After an overnight 12 hour train ride from Bangkok, I arrived at Safe House Court, a guest house that had been recommended by two American girls, Kelli and Lara, who were living in Konchanaburi and would also be there at the same time I was. They were having breakfast and gearing up to go do Flight of the Gibbon, a zip line course in the heart of the jungle. I joined.
For the zip line tour, we were joined by just one other guy called Caleb from Tennessee but now living in Singapore. The four of us together swung across loads of jungle the longest of our flights at just over 80 meters. We even got a glimpse of some gibbon monkeys that for a second there thought one was going to jump off the tree and accost our group. After a nice dinner at the base camp and a short hike up to a nice waterfall we were returned back to our homes.
The next morning I went off in search of a bicycle to rent so I can explore the city. The single speed bike was a little used but it wold surely get me around town. I was off- I went to a few pagodas, rode throughout Chiang Mai in and outside of the moat (the old part of CM is surrounded by a moat and parts of the old walls to the city. Inside these walls is where most touristy stuff happens) and took in the energy of CM via bike. Later that night I went to the night market on my bike. There is a standing night market and then there is the Chiang Mai walking market. I did both. It is fascinating to see the energy of the town: tourist, locals, music, food, clothing, warm weather and many many smiles. Walking through the market I met a guy called Carlo. We hit it off as he had split up from his group of friends and was on his own. Walking around to various stands with a Chang in hand, we tried the various food offerings the market had until we ran into his friends again. Enter Nakita and Haley. This lovely group of individuals had met through their travels in various cities. All traveling on their own, but maintained their connection in places they visited at the same time. I was in. Not only did I come across some VERY nice people, but they also allowed me an in to their group. Later that night we also met two others: Alice and Matteo. Over the next few days this group of 6 would encounter various adventures throughout Chiang Mai, indulge in good food, drink beers, dance and have great conversation about anything from humbling energy of travel to sexuality to life vision. All fair game. I will admit that coming across this stellar group of travelers made Chiang Mai for me, but more than that- it made me some good friends. Thanks Carlo!
One afternoon we were eager to go visit the Wat Phrathat Doi Suthepjust outside of CM up the mountain. The first plan was lets rent motorbikes and ride up. Unfortunately for us nearly all motorbikes had been rented from the various places in town as it was a really nice sunny day, so instead we hired a "red truck", which are all over the city and so worthy of bartering with (Thanks Nakita!) The temple itself was impressive, but what I enjoyed the most was the calm and peace walking around this sacred space. It was like staying at a park on a Saturday afternoon, no worries, good company and just a sense of balance. It is true that visiting temples in Thailand and Asia in general, can get old. They all have their own story, but after you've seen 5 or 6, you are in awe of the gold and design for a bit, and then it fades. Kind of like going on a church tour throughout Europe. Returning back to town it was time for a bite and then an outing to Zoe in Yellow and the Reggae bar. Live band equals good times and loads of dancing.
The next morning I decided it was time for another motorbike rental. Ao i can explore more of the city. Little did i know that i was just setting myself up to get lost. I went to the Warorot market on the other side of town, parked the bike in an alleyway and walked around for hours. This market I found specialized in incense, tea and herbs. It was everywhere. So I bought some. One thing that I really found myself excelling at during this trip is my ability to barter... I think in large prt due to the loads of markets I visited. During this visit at the market, I felt that I had kept tabs on each turn I made and would later be able to get back to the motorbike. I was wrong. Since all the shops looked the same I found myself going in circles trying to get out of this maZe. Eventually, (like 2 hours later) through a picture recognition and asking a few people, I found my bike and rode back to my room. Riding around CM on a motorbike is very pleasant. The traffic is not overwhelming, the amount of horn use is not as much as other cities and in general people are friendly. It felt good to see Chiang Mai via motorbike.
Later that afternoon I connected with Carlo and Nakita and we went to Chang Chalad, a small restaurant that had been recommended to me and that I ate at when I got my haircut the first day in CM. The three of us rode on the motorbike together and it was quite an adventure. We sat for a couple of hours and had a lovely conversation. Talk about weight balance on the motorbike. As the driver, I thought I did a pretty good job, but more importantly it was way fun. We drove Nakita back as she was on her way out of town and connected with Alice and Matteo. We had massages booked that evening and it was something that I was totally looking forward to.
Later that night Carlo and I went on an adventure to find something to eat. Starting off going in the wrong direction, as we were headed to the night market, we got lost. Matteo and Alice were waiting for us to go explore the "gay" part of town and after driving in circles around the moat , asking for directions from people on the street and eventually finding our way back- the four of us were off to take on the night. The attempt at the gay bars was unsuccessful. Because of the nature of the bar, beers were very costly, comparatively... We took off and eventually found ourselves back at the reggae bar. After loads more dancing, a few buckets and meeting new people my last night in Chiang Mai came to an end. It was a beautiful night spent with a few individuals with really good energy. These are the people that when I look back on my trip to South East Asia, especially Chiang Mai, it will be them who come to mind. The human connection, which already I am missing.
The next morning I had booked a cooking class at the Thai School of Cookery. A five hour course on making some of the most traditional Thai dishes. This seemed like the perfect way to wrap up my trip in CM and it was. A tour of a local market to purchase all of ingredients, instruction on each of the dishes we chose to cook at the school and the opportunity to eat them all was fantastic! I will detail more on this when I write about my food experience, but in short- highly recommended to take a Thai cooking class!
I went back to my guest house to check out and book my accommodation and transport for my trip to Vietnam. As I am printing my boarding pass for my flight I realize that my departure time is in about 15 minutes..... No way I would make it in time. Lucky for me there was one more flight that night but was not certain I would make my connection from Bangkok to Saigon... I would take my chances and fortunately for me- I made it. This was f course due to the help of the Qatar counter agent. She RAN with me through the Bangkok airport and put me through the priority line (she was in heels) and I made my connection and on my way to Ho Chi Minh City I was, excited to explore Hoi An, Dananag and Saigon.
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