After the overnight sleeper train of about 14 hours, I arrived into Chiang Mai at about 8.30am, a small city in the northern foothills of Thailand. I would have slept better if they had decided to actually turn the lights off or down significantly on the train! Moan over, I was actually really excited to be in Chiang Mai and for the Yi Peng festivities, which you can read on my earlier blog. As I got the transfer to the hotel, I could already see the town was a lot more chilled out, picturesque and quirkier than Bangkok, with little boutiques, bohemian side streets and prettier looking market stalls.
After a quick shower to refresh, we headed out to a silk factory which was not dissimilar to the one I had seen in China a few weeks earlier. Pretty interesting the life of a silk worm, about 35 days, and that silk is so strong! The highlight of the day was the trek up the mountainside that overlooks Chiang Mai, to the temple that sits on top and has a spectacular view of the whole city, called Doi Suthep. You get a cable car on tracks up to the top - it was cool walking around and people watching, lots of locals, monks and tourists purchasing a flower and walking around the centre point of the temple stupa to provide them good fortune. There was another point where you could write your name on a large fabric machine or onto a bell, I guess so a piece of you is left in Thailand! When the sun shines bright on to the temple complex, as most of it is in gold, it's pretty striking to see.
After the temple, we headed back down and jumped in a tri-shaw (kind of like a rickshaw), and went back to the hotel, weaving in and out of the traffic as we passed through the old city walls and past the markets and streets setting up for the Yi Peng festivities in the evening. The guy pedalling me was an elderly guy but my god, he had legs of steel and was so strong, even pushing me up the ramp at the hotel which I felt a bit bad about! The night market in Chiang Mai is a definite must. It's pretty quaint and vibrant and much cleaner than the ones in Bangkok. It may have been even more of an experience as little lanterns were up everywhere so the lighting was cool but this may have been for the Yi Peng festival. To top Chiang Mai off, I had another massage, standard practice in Thailand as they are so cheap and so good! I had a traditional Thai one with a lovely lady that was about 4ft 10 but the strength of Wonderwoman! I left feeling I needed a relaxing oil massage next time but it was good pain I'm sure!
The next day I was up early at 5.30am to travel to Chiang Rai which is further north and close to the Burmese and Laos border. The scenery in this part of the country is stunning! Rolling hills, rivers, lakes and mountainous greenery for as far as the eye can see. We stopped for lunch at Ta Thon and boarded another long tail boat for about a 2 hour journey down the Kok river. I loved this! Sitting at the front, it was a leisurely cruise down the river watching rural life, farmers, fisherman and seeing the odd water buffalo. There were a few occasions where the rocks would stick out in the middle of the river and there were a few rapids along the way so that was fun! Our local driver I think was loving the fact we got a little wet and took us near to the bushes as when we looked back at him, he had a huge grin on his face which was funny!
The last stop of today was a visit to the rather unconventional looking Wat Rong Khun Buddhist Temple, also known as the White Temple, in Chiang Rai. When you first walk up to it, it really has a WOW factor about it and like something out of a Disney fairytale film. The main temple is white and it's surrounding buildings that sit on a man made lake. The bridge to the main temple crosses a moat that is made out of hands, very cool and different! The site also includes scenes and characters from modern movies such as Star Wars, Superman, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Matrix and more! It's very surreal to walk around and still think that it's an actual practicing temple with monks and worshipers, of which there were many about. There is also a gold temple building which is also as striking. The whole place is worth a visit but don't expect old structures or ruins as this is kind of the opposite but very eccentric and beautiful too!
The second day in Chiang Rai I was up early again, this time to visit the local hill tribes and the Karen village where the famous Long Neck Women live. They wear these neck rings to elongate their necks, apparently the history behind it is to do with fending off rival men from other tribes by making them appear less attractive. We got to see a few of these women and children wearing them which they start from childhood and doing some traditional dancing. The rings are SOOOO heavy! I was really surprised at the weight of these, they are solid brass and wear a ton! One woman in particular who I had my picture with had a really long neck and lots of brass rings around it. We also got to walk around the village and market stalls but in my opinion, it would have been even more authentic without this. Some of the products are made in the village, the rest I think are imported from other towns as the market products were often similar to that in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.
At lunchtime, we made a quick stop for a few hours at the border town of Mae Sai where I crossed the border into Burma and to the town of Tachilek and had a wander around the market. Like most border towns, it wasn't the prettiest and I knew this wasn't the real Burma from the pics and research I had seen, but it was cool to say I've been. Just a shame I didn't get a passport stamp to prove it!
Before the onward journey to Chiang Rai airport for the short flight back to Bangkok, we stopped at the point of the 'Golden triangle' where you have great views of Laos and Burma from Thailand. This was to end my Thailand adventure before my next stop in Laos. Amazing experiences with a great bunch of people from all over! Love Thailand!
