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Published: February 20th 2008
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Snake Charmer
In pool with huge Python. The snake show was really entertaining. By the time you are reading this we will be back from our trek. However I am typing this on Sunday 17th Feb - just because if I were to leave it until after our jungle trip I'm sure many of the things I have to say about Chiang Mai and the last couple of days will be forgotten.
It's hard to summarise Chiang Mai as a place. Prior to arriving I had the impression it was the hub of the north, but still very traditional. Lonely Planet indeed says that Chiang Mai has as many temples as Bangkok, but in a much smaller area, and that as a result, it can be very visually striking. Perhaps that led me to expect a quaint town where life slows down. In reality it is a large, busy city, much in the Bangkok mould. A place where for every temple there is a 7-11 store, and for every monk in robes, a begging child in rags. The 'ancient' centre of the city is surrounded by a moat - but this moat has about as much in common with a traditional moat than Smestow Brook has in common with the raging waters of
Paul with Monkey
Drop us a line if you can tell which is which! the Amazon. It is no suprise the locals refer to it as the canal. In this place billed as a cultural hub, perhaps the biggest hotspot is the hoards of people, tourists and locals, mulling over whether to have a Big Mac or a Whopper. The bright yellow M glows as bright as the goldest of ancient temples.
I could go on, but who am I kidding? We've had a great time in Chiang Mai. It could be easy to get pretentious about certain things, but I should leave that to the travellers with the dreadlocks and the baggy trousers. Its been great being able to occupy ourselves in the day, before coming home, grabbing a shower, downing a happy meal and heading out to shoot some pool. (Subject to any last minute matches, Paul has taken the Chiang Mai leg 9-8, tying the RTW 08 series at 1-1). Anyway, arguably it is only my preconceived image of the city that was false, and that doesn't make it a bad place.
So what have we been up to over the weekend? Yesterday (Saturday) we had a proper walk round the whole city centre. We saw some more temples (known in Thailand as Wat), but having already seen the Grand Palace and other sights in Bangkok, we have been slighly spoiled when it comes to Buddhist architecture. After enjoying the daytime, which was also filled by browsing bookshops and sampling local cuisine (in the Queen Victoria British pub), it was time to get ready for the evening. We had it planned out so nicely, McDonalds, bar, pool, football. And so it panned out - a late night watching Liverpool crash out the cup, and Man Utd trounce Arsenal. Sharing the now hundreds of reasons Mick McCarthy should be shown the door from the Wolves job also proved entertaining. The bar we visited was also home to a baby (yet still taller than us) elephant for several minutes. It agreed McCarthy should go now.
When we eventually got up this morning (remember it is Sunday as I type this), our main objective was to see the local monkey school. On the way our pick-up (taxis = pick up truck with benches) driver also took us to a snake farm. We watched the most fantastic snake show, which was well put together and really funny. After which, the monkey show seemed pretty tame. It was also less comfortable to see obviously fairly intelligent animals chained up and in cages. Some good photos were took of both of us, usually involving either a deadly snake, or bored monkey in some position on our heads.
So now we are pretty much packed and ready to go off trekking. To be honest its a shot in the dark from the both of us. A lot of people make this sort of thing the focalpoint of their trips to northern Thailand, but its something neither Paul or I have really thought about before. We will just go along for the ride, and take it as it comes. Hopefully we will be pleasantly suprised. If this post has found its way onto the internet, it should mean we are now back unscathed! The trek is taking us deep into the Golden Triangle of northern Thailand, Myanmar (Burma) and Laos. It is where the vast majority of the worlds opium is produced.
The plan once back is to head for Chiang Khong which is the northern boarder crossing into Laos. Whether or not before that we will need another night in Chiang Mai depends purely on how we feel once back from the trek.
There are a couple of things I have been meaning to say about Chiang Mai but have forgotten to fit them in, so Ill just put them here. Weather wise, Chiang Mai has been very hot in the day, and we have had as much sunshine as we have seen all trip. Our tans are coming on nicely. It has however been very much noticeably cooler in the evenings. Where at our previous Thai locations the heat from the day seems to linger in the evening, here it cools down rapidly. To the point where I almost said it was a little chilly in a breeze - but still very comfortable in just a T-shirt. I also forgot to mention that Chiang Mai has seen us encounter our first beggars of the trip. Predominantly children, you get the impression that begging is an everyday profession here. I have seen the same kids which have begged around the restaurants and bars at night, looking smart, clean and happy at the market the next day. It is almost astonishing to watch how good some of these children are, they become great actors when they want your money. In shopping news, Paul has purchased some 'Oakey' sunglasses, and I have treated myself to one of the yellow polo shirts that every Thai seems to own. They have the Kings motiff on them and are quite smart. £2 well spent. I am also on the lookout for some boxer shorts, as it seems all but two pairs were left in Kanchanaburi. Paul is sorting me out until some new ones stylish enough. Last snippet of random information - we have eaten some real hot foods, but at lunchtime today, I thought I was going to die. I a really good chicken kebab, and then it hit me, must have been a pepper or something. I was a dribbling mess. My head was officially blown off! I must have looked like a screaming mother trying to escape a burning building as I struggled to get the top off a bottle of water.
Thats all for now then. I'll leave you with a thought I had walking through the night bazaar this evening. Despite being away barely over a week, I get the impression we are so much more experienced as travellers already. Touts bounce off us, we can have a laugh with people selling things, and I have learned to wear flip flops. We have become the very people who I thought looked pro's when we first arrived on Khao San Road.
Tom.
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