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Published: March 16th 2011
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So...here we are in Chiang Mai, with only a week of backpacking left.
Our first 2 days in Northern Thailand don't really count, as we booked into a hotel on the outskirts, purely for the fact it had a swimming pool. After a chilly time in Hanoi we wanted a couple of days of sun...so that's what we did! Once our two days of luxury were used up, we had to downsize to a dirt cheap hotel, in a slightly more exciting part of the city. How cheap you ask? How about 6 quid a night?!
The hotel in question is a bit weird. It sounds backwards to say but it has character because it has absolutely no character! For 6 pounds a night you got TV, air-con, fridge, WIFI and a twin beds...but NO frills. The rooms were almost bare and had NO decoration. The building obviously used to be a hospital, with massive hallways (check out the pic) and it would be a bit creepy to stay there alone. After an initial freak out...we got used to out aesthetically un-pleasing room and almost grew to quite like it.
As we're close to the old town and
it's Sunday night, we take a trip to the famous walking market. The market springs up every Sunday evening, with a wide selection of stuff for sale, everything from handicrafts to T-shirts. After an hour of hardcore haggling we have presents for our families, a few bits for ourselves and some tasty food...and still have change from a 20 pound note (not sure how we're going to get it all home though).
One thing I'd been looking forward to since we arrived in Asia was getting out in the countryside and doing some trekking and Chiang Mai is the place to do it.
Our trekking day starts early, with an hours drive north of the city with a local tour company. Soon we are driving past open paddy fields, with misty mountains looming in the background. As usual we'd chosen a rainy day for our trek but we were still very excited. The first stop was a hill tribe village, which wasn't the best start to the day. We had a feeling of De-Ja-Vu as we were harassed by local children for loose change. However we soon set off on our walk which was great. I really miss going
on hikes and even though we only walk for an hour we really enjoy the scenery.
We stop at a waterfall, but unfortunately it's too cold to swim (although some 'wacky' backpackers still dive in). We have lunch near another village and I get to fire a crossbow (they charge about 20p - slightly cheaper than the machine gun in Vietnam!) which I do with no real skill!
After lunch we hop on the back of an elephant for a stroll around the forest. It's a strange feeling to be so high up and in a seat that feel like it'll fall off any second. You have a guide/driver who sits on the elephants neck and lightly kicks his ears now and again in an attempt to steer him. To be fair though, you're pretty much at the mercy of the elephant. If he fancies 'off roading' or stopping to have a snack, you have to just let him. We have a really naughty elephant who lets out a few massive farts as we walk along (we find this hilarious!).
The final part of the journey is on a bamboo raft, which is so much fun. The
raft is pretty basic - just 4 bamboo shoots, lashed together. You just sit there and let the current take you along the stream, which is a nice way to travel. Each raft is steered/punted by a local teenager who does everything he can to get us soaked, including smashing the water with his oar and rocking the raft.
At one point he jumps off the raft and has a water fight with some of his friends, as we float aimlessly along with no driver. He catches up with us a few minutes later and gives us a look of 'what were you worried about?' ...before splashing us again. We arrive at our destination completely drenched but happy!
The next day we move out of the Hospital Hotel and into another guesthouse for our last 4 nights and even though it's raining as I write this, it should be sunny by the end of the week so we should have some more stories to tell you about!
Ali and Clio x
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Leila
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Hello Clio and Ali, Can't wait until you two get back on Wednesday :-) The trekking day sounds ace, especially the elephant ride. Imagine in a different dimension Matthew could be one of the teenagers on the rafts, makes you think about all the comforts we have here. I can't see the hospital hotel photo. Matthew's laptop has had a hard life and I'm surprised it still works at all. I'll check the photo out on the PC. Enjoy your last few days loads xxx