Enter the Golden Triangle - Chang Mai
It was a long overnight journey from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, the rattling
and roll quickly sends me to sleep. There are enough stops and noisy entry and
exits to make that sleep somewhat a disrupted one. I had a sleeper, the extra
cost over a seated carriage is well worth it.
Laos, Burma and Thailand are all in close proximity. Chiang Mai is just within
the famed Golden Triangle. Famed because of the drug wars between the USA and
the traffickers in this region.
I loved it up here, the main activities of this part of trip were:
I loved it up here, the main activities of this part of trip were:
- visit temples
- hire a motorbike and travel into the hills visiting the hill tribes.
- overnight bamboo raft trip&
- the elephants
The temples are great fashion statements. The Thai people are joyful people
and like colour. The temples are well decorated.
I suffered some gut rot and was laid out for a day. I love eating the street
food, but sometimes it does cause a reaction. This country is hot and hygiene
is not a strong point. My buddies went off and explored the town whilst
I suffered in silence.
One of my travel buddies decided to play the insurance game. A common traveler
scam I heard later. He claimed his wallet was under the mattress in his room
and that the cleaning staff nicked it. Why would you go to town without your
wallet I asked and got an angry response. It might be true, but I was
skeptical and rather upset by it all.
After that incident, I longer had any desire to be with my travelling friends.
After that incident, I longer had any desire to be with my travelling friends.
It was time to be on my own anyway so, I hired a motorbike for a few days and
ventured up into the hills.
The roads were dirt, often wet and slippery which made for some interesting
challenges. It was intimidating at times riding on my own in an area not well
signposted and in a scribble that is unintelligible due to its non alpha form.
My map sort of helped me. It was scary, but exciting at the same time,
and hey - I'm alive and writing about it !
The hill tribes still had remnants of their drug days. I took care to avoid
the smoking dens. Mostly however, I felt safe and the people were quite
friendly, especially when it came to trade.
The nice thing was, wass that there is no heavy duty pushy buy from me that one experiences in other Asian countries. Everyone was polite, and the prices weren't going to break the bank either. (just as well - my bank account is badly depleted, and overdraft: I don't have such a facility.)
The nice thing was, wass that there is no heavy duty pushy buy from me that one experiences in other Asian countries. Everyone was polite, and the prices weren't going to break the bank either. (just as well - my bank account is badly depleted, and overdraft: I don't have such a facility.)
The hill people (Liso village) are still living very much in their traditional
way.
It is a rural area and living is very much off the land, supplemented with
tourism income from handcrafts.
I stayed at a Mrs Thip's travellers house. She was quite the business person
offering overnight trips on a bamboo raft. My motorbike could be transported
to the finish in Chiang Mai, so why not? Me and 3 adventurous ladies agreed to
the adventure.
Overnight a raft was constructed. We headed off in a luxurious vehicle - a
utility packed to the hilt with us and whoever needed a lift on the way.
A scary incident occurred when we neared the river. The vehicle stopped
and there was a crowd of people milling around. Our guide asked us to remain
in the vehicle. One of the ladies - an American, who had just finished a
personal improvement course (she bored us to tears with that story) insisted
that she had every right to get out and to know what was going on. me and the
other two insisted she stay put. There were uniformed officers with
machine guns walking around, how stupid can you get ! Anyway it turns out
someone from the Sha tribe was shot in the back and torched, laying face down
in a puddle. Still a dangerous area it seems.
The anxiety caused by the drama was tempered with our arrival to the river bank. What an impressive bit of work. Our craft and home for a couple of days had a toilet, roof cover and plenty of area to lounge on. To think this was constructed so quickly.
The anxiety caused by the drama was tempered with our arrival to the river bank. What an impressive bit of work. Our craft and home for a couple of days had a toilet, roof cover and plenty of area to lounge on. To think this was constructed so quickly.
Floating on the river was quite relaxing, there was time to just chill and
daydream.
We stopped at villages along the way trading with the locals and indulged in a
massage as well. The massages here are done with your clothes on. The are a
body work out - you will understand what pain is - or how rigid our western
bodies are. There is a bit of a language issue too as the lady only spoke
Thai. Brutal as they are, I do like them though, as you feel very relaxed
afterwards.
I met a buffalo and had to do the Crocodile Dundee hypnosis trick. (Stupid
movie action mimicry. Luckily this animal was tethered.)
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We slept and ate on the raft. The meals were quite tasty and none too spicy,
adjusted for our western taste buds. (mind you I love chili so it was no issue
on my part).
Elephants are a part of life up here. They are workers and have a strong
relationship with their keepers. As horses are to many of us, then elephants
are to the local peoples here. My witness was one of great care and love.
The raft had a toilet, which satisfied our needs for privacy.
Not thinking that perhaps there are many vessels with similar facilites, and
that the river villagers also dump their effluent into the water, I am
enjoying a swim. No scary diseases were passed on to this traveler - this time
!
Our trip included a visit to a geyser, and it exploded with some enthusiasm
much to our delight.
Chiang Mai, smaller village and rural surrounds. Adventuring on a motorbike up
into the hills and floating on a raft: Now I like Thailand. This was much
better than the over crowded city of Bangkok.
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