On the Road again...


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Asia
July 29th 2009
Published: August 8th 2009
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... So made it back to thailand. Met a Canadian girl called Amanda and we shared a taxi to Khao san and shared a room in Orchid Villa Guesthouse to save some pennies. Ended up going out for dinner and beer and met 2 guys from Germany and stayed out drinking with them for a while, also met a couple from UK called Chris and Paul who were heading up to Chang Mai the next day so we exchanged numbers and they said they'd call when i was up there to meet up. Next day checked out of hotel room and caught the overnight train that evening up to Chang Mai.

The overnight train was a lot nicer than i had expected, i had chosen a lower bunk sleeper carriage (been told that the top bunks vibrate and rattle quite a bit) and settled in to my seat. The berths are set up pretty similar to the dinnette on Stargate with two benchseats with a removable table inbertween which folds down to become the bottom bunk with a top bunk folded up above these. I was bought a menu (set menu choice of 3 options for 150bht) and was told
Buddha StatueBuddha StatueBuddha Statue

at Wat CHiang Man
my meal would be bought to me at around 8pm) set off as planned at 6.30pm and the train crawled and jolted into action.

The journey out of Bangkok is one of even more contrasts to the bus journeys I had previously taken. The juxtaposition between rich and poor even more apparent by rail, and in very close proximity to eachother. I tried to take photographs but couldn't work out how to change the shutter speed quick enough (have mastered it now!) so couldn't take any photos but it was really interesting to see whole families living liturally along the rail tracks. The homes were a muddle of shacks made from wood, metal, tarpaulin, chicken wire, signs, cardboard, umbrellas, posters.... these people are seriously ingenious when it comes to utilising everything they can get their hands on as building materials. Most of the homes look relatively sturdy and the brief glimpses i caught of inside the huts look very homely if a little cramped. Some have even managed to get electricity through attaching onto the main overhead cables ... a pretty risky business i should imagine, but there were several with televisions in and music blaring. Then in stark contrast a few hundred yards down the track palatial stone houses emerge through lush fenced off gardens. A few more hundred meters and the slum dwellings get even more built up and the building materials appear to be more a pile of garbage than an actual abode, but still the adults sit outside chatting and smiling and busying themselves with cooking, and the children all run round giggling and playing (right on the train tracks!). It was very humbling to watch from my air conditioned train through western eyes, and made me really appreciate how fortunateI am that I know I will never have to face such hardships.

I woke up at about 5.45am after a very comfortable nights sleep in my little pod as the sun was begining to creep into the sky soaking the hills and jungle in morning light. I was bought a coffee and sat on the bed looking out at the stunning scenery rolling by. Vast swaths of paddy fields all gently stepping down the slope towards the mountains covered in lush jungle - it is even more beautiful than i'd imagined!

Arrived in Chang Mai at 7.30am and got a songthalaew to
Stone Elephant detailStone Elephant detailStone Elephant detail

around the stupor atWat CHiang Man
a guesthouse that came highly reccomended by the driver, so ended up at Changmai Inn guesthouse and checked in to my 200bht a night room (very basic but very cheap and the staff are really friendly). Chang Mai is a much bigger city than i'd first thought and although its nowhere near as hectic as Bangkok its still pretty busy. The old city is surrounded by a moat and the ruins of the old city walls and gates but sprawls out in every direction and covers quite a large area. My Guesthouse was very well placed by the Old City and had a little Wat right by it. The old city is completely packed with temples (apparently around 300 temples in Chang Mai!!

After dumping bags and getting showered and changed i wondered across the bridge over the moat into the old city and set out to find some temples! The first one i came across was Wat Chiang Man which is the oldest Wat within the city walls. It was erected by King Mengrai, who was Chang Mai's founder, in 1296. It had an amazing Stupor, gold toppe and surrounded by stone elephant statues, very cool. As i was wondering around the Wat a monk came up to me and gave me a big bunch of juicy Longun (smooth variety of lychee found everywhere in Thailand) so i sat down in the tranquil Temple gardens and ate some of them before going crazy with my camera (edited selection attached).

Wondered a bit further down the road and came accross the Three Kings Monument and another little Wat where trainee monks were wondering about the grounds going between classes. lots of bright orange flags adorned conical structures all along the side of the temple, haven't managed to find out yet what these represent but they are really pretty! lots of carved stone and wood all over the temple as is typical in this part of Thailand.

Then found Wat Chedi Luang, which contains the ruins of a huge chedi that collapsed during an earthquake in 1545 but has been partly restored to prevent from collapsing further. The Chedi was pretty impressive towering above surrounding structures with plants growing between some of the cracked brickwork.

Returned to the guesthouse for my 1pm pickup as arranged by 'Mr Whisky' (...slogan...'your never drunk alone' ... not that that persuaded me in any way shape or form to select this as the most appropriate guesthouse to stay at...) and my driver, Peter took me to a jewelry factory ....nearly very dangerous... and i did have a slight pang when the shop assistant insisted i try on a stunning saphire ring, a bargin price really if you consider what it would cost in the UK, and very pretty, looked especially good on my right index finger.... and look at how it sparkles.... i managed to walk away but came away with a few pairs of particularly gorgeous silver earings. then we went to a silk making factory and had a talk from the lady there on the process of silk-making. included a few photos to demonstrate the steps...

step 1. Moths lay the eggs
step 2. Little silk worms eat Mulberry leaves
step 3. Silk worms munch loads of mulberry leaves and get really chunky
step 4. Silk worms spin cocoons ... and this is their fatal error ...
step 5. said cocoon, still containing the silk worms are then boiled alive for the silk thread to be used to spin strands of silk yarn - BRUTAL!

apparently it
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At the Three Kings Monument
takes around 50 cocoons to make each yarn strong and thick enough to be used to weave the silk. I had no idea that the poor things were boiled alive so silk can be made!! how did that piece of information slip me by doing a textiles degree.... now feeling very guilty that my entire final show at Uni made use, almost exclusively, of silk! needeless to say decided against buying any silk products from their shop, although need to find out whether that is the practice all over the world as i love silk, but thats going to put me off it a bit!

When i returned to the guesthouse got a text from a really lovely couple i met in Bangkok, Paul and Chris, and arranged to meet up with them for dinner and a wonder round the night market. lots of amazing handicrafts made by the northern hill tribes (... and probably mostly made at the surrounding factorys...) stunning hand embroidered textiles and amzing things ... if i'd had the space to buy it all i would have done! Got back to the guesthouse around 12pm but had a very broken nights sleep due to a couple rowing and screaming at eachother in the room above mine til about 4am!!

The next morning i caught a songthalaew up to Doi Suthep which is a beautiful temple perched on a panoramic hilltop overlooking Chang Mai. full name, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is one of northern Thailands most sacred temples, the site was 'chosen' by a hounered Buddha relic which was mounted on the back of a white elephant who wondered until it stopped (... collapsed and died!) on Doi Suthep, thus making this the relics new home. totally worth the 306 steps up to the top (which in 37 degree heat proved to be fairly exhausting!). Unfortunately, as with a lot of the most famous temples in thailand, tourism is a major earner and it was packed with lots of stallholders shouting for your attention to buy things and there was even an elephant chained to a tree, its handlers selling watermelon for tourists to feed it, poor thing was rocking and swaying its trunk from side to side and looked very unhappy. That evening, back at the guesthouse i met a German guy called Stephan and an Australian girl called Renee.

Friday i
Trainee MonksTrainee MonksTrainee Monks

lots of monks at a school at the temple - they were all smiles up until i pointed a camera at them!
was picked up at 8.30am by Ann, my Batik teacher for the day, and we drove to her house just outside Chang Mai and I spent a lovely day learning Batik in her beautiful studio surrounded by paddy filelds. Ordinarily she has 4 students per class but i lucked out and had a one on one course! really pleased with the pieces i produced and think that i am going to end up getting all the kit when i get back! When i got back Renee and i headed out for a bite to eat and to grab some beers late afternoon and when we were back at the guesthouse drinking them Stephan turned up and we decided to head out to watch the Muay Thai boxing match that was happening that evening. we all got on the scooter Stephan had rented and made our way to the stadium. The boxing match was really good fun, we all put little bets between eachother on the fights, and drank quite a lot of beer, by the end of the evening Stephan had lost the most bets therefore owed us a round as had been the decided penalty - he chose to buy buckets, lethal! headed out to a few bars and crawled in in the wee hours, needless to say Saturday was a bit of a write off but got in some sunbathing on the roof terrace and read another book.

Sunday Renee and i booked a driver, Mr Aood, with 2 other brits and set off to see some local sights. First up Tiger Kingdom, which i was very dubious about, but it actually appeared to be very well organised and the enclosures were spacious and green and the tigers looked in excellent condition. I still don't understand how they can get full grown tigers to accept group after group of strangers into the cages and pet them ... before i went i was convinced they would be drugged as all the pictures on the flyers show 'farang' lying with them and hugging them. I didn't go in but the other 3 on the trip did and i could see the enclosure from the restaurant area. The Tigers didn't appear to be drugged and apparently are just that tame because they've been hand raised but i'm not convinced. Next we went to the Hilltribe village, they've basically 'employed' several small tribes from the far nothern borders and relocated them to an area and live in very close proximity to eachother on a site set up by the 'thai heritage centre' so that tourists can come (pay a 500 bht entrance fee to the area) to wonder round and 'see how they live' ... a bit of a theme park for hill tribes! It was very odd, although appeared quite genuine as far as the hut construction and farmlands etc are concerned and most of the villagers seem to be getting on with daily living whilst others man market stalls selling handicrafts, weaving etc that they make. I felt very much like i was intruding, wondering round with the others and taking photos, as soon as you point a camera the girls turn and pose, obviously very well rehersed. Came away not really sure what i had seen, genuine or not? got the distinct feeling they were waiting for the crowds of tourists trapsing round the village to head off and then they'd take off their 'costumes' and head back to their proper homes on their scooters... Next we went to an Orchid farm and had some lunch and i got completely giddy with the camera again... Mr Aood then took us round a few factories to collect his coupons (he was completely straight with us and said all drivers, tuk tuks etc get coupons for the 'Farang' they take to all these factories and can make quite a good living this way - we agreed to go to a few as he'd been so straight with us) quite interesting but didn't buy anything, another silver place, a lacquer factory, another silk place. Then we went to an Umbrella factory which was really interesting and then we ended the day at Wat Umong, an awesome temple in the forest. Mr Aood wouldn't accept a tip at the end of the day so we went and bought him a botlle of Sangsom Whisky which he insisted we help him drink with him and some of the other staff, would be rude not to hey?!

After a couple of whisky and soda's (... not particularly nice, but we were not allowed to use coke as that would be sacrilidge apparently!) Renee and I walked to the sunday market, ate some dinner, and then some crickets (disgusting!!) and wondered round until we were exhausted then headed back to the guesthouse to collapse.

Tuesday morning got up early and packed my bags before heading to the bus station for the journey to Pai ...


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Frog Music!Frog Music!
Frog Music!

Paul jamming with a hilltribe lady


8th August 2009

hello my sugar plum ....good girl....your now an offical traveller....love getting your blog they are great and the photos' too Hope your leg is getting better oooch the photos looked sore....but i have to say a perfect heart shape scar for a lvoey girly love you babe chat soon lots of love tadpole and billy xxx
10th August 2009

Thai love
hey Laura! so nice to be following your travels and your detailed blogs! can really picture you strolling around all the sites taking pics and expriencing everything :) Im sorry to say but all silk is made by killing the silkworm... the problem is if you let them emerge from the cocoon, they eat their way out through it and so break the thread of silk they have sown. (the whole cocoon is a sinlge thread of silk).. so there is no silk without killing living creatures :( Good on you for not going into the tiger place... im alway very skeptical of places like that... how come in any other country, eg south africa, NZ, Uk etc you cant go in with huge powerful wild animals? - the thais i think have a different attitude to animals when tourists money is involved. (elephants, snakes, monkey shows etc) Sounds like you are meeting lots of fun people for dinner, drinks etc etc.. always nice to share expriences with them... and loving to quality of your pictures! you are going to be able to make an amazing travelling book when you get back! well take care! and i look forward to the next installment from Pai! Terence x
14th August 2009

mwah xxx
This blog is awesome i cannot wait to see you and here all about it in person miss you little lady xxx

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