Thailand; Chiang Mai, Pai, Chiang Kong

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We arrived into Thailand after a mammoth bit of travelling. Our flight from Cairns to sydney was fine and gave us great views of the harbour at sunset. We had a very quick turnaround, with literally 15 minutes to spare before our flight to Bangkok. This was very long, bt had good service with Qantas and a fine erray of entertainment on offer to keep us occupied. We arrived into Bangkok at around 1am local time and had a 6 hour wait before our flight to Chiang Mai. All though the troubles seemed to be over we still thought it better to avoid the area, changing our entire Asia travel route, looping Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia in a clockwise direction than our planned anti clockwise method. Our flight to Chiang Mai was fine, but the stay in the airport for 5 hours was uncomfortable. We arrived in Chiang Mai around 29 hours after leaving our hostel in Cairns. Needless to say we were tired. However we weren't able to access our room in the guesthouse until midday, so e had a few hours to kill.

We therefore went to the market at the bottom of our road. Chiang Mai is a busy bustling city, surrounded by a moat from ancient Asian times. The moat acts as a sort of M25 circling the main city, with Tuk Tuks (2 stroke motorbikes with a seat for two behind) and the local red buses (more like army transportation vehicles) storming round in search of fares. Wats or Temples can be found everywhere homing the huge Monk population. The market was on daily and provided in the main the locals with their fruit veg and meat needs for the week. There was therefore a large selection of questionable meat on display often making us question its origins. After looking round we were able to access our room, which was small but comfortable with a fan. The guesthouse had a great atmosphere with lots of people seeming to stay for a long time in Chiang Mai soaking in the culture. It also had a pool table that we put to use.

After having a few days of r and r, looking through the markets and passing by and venturing into various different Wats. On the whole they are very similar, with the same red slanted roofing and masses of gold leaf and paint leading to a vibrant and stunning array of buildings. We also visited the night market, which was across the moat which is easily reached by Tuk Tuk and containing hundred of street side stalls selling everything from cheap t-shirts to Rolexs that need shaking to start, to bags and bracelets as well as various food stalls and restaurants. It was really busy and good fun "baht"erring with the locals and being pleasantly harassed by the sellers.

We booked in a 3 day trek at our hostel which seemed to be a highlight of most of the Farang (foreigners) so we sought a bit of the action. We were picked up and taken North West of the city to wards Burmar where we were dropped of at a village or group of villages that contained 15 different tribes. The tribes spoke different languages to one another and brought with their different customs and means of production. Most relied upon agriculture but produced varying crops and bred different live stock. We were able to see the Long Neck Karen, a form of the Karen tribe that originated in Burma and have the distinct custom of placing metal rings around their necks making them stretch. Our guide told us that they weigh up to 12kg and do not actually stretch the neck but actually push down the collar bone. Either way it seemed quite painful. They followed different religions but had a church at the top of the street, the photo with the boy pushing his bike up towards it makes for an interesting photo.

Later we were taken to an elephant camp where we went for an elephant ride. The elephants were driven by the locals that simply perched on the top of their heads and steered them with their feet. Our elephant decided that he would take a small heap of leaves to munch on the way. The ride was slightly uncomfortable as they move in a strange way but it was amazing to be so close to the enormous creatures. After taking them for a drink and a bath we went into the jungle for a brief stroll before heading back to base. We then began our trekking into the jungle. We had two guides with us, one who just wore flip flops named Bond and Pong. The going was tough and fairly steep but Mark was comforted by talking football with John, one of the five other trekkers. We then went to a waterfall that we were able to cool off in before heading up a perilously steep path to the village at the top and our sleeping ground for the first night. We were cooked a nice meal by the local people, (the village contained around 200) and had a few beers looking our upon the spectacular scene of the valley below and the lights of Chiang Mai in the distance. We slept in a small hut with shallow mattresses leading to slightly stiff backs in the morning accompanied by complaints from our French trekker.

The second day we headed further into the jungle again hoping to arrive at a small settlement in the evening. The day was slightly easier going, the terrain had levelled out and on the whole we followed the path of a river. Along the way Bond showed us different plants, teaching about various bamboo and showing off with strange tricks like blowing bubbles from the sap of a leaf and firing another pointed leaf like an arrow. We again stopped off at a waterfall where we went for a brief swim before having lunch. It was very humid and very hot so the breaks were welcomed. another short walk led us into our second sleeping settlement situated in the side of the river with two locals and a couple of dogs for company. We got to know our other trekkers well and we all got on, having a few beers and playing card games until the dark prevented us.

The final day saw us following the river out of the jungle where we were helmetted up for a short stint of white water rafting. The river as quite low so it was not as exciting as our adventures in New Zealand but it was fun never-the-less. We then changed floating platform and boarded a bamboo raft that floated in a similar fashion to a cork, getting us wet, welcomed though due to the heat. When we disembarked we were provided lunch and got in a taxi back to Chaing Mai. we both had a great time, the trekking was not at an uncomfortable level and the locals were friendly. We also met some nice people and it was amazing to live and sleep in the stunning back drop of the jungle.

After another need rest day we booked to go to Tiger Kingdom. Depending on your views, either a Tiger Zoo or a Tiger sanctuary, housing tigers, maintaining their numbers, educating the public and providing funds for rescue and protection missions. Either way it was an amazing place and a fantastic experience to be able to get so close to still lively and very dangerous tigers. We first went and played with the smallest tigers, that were 3 months old before heading out with oldest cats, around 2 years. The small ones were very cute, playful but also quite sleepy, jumping around a little bit before snoozing. The big cats were quite scary but friendly and photogenic.

After our stay in Chiang Mai we decided to go North West to Pai, a small hippy town in the hills. The bus was long and made uncomfortable by the winding roads. The scenery was similar to New Zealand, we were surrounded by hills and dramatic landscapes, but differed in that the vegetation was lush. with no floor space left exposed. We walked around the town, visiting the market before deciding a moped would be the best way to get around a see the attractions that were a fair way away. Our automatic bike, Brum was rented for 2 pounds a day and after filling up for a further 2 pounds we went into the countryside in search of the Mor Paeng waterfall. By the time we found it the sun was setting but it was quite a pretty place. The next day we went in search of a different waterfall which was further away but more stunning. We also visited the Pai "canyon" which was a series of sharp and matchstick thin paths jutting out of the earth leading for some fantastic photos. Unfortunately this is where we experienced our fatal problems with the camera. No buttons worked and Matk thought the motherboard had been fired in the sun. We really enjoyed Pai. Its a very relaxed place and despite the majority of tourists lack of knowledge of deodorant and view that good politics consisted simply of peace and love we had a great time.

Our first stint of Thailand was coming to an end and after sampling the Sunday walking market and watching a few games of football we headed North East towards the border where we would begin our Laos adventures. We enjoyed the change of pace and price from Oz and liked the friendly locals aswell as the breathtaking scenery and simple lifestyles. We arrived in Chiang Kong for our river crossing to Laos before the slow boat that would take us to Luang Probang and central Laos.

The photos at the end are of Laos, but will do a new blog once we have left. The photos show our trip on the slow boat and of the waterfall we visited, but news of these to follow. .

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