Chiang Mai in a (Large) Nutshell

Hello All!

I haven't been able to post recently because of the firewalls on most of the computers here in Chiang Mai (they think you're trying to look up inappropriate websites so they block all the blogs). Finally, on our last morning here, I have found a computer that allows blogger and I am relieved, to say the least! We are going to Laos tomorrow and who knows what state the internet cafes are in. I wouldn't want to have to blog allll about Chiang Mai (I have a lot to say) and Laos (I will probably have a lot to say) in one go. This works out quite nicely.

ACTUALLY, we were supposed to be on a bus by now to the Thai/Laos border but the 8:30 bus was full, leaving us the morning to exchange used books (I'm going through books on this trip like you wouldn't believe), have a nice lunch and peruse the internet.

What to say about Chiang Mai? Well, a few things:

1. It's hot. Like... really hot. It doesn't cool down at night, it doesn't rain, and it doesn't let up. And it's landlocked, so there is no wind. It's really, really hot.

2. It's a very old city (located in the North of Thailand) and is surrounded by a deep moat. Inside the moat is the old city (where we're staying) and outside the moat is the new city, as well as the famous Night Bazaar.

3. There is way too much to do here. We could have stayed here for an entire month, just checking off all the possible activities within and around Chiang Mai.

4. We love it here, despite the heat and the mysterious bug bites that have been appearing on my bod.

When we arrived at approx. 10 PM last week sometime (I lose count of the days easily here...), I felt like we had literally been living on busses and just wanted to stay somewhere until I felt rested up a bit. We had taken a four hour bus from the small town of Khuraburi (in Southwest Thailand) to the city of Chumpon (Southeast Thailand), then took a ferry from Chumpon to the island of Ko Tao (so Pat could dive, but then he got an ear infection so he couldn't dive). Ko Tao was too expensive so we took the ferry back the next day. Then we took a 9 hour bus from Chumpon to Bangkok. We arrived in Bangkok at about 10 PM. We wanted to just get a night bus to Chiang Mai from there, but we were too late and were forced to fork over 25 bucks for the "only available" room on Khao San Rd. When we took to the streets of Bangkok to find some noodles, we were bombarded with guns- waterguns, to be precise. It was Thai New Year, and on Thai New Year you can expect to get soaked... and then covered in mud. Don't ask me why.

The next day we got a ten hour bus to Chiang Mai- it left at 11:30 and arrived at 9:30. We quickly found a place to stay and fell asleep, exhausted.

The next morning we slept in, and then found a cheaper guesthouse (Same Same Guesthouse). This was when the booking started, my friends.

Same Same is a great place to stay if you're ever in Chiang Mai. The best thing about the place (other than their extremely cheap beer) is the fact that, if you book your Chiang Mai activities through them, you get it for cheap. Yay! And they don't ever try to rip you off. Ever. I love Same Same.

First, we booked for "Flight of the Gibbon"- a ziplining adventure through the jungle. For approx. 20 bucks Canadian, you go ziplinging (ziplining is where you go flying through the jungle canopy, attached to a sturdy wire) for two hours with all the safety equipment, you get a delicious lunch (we had green curry, stir fried chicken and veggies, rice and fresh fruit), transportation to and from your guesthouse annnnd a free tee shirt. Yesss.

This was Pat's activity. Actually, I didn't want to do it. I don't like heights. And speedy things. I was scared. Pat was, as usual, amused. I admit, I screamed the first few times but then I got the hang of it. It was fun! It was exciting! The zipline trail included ziplines (duh) as well as two suspended bridges and two repelling ropes (where they tie the rope to your back and scare you by almost dropping you a gazillion feet and then stopping just as you're about to land). It was great fun, and I wasn't angry at Patrick anymore :)

Then we booked my activity. There's a place outside Chiang Mai called "Tiger Kingdom" where the tigers have all been bred in captivity in Bangkok and then sent to this place in Chiang Mai. The workers have a great relationship with the tigers and they love rough housing and playing. Much like a large dog, I noted. I have no idea what animal rights groups have to say about this place, and I must admit that, I don't care. I wanted to play with tigers, too! Doesn't everybody want to pat a tiger on their head and live to tell the tale?

Normally I am against caging animals up, if it isn't necessary. I think a lot of Asian zoos are awful, and in general, animals in many Asian countries are not treated with a great (or even a little) amount of respect. I was excited to see the tigers, but also apprehensive. Maybe the tigers wouldn't look happy and I would regret giving the place my money. However, my desire was greater than my apprehension and off we went (everything organized by Same Same, of course).

It was amazing! The tigers were so well looked after, and you could see how much the workers loved their tigers... and vice versa. First we went to see the babies. It was naptime, but I still got to hold one, and the other put his little head on my hand, like a pillow. They were so cute, I was close to tears. They were healthy and chubby, and we had to wash our hands and take off our shoes before we were allowed to touch them. We spent 15 minutes with the bebes, and then moved on to the big guys. It was the middle of the day, and extremely hot, so they were all asleep too, with the exception of one or two.

When approaching the tigers the workers tell you to approach from the back, not the front. If you approach from the front, the tigers will think you want to play. And they'll pounce. And you won't be ready. Also, we could not touch the tiger's heads or front paws. Fine, fine. They looooved getting their bellies rubbed. They were all well fed (the girls were chubby while the boys were more lean) and we spent another 15 minutes rubbing their bellies and getting pictures taken. It was such a great experience! These tigers would never make it in the wild, and to be honest, I don't even think they're native to Thailand. They were Indo-Chinese tigers from Burma, China, Laos, etc. but I don't think Thailand was mentioned in the explanation. Oh well!

Our next morning was spent at our Thai cooking class! Amazing! Wonderful! Yummy!

We started at the market, had a lesson on Thai ingredients, herbs and spices, and then got down to business. We started with soups and stir fries. I chose a coconut chicken soup, and Pat chose the ever popular Tom Yum soup with prawns. I chose pad thai for my stir fry and Pat chose cashew chicken. Amazing! I loved learning about how to balance Thai flavours (fish sauce for salt, suagr for sweet, lime for sour and chilis for hot) and get a beginner's technique with a wok.

The food itself? Delicious. Using the right aromatics, my coconut chicken soup tasted spicy, salty and coconut-ey all at the same time. Pat's soup was as hot and sour as it should be. It was the best Thai food I had eaten so far- all thanks to our teacher, of course!

Next we made our curry pastes. Pat was making green curry and I was making red. It was fun to smash our ingredients to bits with the mortar and pestle. I need to get one of those...

Then we made the curries, as well as spring rolls (from scratch) and a sticky rice and mango dessert. All delicious. We got recipe booklets at the end of our course and had a great morning. I should point out that, while Pat never cooks at home, he really enjoys the cooking classes we've done and his food was really good. Busted.

We planned on having free meditation sessions that afternoon and evening at a local temple, with the monks, but they must have been busy that day because no one would answer the phone. Oh well. We spent the day resting. Actually, this was good because I had eaten some not-so-great street food the night before and was a bit ill... I'm just on the mend now, after three days, thanks to some charcoal tablets I've been taking. It's a shame because I could only have a few bites of each of my creations during our cooking class before running to the bathroom, but what can you do. I know I'll really enjoy them when I'm in Toronto, remembering my travels.

Last night we went to a Muay Thai boxing match. I expected to be disturbed and leave the place in disgust, but I ended up being only a little bit disturbed and left the place bored. The fighters were mostly teenagers and children... the children's match was great- they clearly loved the "sport" and were quick and resourceful and very evenly matched. They crossed the line, however, when one of the little boys- kicked in the gut one too many times- threw up. Right in the ring. And then proceeded to keep boxing. The kid couldn't have been older than seven, and his opponent looked even younger. I mean, when a kid pukes after being kicked too many times, isn't it time to call it a day? Who cares if he loses? Oh well. I think the event in Bangkok is more professional and hopefully less exploitative (and less boring). The real reason we chose to go was because an Irish boxer was fighting against a Thai boxer and we wanted to see what would happen. That fight was over in less than five minutes; the Thai boxer victorious. Don't mess with the locals.

And so, after coming to Chiang Mai to relax and rejuvinate, we find we've been so busy we haven't done either, our daily budgets for Chiang Mai long ago ditched, and we are very happy. Onto Laos, the land of tubing and Lao-Lao whiskey and French baguettes! Pictures soon to come.