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Published: June 26th 2009
I am off to Chiang Mai today, an old walled city in the north of Thailand. This was the original capital of Thailand many years ago. There are several ways to travel to Chiang Mai including flying for about $45, the train - about $25 and by bus (didn’t ask how much). I decided on the night train, that usually takes around 14 hours, but we had engine trouble (total time took about 16 hours)
The whole train experience felt like I was traveling back in time. The station and trains are probably from the 1940’s and a far cry from the modern sky train and metro rail in Bangkok. Once onboard, I met a chatty old Thai lady who sat across the isle. Within five minutes she invited me to stay at her place that was supposedly close to the city. I was temped at the chance of free accommodation, but as a typical skeptical westerner, wandered what the catch was or if she was going to drug me and hack me into little pieces - I shouldn’t have watched Hostel 2 before I left!
Last time I ate on a train was probably on British Rail, over
Bangkok train station
Sitting in second class - third class is the floor.35 years ago… puke! I couldn’t sleep and decided to risk a meal in the restaurant car, against the advice of many travel reviews I’d read. It really wasn’t that bad especially after a couple of beers with some new found friends. I met an American going to Chiang Mai to teach English. Apparently you can make 40-50K baht (around $1500 a month) teaching and this is enough to survive comfortably. You can rent a one bedroom basic apartment in Chiang Mai for about $100 a month and survive on Thai food for a few dollars a day. I’m doing the calculations… “how long can I survive in Thailand without ever working again?”
Eventually I leave the grub car and struggle to get back to my now made up bed without looking way more pissed (drunk for you yanks) that I really am. I managed to get to sleep fairly quickly, despite the four Germans girls who were having a snoring competition right next to me. In the morning I watched the landscape drift from thick jungle to wide-open countryside. This really is a spectacular country and I definitely recommend this train trip if you have the time.
The heat in Chiang Mai was a bit of a shocker especially since the train was air- conditioned. The rainy season helps to cool things down here, but doesn’t really start until July. As I left the station I was in no mood to be bombarded by taxi and tuk tuk drivers who came from every direction and competed in a ruckus, vying to win my business. If you come here, take a red truck (converted with a cab and bench seating - will take several people and make multiple stops) for about a third of the cost of yellow cab. The 20 minute ride cost about $1.50 and no need to tip - tipping here is pretty rare and if you are around a Thai they usually recommend that you don’t do it. At a restaurant or bar you might leave 20 baht - 60 cents, no matter what the bill is)
I am staying at a guesthouse called the Safe House… with all the other people under the witness protection program! I love some of the names the Asians use to give us westerners a sense of value or security. The rooms are pretty basic but I
have a separate bathroom with a shower and piping hot water. I am paying about $70 for 7 nights, so didn’t expect much.
Chiang Mai is a lovely little city and a nice change from Bangkok. The original city is surrounded by a moat and parts of an ancient wall that once fortified the perimeter. This is about a 9 km area (although the whole city is really a lot larger) and rather like a little maze. My accommodation is pretty much in the center and there are tons of little shops bars and restaurants to visit.
One night I went down a little Soi (street) at about 2am and came across a house where the front room had been opened up and converted to a bar. It was very bohemian and owned by a young girl who mainly entertained local friends. A couple of young guys were playing guitars and I decided to join everyone and even played and sang a few songs. They acted like I was a rock star and the owner started calling all her friends over to hear the concert. I played about 8 songs over and over until I was almost asleep.
Even then they didn’t want me to leave. I had a great time.
After a couple of days I decided to go check out a few Wats (Buddhist temples). I read in the Lonely Planet Guide that you could meet and talk with monks at one temple. They will teach you a little about Buddhism in exchange for the chance to practice speaking English. It seemed interesting so I took off to find this Wat. Now… here’s a good tip - When you get a tourist map in Thailand, think of it as an artist impression of what the lay of the land is. Also don’t show it to a Thai and ask them to explain where a certain place is. Thais do not read maps! Furthermore, when a Thai wants to go somewhere and they don’t know where it is, they just ask another Thai…. who also usually doesn’t know where it is. But…. Thais have this thing about losing face (In this case, losing face would mean not knowing the answer to something - because as a Thai you are supposed to know everything.. and if you don’t… you look bad - NOTE: Can’t apply western logic
Spotted this lovely fellow waiting for a train.
I'm thinking about getting back into the hair business! in Thailand!)
I am actually sidetracked and actually writing this part of my blog way after being in Chaing Mai. So… getting back to the Wat - I eventually find it and of course the monks aren’t doing the explaining Buddha thing today! However… all was not lost as I met Toy and the Cowboy. Toy and her husband (I named him Cowboy because he wears a cowboy hat and I can’t pronounce his name) are tour guides and Toy invited me to go along with some other Thais they were taking on a bus to see the sites. Toy is one of the funniest people I’ve met so far in Thailand. She was telling all the other tourists that I was her new boyfriend and that I had bought her from her husband for 5 million Baht. He told me if I took her off his hands, he would throw in the tour bus and business as well. She kept asking me if I thought she was beautiful, to which of I said “yes” to every time. Then she said that she had a single sister (twin sister) who wanted to marry a farrang (what Thais call foreigners).
Part dog... part????
Some weird looking pooches here! All the people on the bus were howling with laughter as she tied me in knots. Anyway, I had great day and all the Thais were lovely, sharing their food and trying to make me feel welcome.
On another day I met a guy called Wayne who was from Australia - actually a Kiwi but had lived in Aus for years. We hit it off and decided to rent scooters for a couple of days and head off into the mountains. I haven’t ridden a motorbike in years and after seeing how people drove in Bangkok, was a little worried. Getting out of the city was a little hairy, but once on the country roads, it was complete heaven. I told Wayne we were like a cross between Easy Rider and Dumb and Dumber... maybe even a bit of Chips thrown in! We visited the highest mountain in Thailand and yet another temple - can’t remember the names of places, but the most fun was just riding around on the bikes.
The last few days in Chiang Mai were spent doing a lot of drinking and getting lost. One day Toy and the Cowboy took Wayne and I
to the elephant park and on a bamboo raft down the river. This was their only day off and she took us all over without wanting any money. Most people tell you that Thais (especially those in the tourism biz) try to milk the ferrangs, but this is not my experience.
Over the last couple of days I met a girl (bound to happen eventually - hey.. I’m not gay!... and had a bit of a fling. She was lovely - kind, sweet and very loving. I might have to devote a whole blog entry about the Thai women because there is so much to tell. I decided that my mission is not to fall in love but to discover what the hell I’m doing in this world and made a decision to go to Cambodia. Why? Well, I’ve heard that it’s cheaper, easier to get legal and wide open for opportunity… Plus CAMBODIA!! It just sounds good to say you’ve been there.. I feel like Rambo!
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chris.
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I'm planning on teaching english in Chiang Mai. Thanks for the descriptions!!