Chiang Mai

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Hanoi, crazy and noisy but if you like city buzz that is the place to be. I had one day and night in Hanoi (8th April) after the group and had originally planned to stay in the hotel that the tour used. However as it was the worst hotel of the Vietnam trip I cancelled and splashed out on La Siesta Central hotel and spa. I got up early and decided to visit the Temple of Literature which was described as a quiet oasis. It was about a 1.5k walk but as I approached I could see a mass of coaches and groups of schoolchildren. I went in anyway and it was moderately interesting, it was the first university of Vietnam and was established to test potential mandarins. Vietnam was under Chinese control at the time and government officials were tested before appointment. I escaped to a little café and had Ban Mi and coffee for breakfast. I went back to the hotel and checked out my stuff and moved to La Siesta where my room would be ready at 2pm.

I decided to go to the Opera house and wander round the French quarter. The Opera house was very grand but not open and I ended up in a place and had a foot treatment.



As I walked back into my new hotel I knew I had made the right decision. I sat in the comfy reception area with a welcome glass of water and some fruit while I checked in. I had to decline the “mocktail” as it had grapefruit juice in ( not allowed with statins). My room was beautiful, small balcony with part view of the lake and gorgeous shower room with L’Ocitanne products. There was a note with a complimentary plate of fresh fruit. I had to get someone to show me how to use the flash remote for the TV!!



I had arranged to spend the evening with Maria, one of my fellow Intrepid travellers, and she arrived looking fabulous in a traditional Vietnamese outfit. We had cocktails on the rooftop and then a delicious dinner where the service was impeccable and the food delicious and wonderfully presented. It was the most expensive day of the whole trip but what the hell!



Next morning breakfast was in the same place with great views of the city and I declined a local breakfast for Eggs Benedict, what a treat. I had booked a transfer to the airport and it all went smoothly and getting checked in and through security was a breeze, unlike some of our group who had had a frantic time the previous evening.



Two hours later and I arrived in Chiang Mai and within 20 minutes of landing was through immigration and in a taxi with my bag. After 26 days of a tour I was ready to be in one place and to finally unpack my bag. I travel using a system of three net bags with my clothes rolled up inside, one with socks and underwear, one with tops and one with trousers and shorts. Unless I stay three nights I don’t unpack those bags. I had booked a guest house with a small pool and it was just lovely. Big room with fridge and kettle and small seating area and walk-in shower and air conditioning. Hanoi was cooling down and was mid-20’s, Thailand was hotting up and mid-30’s. Had a bit of a wander in the evening and found a veggie place and had a tasty veggie Massaman curry.



My plan for Day 1 was for a quiet day so had early breakfast and wandered to the local market then back for a chill by the pool and a swim. In the evening I booked a trip to the temple above Chiang Mai, Doi Supeth. It was refreshingly cooler, as daytime was 36, and the golden pagoda looked fabulous all lit up. Our crazy guide Nashi talked to us about Buddhism and we all did a prayer session and then were blessed by a very sleepy monk. We were the last to leave at 9 pm and by I got back it was too late to eat near my place.



Before I set off on the trip I had booked a photography course, spending a day called “urban landscapes” , with a guy called Kevin. We met up about 7.45am and spent a great day wandering around taking shots. In the market with the fabulous food displays, some of the smallholders, then the guys who run the cycle rickshaws, the flower market and a local temple. He was a great bloke and had some useful tips and then we had lunch together and spent a couple of hours looking at the photos to see the shots. I was really pleased with maybe half a dozen where I tried out his techniques. It was a long day and concentrating in the heat was hard. The temperatures are climbing steadily towards 40C and this day it was 37.



Thursday was cooking !! There are about 80 different venues in Chiang Mai and I was careful to choose a course with a small group size. Benny used to work for a larger cookery school but set up her own business. We were picked up in one of the local red vans , a covered pickup with bench seats either side and we were a group of seven, 2 other Brits, a couple from Portugal and a couple from Canada. Our first stop was a market on the way to Benny’s house where we tried sticky rice and spicy Chiang Mai sausage. The choice of herbs and spices was amazing and at least six different types of aubergine. This was SE Asia course number 3 and it was fabulous, gorgeous setting amongst the rice fields, fantastic teacher and incredible flavours. We used vegetables and herbs from the organic garden. We had both a cold and hot infusion of butterfly pea flower, a fabulous indigo colour. All it needed was a bit of gin! It was easily the best course I have done on my travels and I will be searching for ingredients both to cook in the UK and back in Spain. So that was it my two main activities done and only Songkran, Thai New Year to come.



Songkran started as a simple ceremony of going to the temple with offerings and then using a small amount of water on each other to wash away the old and start again for the new year. It has become an excuse for a massive water fight lasting days. We got soaked on the way back from cooking and I did again going to the shop and this was only Songkran eve!! It was only after I had booked my flight here did I realise what went on in Chiang Mai. My strategy was to avoid the mayhem, especially the tourist hordes.



I spent the morning chilling by the pool and wandered out through the back streets to try and see the Buddha parade but it was both hot and crazy and didn’t see it. On the way back got soaked by some local children but that was fine, cooled me down nicely as today was 39.



I decided being cooped up in the hotel for the rest of the trip was not a good idea so on Saturday went on a trip into the mountains. Visited the gorgeous King and Queen pagoda set in beautiful gardens and then the highest point in Thailand , part of the national park Doi Inthanon. We then did a 3.2k trek through the forest, it was two hours of blissful temperatures, only 22C, and amazing scenery. My fellow group members were a girl from Paris, honeymooners from Belgium and a couple from Milan. Our local guide spoke limited English so it was great fun trying to help , especially with Italian. Although some words are very like Spanish and I think we managed. We went for lunch and it was pretty average but I was hungry after the walk. I am so glad I chose it despite the girl on reception thinking it might be too much for me. Getting back into Chiang Mai was a nightmare, the last 4km took over an hour. Endless numbers of pickups full of people with giant water barrel, people with water blasters and anything else that could be used to soak people. Eventually our driver Mr T found a way back to my little oasis and I jumped straight in the pool and had a beer. I bought some mulberries on the trip and ate them with banana and yoghurt.



Day 3 of Songkran and it felt like I was marooned in the hotel but I chilled by the pool, read a book and then had a fabulous spa afternoon. There are lots of cheap places across Asia where you can get a massage etc but this was more like a western style place. I was picked up in a car which smelt of essential oils and with relaxing music and whisked off to the Oasis spa and had three hours of treatment for about £55 , which is nearly what I won on the Grand National the day before. A honey and oat body scrub then an oil massage and an amazing facial were fabulous. Weeks off dirt from polluted cities cleansed away. I had hoped to go to the Sunday market but the water fights continued on.

So to Monday 16th and finally Chiang Mai returned to some semblance of normality and I had a wander to the local market and then a look around some of the old city. It felt like a completely different place and it made me realise how much I had missed. My final night was a local dish Sa Kow and a great classic martini. On reflection I should have cut my losses as soon as I realised about Thai New Year but c’est la vie!



Only the flight home now, get to Newcastle on Thursday after a night in Bangkok and stopover in Dubai.



Till next time



Norma

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