Day 7 - Chiang Mai

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     I’m no elementary school teacher so planning three days in a row is near impossible. So we woke up late with no concrete plans, and no one picking us up. We wanted to go to Doi Sutep, and BhuBing Palace (also seen spelled PhuPing (snicker)). Doi Sutep is a wat on the side of a mountain, and BhuBing is the winter residence of the royal family. After a breakfast of toast and Thai fruit, Beth went up to the room to get ready while I spoke with Kem on how to get there. Kem explained how it would take two songthaew rides to get to Doi Sutep, and another short ride to BhuBing. For 20 baht more than the total of these, Kem could arrange for us to have a personal driver for the day. Obviously, there was no decision to be made, so I headed upstairs to get ready.
     After applying sun block, changing, and packing all the necessities, Beth and I headed downstairs to wait for our driver. In a moment, our driver, Ting, walked up the stairs. Ting introduced himself, took our bags, and escorted us to his songthaew. Differing from others we have been in, Ting’s truck had call buttons to push if we wanted him to pull over so we could take pictures. Jumping into the back, and lounging across our individual bench, we made our way northwest to our destinations. The road heading out of Chiang Mai was home to another market, the city’s university, and the Chiang Mai Zoo (which is not like zoos we know, and more like a circus). The road then starts its winding climb up the mountain. If it was not already known, it became evident that all traffic “laws,” signs, and markings are merely suggestions in Thailand. Snaking up the road, it was laughable how the double yellow line continuously passed from one side of the truck to the other. The carving of the mountain or the roadside foliage mostly blocked the views. But, when there was a break, it was a beautiful sight. Catching glimpses of the city below only wet out appetite for unobstructed views from Doi Sutep and BhuBing.
     Twisting our way up the mountain for 15 minutes, we arrived at Doi Sutep (our first requested destination) and drove right by it. This perplexed Beth and I. We were pretty straightforward that we wanted to go to Doi Sutep, and then BhuBing Palace. We quickly came up with a few explanations... Maybe he was bringing us to a different entrance, but we quickly passed all the tourist areas. So, we pushed the button. After finding a safe (term used loosely) place to stop, Ting pulled over. We asked him why we had passed Doi Sutep. He informed us that BhuBing Palace is closed from 11:30- 13:00 for lunch, and he wanted to get us there before it closed. Our mouths said “OK,” but our brains said, “bullsh*t.” The whole time we were wondering whether we would end up at a gem shop or a tailor. The night before, I had just informed Beth how I secretly wanted to get scammed, just for the experience of it. Well, we bit our lip, and got ready for it. About 10 minutes later, Ting drove right by the palace, found a parking spot, and showed us where to buy tickets for BhuBing. As we purchased out “foreigner” tickets (50 baht per, compared to the Thai 30 baht), we noticed a sign “BhuBing Palace closed 11:30 - 13:00 for Lunch. From that moment, we never doubted Ting again.
     BhuBing was beautiful! Upon entering, you were given a map of the whole complex. Right away, you noticed that everywhere you looked there were flowers, especially roses. There were special areas of just rose gardens. There must have been hundreds of different species of roses throughout the palace grounds. Beth and I spent about 1.5 - 2 hours wandering the complex. We first headed to the actual palace. This is the building where the royal family actually lives. As expected, it was the most extravagant and largest building on the grounds. We continued our walk around the complex, and saw other residences (for guests) a fountain (which unfortunately was not running), big bamboo forest, and beautiful views of the surrounding kingdom. During our time, we saw numerous tourists, yet only a minority were foreigner. Understandably, with the knowledge of the Thai reverence for their king, this is a large attraction for Thai tourists. (Side note: all through the BhuBing palace, I had been fighting off the beginning of my 48 hours of intestinal problems. I tried to hide it, but the war inside my stomach was too much to conceal.)
     Leaving the palace, we searched for some bananas to help bind my stomach a bit, but the only plain bananas for sale were surrounded by fruit flies. Ting then drove us back down the mountain to Doi Sutep. Walking up the vendor area, we bought a waffle covered banana; quite yummy. We were then greeted by the two naga which lining the 300+ stairs leading to the temple. Having climbed the stairs, we then made the suggested donation for foreigners and walked into the temple grounds. The main temple of Doi Sutep is surround by bells. It is good luck to ring the bells. Beth and I did not ring all of the bells, but did ring one row each. There is also one side which is a panoramic view of Chiang Mai. After we walked around the temple, we took our shoes off, and headed into the temple. Again, we found that foreign tourists seem to be the minority here. (It was later learned that we were at Doi Sutep on an ACTUAL Buddhist holiday. This was confirmed by Kem, and the lady at the store who sold us beer and wasn’t supposed to, and made us hide it in the bag.) The temple like most wats was beautiful. There were numerous areas with different figures of Buddha and a large chedi in the middle. People carrying incense in their weiing hands were constantly walking around the chedi. Quite an experience!
     We now had Ting bring us to the university area, and recommend a restaurant that had cheap, clean, and good food. He arose to the challenge, and we had a tasty lunch. Ting the brought us back to our Thai home, and bid us sawa di kap.
     As if this wasn’t enough for the day, Kem looked into getting us tickets for the Muay Thai fight that night. Of course, he got the tickets cheaper than advertised for us, and he and Kat would take us to the stadium that night. At the stadium, he also arranged our tuk-tuk back to Vanilla Place after the fights. Beth was going to the fights for me. There was no questioning this. (By the way, I popped some Immodium for the fights that night.) She’s a trooper. But, it turns out, Beth had a great time that night, despite the dozen completely smashed and rude Irish guys that sat behind us at ringside. It did not turn out to be the complete blood-fest she had pictured in her mind. Yet, was seven battles between two sportsman (ranging from probably 13 years old to 30). A jam packed day. (Which was my last day outside the guesthouse and its bathroom in Chiang Mai.)
-MK

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