Chiang Mai rocks

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The last 3 days have been great. Here's a quick recap:

Sunday Ido (the Israeli guy) and I hit the Sunday night market here which was awesome- great stuff for sale there. Then we went out for his 23rd birthday... having some drinks at a roadside bar which was really just a truck parked next to the road with benches around it. The bar was excellent and fully stocked, and the staff was as friendly as any I have seen here (A woman, her brother, and friend). The guy there bought us both bracelets for Ido's birthday, and couldn't stop smiling. I ended up talking with 5 young Thais who were hanging out there for the night (19-20 years old) about a little bit of everything. They spoke great English and were so well educated and knowledgable about the world... it was great.

Monday Ido took off for a 3-day trek, and I rented yet another scooter for a trip to Doi Suthep. This was my best day for photos so far on this trip. Doi Suthep is a mountain which houses an amazing Buddhist temple from the 14th century. The ride up was a twisting nutty road for 12 km... and my little bike sounded a swarm of bees. On the way I stopped at a waterfall, and in a Hmong tribal village where I was convinced to shoot a homemade crossbow, and took pictures of some of the kids... they loved to see themselves in the camera. After putting 100km on the bike that day I got a Thai full body massage.... and let me tell you it was rough. This older woman used every part of her body to flatten me to a pulp. She was throwing me around, walking on me, you name it. She even fell over at one point when she tried to do some crazy move flinging me over her body "You big" she said.. haha. Two days later i'm still sore from this.

Later that night I hit a couple great local bars with live music. The first had 2 separate bands. The better one covered everything from Bon Jovi to the Bee Gees... I loved it. The next bar had a Thai Jimi Hendrix wannabee who tore it up.

Tuesday I headed for Pai- a small town close to the Myanmar (Burmese) border. Pai is a super lazy, quiet and laid back town. I met up with Peter (Dutch) on the bus, and we ended up renting a bike there to see the Hot Springs and the "Canyon" for the sunset. It was funny, two six foot guys on a 125cc scooter cruising in the mountains (I drove of course). We managed though. We met up later with a bunch of girls from Australia, New Zealand and the USA for a drink at a number of local establishments.

Today I came back to Chiang Mai... Pai was great and all, but didn't seem at all like "real" thailand to me. The scene was pretty much identical to Phi Phi- except for the lack of water and beaches... and I'd already been filled up on that.

Sunday I leave 2 days in Bangkok before I head home... so the next few days I'll have here in Chiang Mai... should be great. I hope to do some mountain biking, another cooking course and random other stuff.

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Photos

Birthday toast
Ido and I celebrate his birthday at a impressively stocked roadside bar made from a pickup truck

Sea snakes anyone?
Some of the fresh stuff at the market... These were live and wriggling about... even poking their heads out of the bucket.

10 baht for picture?
I snuk this one in without having to pay (no flash fooled them)

ring, ring, ring
A child ringin' bells at the temple at Doi Thusep

The chedi
Part of the gorgeous all gold monument at Doi Thusep

Hmong child
One of the Hmong tribe children playing in a waterfall. He was as happy as can be with his mountain bike tire that day. Love this shot.

Wat in Pai
Love the clouds in this photo.

Comments

[Melissa]

Lovely
Hi Sol, Glad to see another post from you. I can't get over how beautiful your pictures are. I wish you continued safe and fascinating travels throughout the rest of your journey. B'shalom, Melissa