Chiang Mai White House. Nice big clean rooms with cable TV and Air-con for 400 baht a night, that’s about six quid. I don’t know if you knew but Monks use mobile phones. I never knew that! For some reason I didn’t think they would…

Most people come to Chiang Mai to do a Thai cooking course or go on a jungle elephant trek and walking down the streets here you can see that’s exactly what Chiang Mai is geared up to supply. Having done these two activities in Kanchanaburi we were left with a bit of a dilemma with what to do to occupy our 7 day stay. We managed to spend a couple of days walking around the many Temples here, which were fascinating as they’re still used by Monks today, so you can imagine it was great to just be a fly on the wall watching the goings on. It’s difficult to get any real sense of the history of the places we visited from the information provided as they seem to use a different dating system and also mention things and people, which without any prior knowledge of Thai History, only complicate any kind of understanding. I expect that we would be able to get a better understanding if we had a trusty guidebook, which every western tourist you see seem to have permanently attached to their left hand. But nevertheless the sight seeing alone is enough and I’m sure you’re not too bothered about a detailed history of these places.

We also did a day trip to the Elephant Conservation Centre, which was a laugh if only for the bus ride back. We started our journey from the local bus station in Chiang Mai which is a lot different from the VIP or Government coach stations which do all the long distance routes. Our little green local bus to Lampang would drop us off on the side of the highway and then later we’d need to stand on the opposite side of the road and flag it down to catch it back to Chiang Mai. So after we’d been dropped at the side of the road, only an hour later than the 30 minutes it was scheduled to take, we were a little lost, thinking we may have got on the wrong bus. We walked round the corner and to our relief found a huge signpost for the Elephant Conservation Centre. We started our tour with a visit to the elephant hospital where for the first time in the whole of Asia an artificial insemination had been successful. Hopefully this is the breakthrough that will help the preservation of the endangered Asian Elephant. A large part of the park was in the process of being maintained or improved from what we saw diggers and trucks were busy widening or landscaping a large lake or waterway for the Elephants to bathe in. The elephant show was good fun and showed the versatility of these giant creatures from their usefulness to lift, move, and stack felled logs to their ability to perform tasks such as ringing a bell, hoisting a flag or turning on and off a tap. It was really impressive, especially the demonstration where a huge elephant while balancing on a log did a complete 360 degree turn. After the show the elephants came to greet their adoring fans and were treated to a feeding frenzy. The centre is also home to the first mahout training school. This is where you get to be Mogully off The Jungle Book for anything from a day to an eight day extravaganza; it’s just dependent on your wallet. I think a 2 day course was 12,000 Baht about 180 quid. Even though we had a good time at the centre there was this niggling question mark about the elephant hospital. It wasn’t quite right, not the place we’d read about. It wasn’t until we were in the shuttle bus back to the entrance to catch the bus back to Chiang Mai that Jo spotted a signpost for the FAE Elephant Hospital. It turns out that we had gone to the wrong place! We had gone to the government run Elephant Conservation Centre obviously with the money to make bigger and more strategically placed road signs to draw the unsuspecting and under informed tourist. Nevertheless, we walked back up the hill and had a 20 minute look around the world’s first Elephant Hospital, which is run by an independent organization and relies on charitable donations. Here the conditions seemed better for the patients. The FAE Hospital was currently caring for a number of elephants with conditions ranging from depression to missing limbs from stepping on landmines. We were given a guided tour around and got to meet a couple of the recovering elephants. It was far too short a time to spend there but we had to catch the bus back as we were told there would be no more after 4pm and it was just turning three : S

It didn’t take long for a bus to stop and pick us up, just so happened that it wasn’t the local bus service that we had arrived on, but one of the big government run coaches. After flashing its lights and swerving across the road to a screeching holt the door swung open and the driver beckoned us in saying ‘you go Chiang Mai’ we smiled and got on!! The coach was full of Thai’s busy watching from what we could gather, was their equivalent of the Ant and Dec show accept on this occasion it involved a topless male midget getting his nipples tweaked!!! Weird funny, but still the air-con was worth the fetish Ant and Dec show and besides the trip back was 45 minutes faster then the one out!

Every Sunday evening there is a huge street Market in the old part of the city and lucky for us we only had to walk to the end of our road to be smack bang in the middle of it. The market runs over much of the old city, stretching from Tha Phae Gate to Wat Phra Singha. It seems to be a real social event for the locals with huge crowds enjoying the chance to catch up with friends to shop, chat, eat and relax with a massage. It’s a big step up from the touristy night bizarre with the streets lined with clothing, shoes, souvenirs, and artwork. We bought a couple of bits and tucked into some great spicy pork noodles. Unfortunately Jo was ill for a couple of days (trots!!), I think this may have been planned as it coincided with Out of Africa, The Notebook, and Pretty Woman all being shown on the movie channel!!

So while Jo dosed up on a bit of romance I was left to my own devises and enjoyed a day driving around on a moped getting my passport and immigration requirements sorted out. It was a bit hairy at times, but its not far off London conditions, albeit you appear to be allowed to drive on the pavement here and when required in the opposite direction to the traffic!! Apart from a few close calls it was great fun. I did a complete lap of the old city taking in the gated entrances and occasional ruins of the city wall. And that’s been it really; we’ve just kicked back and relaxed, watched an untold amount of films on the movie channel and stuffed our faces on delicious Thai food and a pizza which we succumbed to yesterday as a treat : )

It’s off to Laos later today on Laos Airlines, holders of a very mediocre safety record, which I didn’t realize when I booked the bargain three flight deal!! Keep those fingers crossed, we will be…….. Just to wish my Mum a Happy Birthday, 21 again I don’t know how she does it. Anyway, lots of love Mum. I hope you liked the Tea Towel!! xxxx

Also, congratulations to Dave & Gemma who celebrated their first wedding anniversary on the 10th June. Arrrrrrgh. I don’t know how you’ve managed it Gemma!! Only kidding big fella xxx

---

Photos

Wat Chiang Mun
Wat Chiang Mun was built between 1296 by King Mangrai and was the first Royal Palace and Temple to be built in Chiang Mai. Its elephant surrounded Stupa is the oldest and most significant in the city. It also houses a stone Buddha believed to be imported from either India or Sri Lanka some 2,500 years ago.

Wat Phra Singha
Wat Phra Singha was built in 1345 by the 5th King of Mangrai dynasty; Phaya Payoo.