Advertisement
Published: January 13th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Rolling Down the River
We woke at 6am to catch a bus north to the town of Tha Ton. Capri said the scenery was quite beautiful, however, Jarrod and I missed a fair bit because we were snoozing. Just a brief stop in Tha Ton for some noodle soup and we then boarded a long-tailed boat down the river to the city of Chiang Rai. The boat was full of other tourists, 12 people and luggage to be exact, and water was lapping a mere few inches away from the rim of the boat. The first few minutes were pleasant enough with the wind ruffling though our hair and the odd sprinkle of water over the side to keep you cool. But suddenly, the boat hit a dead head with a
THUMP and my heart suddenly lurched into my throat. “No problem!” the boat driver smiled and chuckled at our frantic expressions. At this point I scanned into the distance to the shoreline, which was defiantly close enough to swim to if need be. A few minutes later, instead of a
THUMP, it was a
THUD as we scrapped over a sandbar hidden just below the surface. Well, that wasn’t nearly
as scary because if the water is shallow enough to bottom out, I likely wouldn’t have to swim to shore, but could likely walk to safely without even getting wet! After that realization the boat ride was much more enjoyable and even a bit exhilarating going over a few small white rapids.
Early evening we arrived in Chiang Rai and ended up walking around for a hour and a half to find a hotel because many were full and others were simply overpriced. Eventually we found an awesome hidden treasure just off the main road with teak furniture and cheap beer in the mini fridge. The hotel also had a resident dog, Mi Mi, who I grew quite fond of. It was sunny and warm for us, about 25C mid-day, yet Mi Mi's owner said she was cold since it’s winter, and so Mi Mi wore a kid sized t-shirt to keep warm.
Hilltribe Museum
The following day we visited the Hill tribe museum and education center for the better part of the afternoon. They had good displays and plenty of information on five different tribes and the history of the opium trade in the area. I don’t
Bugs for Snacks
I'm determinded to try a bug, but I think I'll need a few drinks before I'm brave enough to actually put it in my mouth! remember which tribe had what customs, but here were a few quirky things that stuck:
*Most hill tribe people are not recognized as Thai citizens, many have migrated from China, Tibet or Burma. As such, they are not all entitled to the same education or heath care that Thais receive.
*One tribe believed fervently in spirits (good and bad) and had special village doorways to keep bad spirits out of the community. A new village doorway had to be built each year, and if you touched the doorway it was no longer good and a new one would have to be erected.
*If there was girls of marriageable age in the household, the teenaged boys (brothers) of the house would have to sleep on the balcony or at a friends house to ensure that the girls would stay pure before marriage.
*Young men looking for a wife had to abduct the woman and then barter a price for their new wife. The price could be based on stress on the family from the abduction, the years spent breastfeeding her as a child or the time it took to scold the girl when she was growing up. If the fellow
didn’t have the cash, he would have to work in the new wife’s family fields to pay off the debt.
*Twins were shunned upon in one tribe and passed off to another tribe (which didn’t mind twins) or else the mother and twins were caste out of the tribe leaving them to fend for themselves.
*And yet another tribe, if there were any children born with deformities or handicaps, they had to live at the bottom of the hill so their garbage wouldn’t come in contact with and pollute other families.
*The longneck tribe originated from Burma. Some have fled Burma, but most were brought to Thailand by an entrepreneurial business man who figured he could make money from tourists showing off their unique ringed necks. The villages are only there for show. Now, children do not want to wear the rings around their neck and the Thai government pays them to keep up the tradition - likely because tourists like to see something different.
Opium has made its mark in northern Thailand and some tribes have serious issues with HIV/AIDS as a result. The museum also has a restaurant called Cabbage & Condoms to help raise money and
Tongue and Teeth
From and unknown animal. They said cow, but I'm skeptical. Maybe a piglet? awareness about the issues. Their goal is to make condoms as readily available as cabbage to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. We figured that was a good cause and thus, had dinner (and more wine) there that night.
The next day was for relaxation as we got massages, pedicures and wandered the markets. At night the market has a fabulous food selection from identifiable items to the unknown (see picture, take your guess).
Back to Bangkok
That night (Dec 30) we had a flight booked out of Chiang Rai to Bangkok, however, it was delayed four hours into the wee morning hours. We had reserved and paid for two rooms at the Thai Cozy House in Bangkok for that night but when we arrived at 3am tired and worn out, the Cozy House didn’t have any rooms available. After a very lengthy discussion with the nightshift ladyboy about how they recommended making a reservation (and paying for it) and then them not honoring it we ended up staying the night at another hotel a few minutes away. In the morning we had a pleasant discussion with the Cozy House manager (even though the nightshift ladyboy said we
couldn’t talk to her) and after asking a few times we got what we wanted: a free night’s stay for New Years Eve.
Happy New Year!
After that nights stress Capri and Vic weren’t too keen on a long bus trip and felt they’d seen enough ruins so they decided instead of traveling to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat they would prefer to head to a beach and stay for a few days. Fine by us, so we booked a VIP bus and boat combo down south to the island of Ko Tao.
We headed to MBK mall for some last minute beach wear shopping and then planned on dinner, a movie and midnight fireworks in the city. We were in the mall and at about 8pm, shops mysteriously started closing up. Rumors of bombings and, therefore, cancelled New Years events spread so we played it safe and headed back to the Cozy House for a few beers on the balcony. Vic headed in early, but Jarrod, Capri and I brought in the New Year together with some beer Changs from 7-11. From the balcony, we could even see about five different little firework shows so we did see some flashy lights in the end.
Good bye 2006, Hello 2007!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.484s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 26; qc: 139; dbt: 0.2881s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.4mb
Julie
non-member comment
Hungry?
So did you eat some bugs or what?