Chiang Mai- Northern Thailand

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Cheque bin duar kaa...this is all we seem to be saying! There is so much food we want to try, we just seem to be eating at any opportunity.

I have really loved my stay in Chiang Mai. We got here Thursday 24th and have left Monday 28th October. Compared to Bangkok, Chiang Mai is a lot more chilled out. The people have been a lot nicer too. The hostel we stayed in was quite smelly but the man at the reception, Big (yes that was his name and he was very skinny and short) , was lovely and really helped us find cheap trips to go on.

The first trip we went on was to a farm to learn how to cook Thai food. We met our group in the market where we learned about the different spices, vegetables and rice that are used in Thai dishes. To our surprise, the aubergines were small and green. They taste a lot like courgette.

After the market tour, we went out in to the country, just outside the farm where we were cooking. We were dropped off at a place where we then had to get on a bike and ride to the farm. I can't remember the last time I was on a bicycle so I really enjoyed it.

When we got to the farm, we were asked to choose 5 dishes we would like to cook. I chose: chicken and cashew stir fry, papaya salad, tofu and vegetable soup, massaman curry and pumpkin with coconut milk. Pear, the lady who taught us was hilarious. She really made us feel at ease so we didn't mind asking lots of questions. Everything that we cooked we got to eat, so as you can imagine I was stuffed to the brim! At the end of our session, Pear then gave us our own tai cook book that she made so that I can now make all of my dishes at home 😊

We got back on our bikes and made our way to get our transport back to Chiang Mai centre. Back at my hostel I went to get my camera from my bag...nothing! Yes, I left it in the basket of the bike I was riding. I went straight to the hostel reception and asked Big to ring them for me. They found it!! They were really kind and brought it out for me, which was a long car journey. I was really grateful as I had taken lots of pictures. After meeting so many dishonest people in Bangkok, I was so glad there were some honest people in Thailand!

The next day we set off on our two day trek to the mountains. We were picked up from our hostel and picked other people up from their hostels on the way. Everyone was lovely which I was really glad about. The journey was long to where we would be staying and it didn't help that we were all squashed in the back of a _____ van. As soon as we got there, we were given friend rice with vegetables wrapped neatly in a banana leaf. It was delicious and definitely set us up for the long trek that was in front of us. We started on a steep hill, soaking up the view below. An hour into our journey, we met up with another group. We walked for about 3 hours, up and down steep hills, crossing narrow ledges with steep drops, across rivers with man-made bridges made from bamboo and finally we got to a small waterfall. There we were allowed to have a swim before we set off on our journey again to where we would be sleeping. The water was freeeeeeezing! It took a lot to get my whole boy in but I did it (apart from my head, that was going nowhere near the ice cold water!)

We set off again, again across small ledges no more than 50cm wide, again with steep drops. I had to make sure I was concentrating fully! The walking was a great adventure. The adrenaline was truly pumping around my body!! The end of the walk brought us through miles of rice fields. Beautiful. The view was breathtaking. I tried to take a picture of the beauty I could see but I wasn't able to replicate the beauty that was before me.

Eventually, we arrived at our destination, two wooden huts in the middle of a small village. Every home seemed to have a pig roped up to the house. They squealed as we walked past. Poor things. My bed consisted of a thin mattress on the floor, covered by a mosquito net. It wasn't too bad to sleep on, it could have been much worse! We had food then we were invited to the village to have some drinks with the local people. They were all sat on a raised wooden table where they were singing and playing instruments. We found out that there was to be a wedding the day after and they were having a pre wedding celebration at the woman's village. They encouraged us to join in, which was really fun. Chai, our guide, told us we could go upstairs and have a look at what the people upstairs were doing. I wasn't quite ready for what I saw! Obviously, they were getting ready for the wedding the next day so they were preparing the food. I walked in to them chopping up a pig with bits everywhere, ready to cook later on. Everyone was helping and they seemed happy that we were there. On the other side of the floor upstairs, people were eating and they asked us to sit with them. We tried glass noodles with fish, fried pork and raw pork with blood(that was pretty gross and thank goodness I wasn't ill!)

All night we chatted with some of the locals that could speak little English and sang with the ones that couldn't. I had a great time.

The next day, after an interesting sleep on the hard floor, we set off on our trek again, through the beautiful terrain. Even more beautiful scenery! Wow, wow, wow..that's all I could say! Along the way, we saw some interesting insects, massive spiders webs and tried some fruit hidden up trees. Chai brought us to a small village where a tribe called the Red Karen Long Necks lived. The long neck people are a tribe from Burma. Unfortunately for them, it was too dangerous to live in their country so they crossed the border into Thailand and settled in the north. Apparently, they are not allowed to legally work in Thailand , so they ask people for pay to see them as their means of getting money to pay for food etc. Stuart and I decided not to pay as we thought it was a bit like a 'human zoo' but most of the other people we were with went in. They told me that they actually didn't have long necks but for each year of their life, the women would wear a heavy, gold necklace around their neck. This would weigh about 4kg. Every year, this weight would get heavier and heavier which meant their ribs and shoulder muscles were squashed. Their ribs would then start to grow in a different direction and their shoulders were pressed downwards, which gave the illusion that the women had 'long' necks.

Next, we went to the Elephants. I got to ride a an elephant through the hills and feed it bananas. I enjoyed feeding the elephant but I didn't like riding it too much, even though I was excited all week t do this. The elephants nt being ridden were tied up and they seemed to be poo everywhere that hadn't been cleaned up for ages. I didn't get the impression that the elephants were treated with the respect they deserved so I've decided I won't do anything like that again.

After the elephants, we went to ride some rafts down some river rapids. This started off scary and the water was cold, but the rest of the journey was ok. We got stuck in a collision with a group of Chinese tourists who had crashed their raft into a tree. We then had to try to avoid them, but couldn't in time so ended up crashing in to them! I was slightly scared but the person directing our raft got us out of the situation quickly.

We then said goodbye to Chai, who was a really kind man, and set off back to Chiang Mai. That night, we visited the Sunday market that was full of treasures! I wanted to buy but it was really over crowded, and to be honest I have no space in my back pack, so we went back to the hostel for a much needed sleep on a proper mattress!

Today, we have walked arond Chiang Mai and visited a few temples. These buildings are absolutely amazing! They are so ornate and are well looked after. I dressed in shorts and a short sleeved top today which is nt good if you want to view temples! The dress code is strict for inside the temples but thankfully they provided some (free, oh yeah) purple coats to put on so that we could have a look around the temple. Again, inside, the temple was beautiful. At the front was a large gold Buddha, which hundreds of smaller Buddha's surrounding his feet. I've decided that when I have my own house I want the roof to have a beautifully ornate roof! Could you imagine seeing this in England in the middle of a street!

As I write this I am on a 10 hour bus back to Bangkok. Stuart and I will then be heading to a small island called Ko Samui where we hope to get some sun, sea and sand. Hopefully I will have some more exciting stories to tell from there!

Lots of love xx

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Photos

Look where you are going!
I walked into the sign behind me. A stupid piece of wood sticks out from the bottom!!