Advertisement
Published: November 3rd 2009
Do you think Khon Kaen sounds/looks a bit like Chiang Khon? Well I did! I got on a bus in Chiang Mai at 8:00 pm and ended up a little more than twelve hours later in Khon Kaen-only literally hundreds of miles from my intended destination. Let me back up a bit.
I arrived in Chiang Mai late Thursday after a twelve hour train ride (I think twelve hours is the magic number here). I met a Brit and a Singaporean on the way and we talked and planned together. After arrival we grabbed a ride into the city to try to find ourselves a guesthouse for the night. Most of the time you don't need to pre-book because you can always find something-even if you decide to stay there only for a night because the cockroaches are talking to you in Thai. Chaing Mai is up North kind of near the Golden Triangle (think opium). It is a cooler than Bangkok and has a much much smaller population - 170k vs. 6.5 million, There are a lot of expat retires here-a retiree friend of mine lives there with his girlfriend on $1500 month and pays only $220/month for a 3bdr house - the homes are definitely less finished than what we are accustomed to in the states. Much of that is due to the fact that they don't have the same weather limitations as us, and wood doesn't last very long. There used to be a moat and wall all the way around the older part of the city and it had four gates for comings and goings. Now there are only pieces of the wall remaining and the moats don't encircle the city (in ancient times the whole city was contained within those walls-it is much much bigger now). There are all kinds of businesses that cater to the Western style of tourism-we went to a blues bar playing the likes of BB King and John Lee Hooker; ate at a French restaurant, and got minutes for our phones at 7-11. Our visit coincided with the Thai celebration called 'Loy Krathong.' Participants ask water spirits to sail away their troubles in their krathongs, which are containers traditionally made from banana leaves and carrying offerings of incense, lotus flowers and small money. They also release large paper lanterns/balloons into the air which use a disc that burns and causes lift. This is also to ask that their indiscretions float away. It is a beautiful sight to see all those glowing ships soar until they disappear out of sight. I have to tell you-I am in an Internet cafe and it was just inundated with young school aged boys here to game-probably fifty plus and the volume is up. Moving on---I met my friend David who has been here for just six months and a friend of his who has lived all over the world and is now choosing to retire here. Both of them have Thai girlfriends who are happy to relieve them of some of their cash - it's true, but both couples are getting what they want. They are able to buy pretty much whatever they please since everything is comparatively cheap. I have paid for a three day 'experience' in Northern Laos which includes, 1) the possibility of seeing gibbons, 2) staying in treeforts - complete with bathrooms - which are 120 feet up, 3) zip lines with which to fly back and forth between platforms, and 4) food anytime you want it. Because of my travel snafu I rescheduled it for a later date. So tonight I will catch a bus back to Chiang Mai and then to the Thai/Lao border and off to my Gibbon Experience.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.177s; Tpl: 0.03s; cc: 15; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0581s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
angela
non-member comment
That is funny
but it would have given me anxiety to be that far out of my plans!