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The backpacker area of Chiang Mai is the 'old town'. A square area of the city, surrounded by the remains of a old wall and a moat. A pretty cool place to stay, a strong start from Chiang Mai.
The area in which we stayed was like other towns and cities we had visited in South East Asia, hundreds of little alley's (or Soi's) full of stalls, guesthouses and shops. We stayed on Soi 6. Arriving at our hostel we were greeted by a very helpful woman called Jam and she told us 'not to worry' about the previous nights booking and that they wouldn't charge us, result.
The room we stayed in was slightly prison like, but was clean and cheap so this wasn't really an issue.
There is alot to do in Chaing Mai, not neccesserly in the actual city but in the surrounding areas. Their is a huge range of things to do from cooking classes to snake shows, Thai boxing to massages. We wanted to do as much as our budget would let us.
After exploring the town on foot and visiting the bustling markets of China Town we booked onto a cooking course with 'Sammy's Organic Farm.'
The next morning we woke up early and were picked up by a very happy, slightly strange (in a nice way) Thai man by the name of Sammy. Along with about 10 others we headed out of town and to a early morning market to have a look round. We actually arrived as it was finishing, when they say early, they mean early, the market starts at 3am every day. Sammy's organic farm was the next stop. This was in the middle of the Thai countryside, away from the noise of the city with nothing but fields surrounding it. When we arrived all our equipment was set up in the open air kitchen and we picked what we wanted to cook.
Belle:
• Tom Yum soup
• Yellow curry
• Chicken and Cashew nuts
• Spring rolls
• Sticky rice with Mango
Matt:
• Hot vegetable soup
• Yellow curry
• Pad Thai
• Spring rolls
• Banana in coconut milk
We had alot to make, we had alot to eat. We made all the dishes from scratch with help from Sammy's wife, who had the patience of a saint! With 12 people asking her 'what should I do next' all at once, not once did she even seem to become frustrated, quite simply, a hero. We made three dishes, (soup, curry, rice / noodle dish) ate them, then had a little lay down in Sammy's hammocks. After an hour of relaxing and getting to know our fellow chefs we headed back to the kitchen and made the last two dishes. Not many people ate the second lot of dishes, there was alot of food knocking about, but we all tried our creations and they all were very tasty, even if we do say so ourselves (which we do). After a brilliant day of cooking and eating, Sammy took us back into town, where we arranged to meet people off our course for some drinks later. We did just that and headed out to the local reggae bar, where we reggae'd the night away. One thing we learned from the night is, do not underestimate the 10 year old lads trying to sell roses to westerners, they know Thai boxing like Carol Vordeman knows maths.
Chiang Mai is where lot's of B
backpackers decide to go trekking through the jungle, which is two days and one night long. We opted for a slightly tamer version of one day, which involved some trekking, visit to the local villages, elephant ride, visit to a waterfall, bamboo rafting and some lunch chucked in as well.
It was another early start and after about 2 hours on a mini bus, myself and Belle along with Martin and Dale (both from Chile) started our day with a trek to the villages. Bamboo huts, woman making scarves, drying rice in the sun and noisy pigs is what we found. It seemed like the type of village which we had seen on the banks of the Mekong, again it was hard to imagine everyday life here.
After the village we trekked to the waterfall. It was a picturesque waterfall and we had the option to swim and jump off it, however the water didn't look too clean so we left that for the next group, who were more than happy to do so. The next activity was the elephant ride. We had never really seen elephants so close before and it soon became clear how much we underestimated the size of the things, they were HUGE. After climbing on the elephants and onto some kind of seat, we set off. It was a little scary at first, the height we were sat at took us back a bit, but we settled into it. Patting the elephant occasionally as if to say, 'keep up the good work' we plodded up and then down some very step hills. Our elephant liked to eat a fair bit and after several stops for grass and vegetation (of epic proportions) we made our way back to where we started. It was a different, but fun experience. I think we really bonded with our elephant, I say this as more than once on the way round she wanted to share her food with us. Only it was not in the fresh, just harvested form she had experienced, it was now a mix of tiny pieces of grass and saliva (a ratio of roughy 30:70) which she blew up in the air, over her back and ultimately, us. A true bond I think you will agree.
After washing some elephant saliva off and a lunch stop, bamboo rafting awaited us. About 8 pieces of bamboo tied together made for a thin raft that somehow floated (the whole raft was submerged) and we were steered down stream by a Thai boy. He had some serious raft steering skills in his locker and succesfully navigated the river without crashing once, or near enough. Waiting at the end of the river was our mini bus which took 4 sleepy people back to Chiang Mai. Another really good day, with a whole host of new experiences.
Another new experience we had whilst in Chiang Mai was losing a bank card in South East Asia. We have absolutely no idea where this went but it was no longer with us. We cancelled the card straight away and along with Belle's phone having a funny five minutes, it wasn't the most relaxed we have been. However, lost card cancelled, new one ordered and phone now fully working, everything was again good and we went for something to eat. Sampling the various street stalls on offer we had; spring rolls, sweet sausage, some kind of chicken and kebabs, with most being approved of.
In case people didn't already know I am a keen Reading fan and due to our impeccable run of form towards the end of the season and cracking away win at Cardiff we had made it to Wembley for the championship playoff final, it was Reading vs. Swansea. I had to watch! We had bumped into Jonas in the day and he was joining us for a night of football. After a panic and several rejections (pubs not showing the game) we had hunted down an Irish bar (which was) and settled in our seats, well Belle and Jonas did, I perched on the edge of mine. Not suprisingly I was the only Reading fan in the pub but I was doing my best to make it sound like more, especially when we scored. Despite Readings best efforts they lost 3-2, I was slightly deflated but was consoled by a Nottingham Forest and a Blackpool fan who both went through disappoint this season. I was half way round the world though so it was easy to escape several hundred replays, newspapers etc. Not so easy for a number of my mates who made it to Wenbley.
We had two more days of activities in Chiang Mai, one of which is in a seperate blog ('McWestern Wednesday') and the other being a bit of a DIY adventure. On our second to last day we hired a motorbike and headed to Chiang Mai zoo. The motorbike we hired was a beast, a 100cc, semi automatic, Honda Wave, complete with front basket. Our first port of call was the petrol station which we had been given directions to. Turns out we didn't need them as we got about 5 minutes down the road before it conked out, we had run out of petrol. After a 15 minute walk back to the hire shop and a 5 minute pillion journey (I got to experience local Thai riding) back to Belle and the stranded hog, we had enough juice to get us to the petrol station, where we filled up and then headed to the zoo...again.
The zoo was pretty big and for the money worth it, although some of the animals there looked like they were struggling a bit. Maybe it was from the relentless heat they put up with everyday but it looked like some could do with a but of TLC (looking after, not the 90's pop group). We feed ourselves and elephants, got very close to a hippo and witnessed an elephant who played the harmonica, he was good as well!
As we had the bike for 24 hours we decided to make the most of it and explore a bit. After the zoo we headed up a mountain road towards a waterfall and then further up to a view point, which overlooked all of Chiang Mai. The view was amazing. We headed further up the mountain to a village and temple where we decided to turn around and start the decent.
After a safe and successful return to the hostel, Belle skyped and I took the bike out again to try and find my way to the Chiang Mai shopping centre, where we were heading that evening. I found it, but I couldn't find where to park (we would use the hog as transport). After several wrong turns, going round in circles and getting lost, I found the parking and returned back just before the heavens opened. This lasted all night and we again called off a trip due to rain (like Laos).
Chiang Mai is a really nice place which despite spending a week there we could have spent longer. We had several new experiences under our belt, all if which we really enjoyed. There was so much more to do and see, but this all (or most of it) costs money, therefore we booked our tickets and boarded a sleeper bus down to Bangkok, where we would await the arrival of David Aylward.
- comments
lethal Elephants playing the harmonica, eh? Are you sure you haven't been on the same stuff as your legendary minibus driver? XXXXXX