Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
**We have added lots more photos to the existing folders so you might (or might not) want to have another look at them, as well as adding some new folders**
Chiang Mai - "The Flight of the Gibbons" & Waterfall
Arriving in Chiang Mai after Phitsanulok was like coming home! Chiang Mai is a lovely place if not a little full of ex-pats and travellers! The city is quite large by Thai standards and is very popular with travellers as it is the gateway to the beautiful northern mountains and many treks go from here. The city is centered around a moat and is therefore pretty easy to navigate, with lots of curious little side streets (soi) off these main streets to explore.
So from the "musty biscuits" of the Phitsanulok hotel we were very curious to see the room we had booked here in Chiang Mai...which is beautiful! We have a lovely spacious room with an ensuite, (which is very clean) cable TV, small balcony, fan, air-con, massive fridge, nice furniture , free safety deposit box, swimming pool, good security, cleaner everyday, free internet, great location..etc. All at a very reasonable price!
We spent our first night at the local night market testing out (yet again) our bartering ability whilst buying some of the local produce. A pair of shorts for 1.50 GBP has got to beat Primark on quality! We have also spent some time here testing out some of the local bars and restaurants - all of which we can recommend! As this has been so tiring we had to have a foot massage to help us recouperate - and what a massage it was! The Thais are famous for their massages and rightly so, but let it be known now that this is a very deep-tissue form of massage which often incorporates manipulation of the joints as well as the muscles. So the hour we thought we would spend trying not to nod off we actually spent most of trying not to laugh /giggle/squirm/shout. The initial part of the massage was very tickly although very lovely as it started with a lemongrass and lime warm footwash...followed by pain and squirming mainly as the massure put all of her weight on our thighs pressing in to the muscles as she did so...this was also followed by a very painful deep tissue calf massage which made you shout aloud...then just as we were relaxing in to the oil massage and enjoying the reflexology the knitting needles came out!! Imagine having fat knitting needles poked between each toe and then stroked and pressed up and down the sole of your feet. A very strange sensation which induced much giggling - not helped by the fact that we were sat next to each other which seemed to make the giggling infectious. The 'relaxing' hour was nearly up and they finished off by pulling each toe until it cracked - how do you feel about that when you don't know that it is coming?! At the end of the massage we were given a 10 minute head, neck and shoulder massage (this was amazing) and then ginger tea to cleanse the toxins. It was lovely but we will remember from now on to always ask for it "softly softly" when we have a Thai massage in the future.
The next night we had been surveying one of the local bars again, and as we crossed the road for the short walk home we glanced behind us to see an elephant strolling down the street behind us, not only was this bemusing but then the elephant stopped at a bar for some peanuts!! Only in Thailand I'm sure.
We decided that to get around Chiang Mai the most economical way and to see the temples, river and markets we wanted to visit amongst other things was to get a scooter (moped not push along). Now I know that this may upset some of you concerned parents etc but just remember that we have lived to tell the tale! For only 3.00 GBP per day and a full tank of petrol costing 2.00 GBP it was a bargain for a couple of days (we only used half the tank). After a nervy start we soon got the hang of the traffic; basically this is the wacky races and we were Penelope Pitstop - we even had a pink moped!! Motorbikes outnumber cars here and tuk tuks are somewhere in between, literally, so all drivers are used to lots of motorbikes which actually helps a lot. Lanes on the major roads are marked, but are completely ignored. Red lights generally indicate that cars should stop, again this is not compulsory for motorbikes. You can turn left on red lights anyway (as in the US and Philippines). Indicating is optional. Beeping your horn at everything is compulsory. Balls are needed. With me (Sarah) driving and Jo on the back navigating and being an extra pair of eyes we did prety well. Apart from accidently getting on the superhighway.
Today we decided that we should do some more exercise so we went on a trip called "The flight of the gibbons"! This trip started off with a drive in to the mountains where we then got harnessed up and went in to the tree tops to complete 15 zip wires through the jungle! This was great fun and not for the faint hearted; it was just like "Go Ape" in the UK, but in the jungle instead of the forest if anyone has ever been?! Have a look at the photos & videos which should be all uploaded in the next day or so, if not already. After a few hours of this we were given lunch at a cafe in the hill and then whisked off to a waterfall further up the mountain. Here we spent about an hour on a very steep climb up/down the side of the waterfall which was beautiful. It was also a lot cooler up here than in Chiang Mai.
We like it here a lot!
- comments