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Roaminallover-Here, There and Everywhere
Where do I start? We seem to have fitted so much into our nine days here in Chiang Mai, and much to John's delight even managed some golf. I did send him into both Delhi and Bangalore golf clubs, to look for pitch markers and suss out the playing details. He returned from both empty handed - but Chiang Mai turned up trumps. The course was even walking distance from our accommodation - so it was a winner on all counts. Five months without striking a golf club produced a nervous Mr John (as the reception staff referred to him). He had already drilled them about dress code and the availability of suitable clubs when we'd visited to book but this still didn't deter the nerves. I agreed to go along as chief buggy driver, although we soon discovered that the green fee included the services of a female Thai caddy, so I took a passenger role, and concentrated on logging the score, and recording the occasional swing on film. John had been grouped with a couple of friendly chaps from Switzerland, Emile and his son Dario. Once John realised their handicaps were in the 20s and 30s he started to relax- keeping his own handicap of 8 well under wraps. It took about two and a half hours to complete the first nine holes, and it soon became apparent that we wouldn't make our 4.30 appointment at the Myanmar embassy to collect our visas. Having already been round nine holes I was more than happy to take off on my own to kill a couple of hours before making the visa appointment.
Chiang Mai's markets seem to come alive at night, so we've had lots to distract us in the evening. Food stalls spring up all over the city selling a range of street food, and seating around the stalls becomes difficult to secure due to the high demand. It's always difficult to know who are tourists and who are local here as there are so many people using different languages. According to the locals Thailand is currently high on the Chinese holiday lists, and having spent nearly a month here we would concur with that. Before arriving in Thailand we had read that everything stops in Thailand at 8am and 6pm when the national anthem is played. Apparently wherever you are and whatever you're doing, whether walking in the street, eating, or on the Skytrain you have to stop until the anthem gets to the end. John and I were keen to experience this at least once, but left Bangkok without having done so. We'd almost forgotten about it when it happened at the Sunday night market. It had just gone dark when music started to play and people just stood still in the street. It was quite surreal. Despite being in Thailand for virtually a month that's the only time we've heard it. The Thais are very devoted to their Royalty, and it's difficult to forget what they look like as their images are posted up all over the place. In Thailand it's a serious offence to disparage the Royals, so we took no chances and kept quiet (obviously a challenge for John). Apparently the King is currently in his eighties and very unwell, so they could have some difficult times ahead.
We decided to plan a long trip towards the end of our stay so we could see some of the countryside to the north of Chiang Mai. I wanted to try and visit the White temple near Chiang Rai, and John was keen to visit the long neck women of the Karen tribe. Must be something John likes in women. He often says I "have a lot of neck". We managed to find a tour which included both things, and some other bits too. Due to the distance involved we needed to be ready for our pick up at 7am. The first stop was at the hot springs just outside Chiang Mai. We just had long enough to grab a takeaway coffee and fried Roti, watch a Chinese girl cook an egg in the hot spring, and go to the loo before we were off again.
Second stop was on the outskirts of Chiang Rai at the White Temple. Designed by a Thai artist, Chalermchai Kostipipat, and opened to the public in 1997, the temple is effectively a contemporary art exhibit in the style of a Buddist temple. The outside of the temple is covered with small mirror tiles which glint in the sunlight and, in combination with the Thai design elements, of serpents and swirls, the temple is an awe inspiring sight. Unfortunately no one is allowed to take photographs within the body of this temple, so you'll have to believe me when I tell you it has the most amazing modern murals I have seen in a long time. As you enter the inner temple area you see two Buddhas and a wax model of an important monk ahead of you. (Don't ask me who he is, but his image and wax statues pop up nearly as often as the Buddahs.) The extravagant decoration around the Buddhas, often present in other temples, is largely missing which focuses the eyes onto the walls. Turning around to face the wall we had just come through we saw a beautifully painted mural, depicting human life, complete with aspects of war, marvel comic heroes, the side walls then take the eyes towards depictions of people sailing in small boats in the direction of the Buddahs. If you get a chance to visit Thailand you should definitely add this to your itinery.
The long necked women of the Karen tribe are a controversial tour stop. Many feel that visiting the Hilltribes turns them into human exhibits. In many ways it was easy to see how this could be the case. Our tour guide had however taught us how to say Hello in the Karen language so we could break the ice rather than just snapping photos and moving on, which did help us to establish some rapport with the women. We had a chance to hold some of the bronze rings which the women wear around their necks, which proved to be much heavier than expected. The weight of the rings apparently pushes the clavicles down, giving the illusion of longer necks. We didn't see any of the males as they were away working in the fields although there were a number of women and children at the camp when we arrived. The Karen people migrated from Myanmar following conflict with a rival tribe, and have subsequently been given some land by the Thai government to enable them to recreate their lifestyles in Thailand. Many of the young women, who wear the neck, arm and leg rings from the age of five, opt to remove them to facilitate integration into wider society when they reach 20. Rings were originally thought to be worn as a safety device against attack from wild animals, nowadays with this risk minimal they are worn more to keep old traditions alive.
The rest of our tour took us to the area known as the Golden Triangle - the meeting point between Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar, which at one time was famous for the illegal growing of the Opium Poppy. As the countries are separated by the Mekong river it was difficult to replicate the "one foot in this country and one in that", at least not without snorkel and flippers- so no photos of that - sorry. Instead we were taken on a short boat trip across to the other side - an island known as Don Sao is part of the Laos special economic zone where we were thrown to the lions in the form of begging children, who looked like they hadn't seen washing water for a while, and shopkeepers who weren't keen to barter. All in all if was a long tiring day, but thoroughly enjoyable, and well worth the effort.
Chiang Mai's markets seem to come alive at night, so we've had lots to distract us in the evening. Food stalls spring up all over the city selling a range of street food, and seating around the stalls becomes difficult to secure due to the high demand. It's always difficult to know who are tourists and who are local here as there are so many people using different languages. According to the locals Thailand is currently high on the Chinese holiday lists, and having spent nearly a month here we would concur with that. Before arriving in Thailand we had read that everything stops in Thailand at 8am and 6pm when the national anthem is played. Apparently wherever you are and whatever you're doing, whether walking in the street, eating, or on the Skytrain you have to stop until the anthem gets to the end. John and I were keen to experience this at least once, but left Bangkok without having done so. We'd almost forgotten about it when it happened at the Sunday night market. It had just gone dark when music started to play and people just stood still in the street. It was quite surreal. Despite being in Thailand for virtually a month that's the only time we've heard it. The Thais are very devoted to their Royalty, and it's difficult to forget what they look like as their images are posted up all over the place. In Thailand it's a serious offence to disparage the Royals, so we took no chances and kept quiet (obviously a challenge for John). Apparently the King is currently in his eighties and very unwell, so they could have some difficult times ahead.
We decided to plan a long trip towards the end of our stay so we could see some of the countryside to the north of Chiang Mai. I wanted to try and visit the White temple near Chiang Rai, and John was keen to visit the long neck women of the Karen tribe. Must be something John likes in women. He often says I "have a lot of neck". We managed to find a tour which included both things, and some other bits too. Due to the distance involved we needed to be ready for our pick up at 7am. The first stop was at the hot springs just outside Chiang Mai. We just had long enough to grab a takeaway coffee and fried Roti, watch a Chinese girl cook an egg in the hot spring, and go to the loo before we were off again.
Second stop was on the outskirts of Chiang Rai at the White Temple. Designed by a Thai artist, Chalermchai Kostipipat, and opened to the public in 1997, the temple is effectively a contemporary art exhibit in the style of a Buddist temple. The outside of the temple is covered with small mirror tiles which glint in the sunlight and, in combination with the Thai design elements, of serpents and swirls, the temple is an awe inspiring sight. Unfortunately no one is allowed to take photographs within the body of this temple, so you'll have to believe me when I tell you it has the most amazing modern murals I have seen in a long time. As you enter the inner temple area you see two Buddhas and a wax model of an important monk ahead of you. (Don't ask me who he is, but his image and wax statues pop up nearly as often as the Buddahs.) The extravagant decoration around the Buddhas, often present in other temples, is largely missing which focuses the eyes onto the walls. Turning around to face the wall we had just come through we saw a beautifully painted mural, depicting human life, complete with aspects of war, marvel comic heroes, the side walls then take the eyes towards depictions of people sailing in small boats in the direction of the Buddahs. If you get a chance to visit Thailand you should definitely add this to your itinery.
The long necked women of the Karen tribe are a controversial tour stop. Many feel that visiting the Hilltribes turns them into human exhibits. In many ways it was easy to see how this could be the case. Our tour guide had however taught us how to say Hello in the Karen language so we could break the ice rather than just snapping photos and moving on, which did help us to establish some rapport with the women. We had a chance to hold some of the bronze rings which the women wear around their necks, which proved to be much heavier than expected. The weight of the rings apparently pushes the clavicles down, giving the illusion of longer necks. We didn't see any of the males as they were away working in the fields although there were a number of women and children at the camp when we arrived. The Karen people migrated from Myanmar following conflict with a rival tribe, and have subsequently been given some land by the Thai government to enable them to recreate their lifestyles in Thailand. Many of the young women, who wear the neck, arm and leg rings from the age of five, opt to remove them to facilitate integration into wider society when they reach 20. Rings were originally thought to be worn as a safety device against attack from wild animals, nowadays with this risk minimal they are worn more to keep old traditions alive.
The rest of our tour took us to the area known as the Golden Triangle - the meeting point between Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar, which at one time was famous for the illegal growing of the Opium Poppy. As the countries are separated by the Mekong river it was difficult to replicate the "one foot in this country and one in that", at least not without snorkel and flippers- so no photos of that - sorry. Instead we were taken on a short boat trip across to the other side - an island known as Don Sao is part of the Laos special economic zone where we were thrown to the lions in the form of begging children, who looked like they hadn't seen washing water for a while, and shopkeepers who weren't keen to barter. All in all if was a long tiring day, but thoroughly enjoyable, and well worth the effort.
- comments
Cylla Gosh you are both looking SO well! Wish I was there! cold and wet in Northampton. Thailand looks very appealing, def on the bucket list! Lots of love Cylla and Lucy xx PS Party was fab! 90 people arrived (out of 93 invited) very busy, lots of fun! Shame you were not here for a boogie :)
Anne Dow Glad to hear your party went well Cylla, and you survived the transition from the forty somethings ..... Yep we're having a great time, and still haven't regretted doing this for a single minute...... Although I have felt very guilty about having to leave Mia. Hopefully she'll forgive us!