Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Bye Bye Thais

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Another week has flown by here in Chiang Mai. We thought we would update you all before we head off to Laos via the slow boat. We will head up to a place called Chiang Rai and then to the border where we will board a boat on the Mekong River down through Laos to Luang Prebang.

Last Thursday was Nick's 27th birthday which was kicked off with the best present any traveller could want: toilet paper and M&Ms. In the massage class everyone sang happy birthday and in the evening we went out for a very nice and fancy dinner at a restaurant called "The House". All in all the beginning of 27 was good for Nick.

We continued the massage class through last Friday. Nick was having a bit of a harder time bending (thats what happens as you get older). We both made it through the complete course for relaxing Thai massage and spent a few days practicing our new moves. Yesterday we were handed our certificates complete with pictures ready to hang on the wall when we get home.

On Friday night we went to a German restaurant called the Haufbrauhaus - a strange mix of German and Thai cultures. Just picture a Thai lady dressed in a dirndl dress with a traditional German hat with a feather in it and you are picturing the lady who showed us to our table. Dinner was a tasty traditional German meal complete with schnitzel, sausages, spaetzle, and saurkraut. The decorations around the restaurant highlighted the mix of cultures with items such as a cuckoo clock hanging above a statue of Buddha.

The weekend was full of wandering the markets....until Nick got extremely sick (he says it's the first step in his weight loss program) from one of the meals we ate. He spent the next couple of days recuperating, and then it was Sarah's turn. And of course everything Nick does Sarah does better (or worse in this case). We'll spare you the details. Now we are both feeling much better and ready to leave the city of Chiang Mai, and our only regrets are that we didn't get around the area to explore too much. We've met people who have been motorbiking around almost every day, into the mountains and in all directions around the city -- they say it's beautiful country.


Oh, we almost forgot...December 5th was "Father's Day". In Thailand, Father's Day is another way of saying The King's Birthday. There were celebrations all over the country, including here in Chiang Mai, but since that was around the time we were both sick we pretty much missed it all. However we do see some evidence still standing, in the form of a large stage with a larger-than-life portrait of the birthday boy. All in all it's the biggest festival we just missed.

We also just now arrived in Chiang Rai, having taken the short 3 hour bus ride along beautiful roads through some rolling, mountainous terrain. It even feels cooler here, and this city must have a little more money --- as we arrived we noticed they even have a boulevard with sculpted bushes (Sarah calls them "topiaries"....I think a topiary sounds like a weird growth on your toe). We checked into a nice but strange guesthouse complex, whose owners are the proud masters of a PACK of 9 wiener dogs, which follow them around everywhere. What does one call a pack of wiener dogs? Anyone?

Then we ate dinner at "The Old Dutch" restaurant which flaunts its mix of Dutch and Thai heritage...another strange combination! Some of the pitfalls of translating Thai-Dutch-English were evident on the menu, with quotes like this:

"Pork is a daily success". WHAT?
"We like to serve you quickly, but maybe today is the day we don't". WHAT WHAT? What does that mean?
...and our personal favourite:
"Cheese fondue is like angels peeing on your tongue". We're not kidding, this appeared over the cheese fondue section. We're looking for a witty comment here, but I think this one doesn't need any more discussion.

Oh well, tomorrow we hope to catch the bus to Chiang Kong and then the slow boat. Wish us luck on this one! (We took Mark & Suman's advice NOT to take the fast boat)

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Photos

Happy Birthday Big Guy!
Guess who's just turned 78????

The Dreaded Jumping Frog Strikes Again!
They still told Sarah to "push more".

Our massage student friend Lou with her baby Cuba
Cuba was the most popular member of the class.

Something around every corner...
What to do when bored in Chiang Mai? Head to the Hofbrauhaus, of course!

Early risers
Trust us, there are seven more!

Comments

[Peter]

An Exaltation of Wiener Dogs
I don't know about Wiener dogs (kennel? pack? litter?), but I can tell you it's an implausibility of gnus and a murmuration of starlings! http://rinkworks.com/words/collective.shtml

[Darren and Domen]

Happy belated B-day Nico!
Cripes! We're a blog entry behind! Great stories from Chiang Mai...looking forward to Laos! Very exciting! And, um, it must be said...we'll never be able to eat fondue again.

[Lori and Will]

Happy birthday Nick
First thing that came to my mind was a barbecue (read : pack of weiner dogs) but thats just me. Happy Travels you both!

[Jen and Muzz]

Belated Happy Birthday, an' stuff
Happy Birthday Nick, didn't realise it was coming up. Hope you had a great day. Love the blog entries, Jen is still eagerly awaiting each one, as am I. Good luck on the slow boat, looking forward to your yarns from Laos. Catcha soon, Jen and Muzz.

[JJ]

Welcome to the 27 Club.
Happy belated b-day Nick, welcome to the 27 Club!!

[Jen and Leah]

How many angels can pee on the tip of a tongue?
I was just at the grocery store and they called a pack of weiner dogs "SPECIAL! $1.99" Leah and I learned about cross-cross-cultural dining the hard way with Indian food in Bulgaria, we will forever stick to the regional delicacies Love your blog. Happy travels! Jen and Leah