After flying back into Bangkok from Myanmar, we immediately headed to the bus station to get an overnight bus to Chiang Mai, which is in the north of Thailand. We'd never been to this part of the country so we were looking forward to seeing what it was like.
We knew it was a popular tourist destination so we weren't too sure what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised when we arrived in Chiang Mai. After two pretty hectic weeks of constantly moving around in Myanmar, we were ready to relax a bit and just wander around the city checking it out, and Chiang Mai proved to be the perfect place for that with its laid-back charm. We stayed in the historical part of town which is a walled city, but not all of the wall remains. The surrounding moat, however, does. Although it's actually quite a bustling and cosmopolitan city, it somehow retains a very casual and down-to-earth feel, and is the perfect place to roam the streets checking out the many markets and temples and just generally soaking up the atmosphere. We happily spent a few days here doing just that, as well as eating some good food and having a fun night at a local jazz bar with some great live music (thanks for the recommendation Rachel!).
After a few days in Chiang Mai we decided it was time to rent motorbikes and ride over the mountain about 135km to Pai, another popular tourist hang out. It used to be just a sleepy little town in a picturesque mountain valley, but over the years, as both locals and backpackers have discovered its appeal, it's most definitely on the map now. After a quick test drive I felt comfortable enough to ride my own bike (semi-automatics with gears but no clutch), so with just small day bags the three of us set off on the ride to Pai. We knew it was going to be a windy, hilly road, and it didn't disappoint! As soon as we hit the mountains it was pretty intense at times, with really tight, steep corners, but it was so much fun! A shitload better than doing it in a minivan, as I would have been sick as a dog on that road. We did have to stop a couple of times to shelter from sudden downpours, but thankfully the road wasn't too slippery after that. It took us about 4 hours, and when we arrived in Pai we all split up to go and check out accommodation options - the bikes made this chore a million times faster and easier, as all the rooms are spread out across town and over the river. After narrowing it down and checking out the finalists we settled on a place with about 8 bungalows, set in a quiet back street amongst leafy green trees. Although Pai is a popular place, there's not a whole lot to do - it's more of a place to come and chill out. We did, however, ride out to a waterfall where we took a very refreshing dip in the cold water, and we also went up to a big Buddha on a hilltop.
We spent 3 nights in Pai then rode back over the mountain to Chiang Mai, where we spent another few days. There were a couple of things we planned on doing but for some reason just never got around to it - going to watch a live Muay Thai fight and, at the other end of the scale, watching the live lady-boy cabaret. It's a shame we missed them, so I guess we'll just have to go back one day.
It was at this point, after 6 weeks of travelling together, that we said goodbye to John. It had been great to have him come and meet up and travel around with us, seeing what our lifestyle has been like for the last two and a half years. Despite some hard travel days we hope he enjoyed seeing a whole new part of the world, as it definitely opens your eyes up to what else is out there. We were heading even further north to Chiang Rai, our final stop in Thailand (for now) before we crossed the border into Laos.
Many people stop off in Chiang Rai to do some trekking, but apart from that there's not really much going for it to be honest. We only spent one full day there so we could visit the famous Wat Rong Khun (called the White Temple in English) just out of town, and we're actually glad we did. Despite the fact we were pretty templed out after Myanmar, the White Temple is like no other Buddhist temple you've ever seen. From the moment you first approach the complex and see the concrete bollards topped with grinning skulls, you know you're about the enter a place that's unconventional to say the least. The White Temple is, as the name suggests, pure white (representing Buddha's purity) with mirrored trimming (symbolising self reflection). The whole concept is the brainchild of a local Thai artist, who started building the temple in 1997. Unfortunately the temple sustained significant damage in an earthquake earlier this year, and the artist thought the whole temple would have to be demolished. Thankfully, after careful examination, it was found that the damages could be repaired over the next couple of years. This meant that a couple of parts were off-limits when we were there (we couldn't walk across a bridge over an ocean of ghostly hands reaching up from the cycle of death and rebirth), but we were still able to see most of it. Wherever you look there's something unexpected and slightly ghoulish - shrunken heads hanging from tree branches; Predator emerging, half-buried, from the grass; a towering demon wielding a sword...and then you enter the main temple itself. Unfortunately no photos are allowed inside which is a shame, because we could have captured the evil genius of the artist and the incredible mural he's painted inside. It's such a chaotic mix of images and symbolism, but the weirdest part is that it's dotted with random images of Western idols of pop-culture - amid images of swirling orange flames and demon faces appears a depiction of a plane flying into the Twin Towers with Spiderman and Harry Potter looking on, and elsewhere in the mural there's Neo from The Matrix, Freddy Kruger, Angry Birds, Michael Jackson...it was unreal. One of our favourite parts though was a large skull, and in the empty eye sockets were the images of George W. Bush and Osama Bin Laden. Brilliant. We spent a good hour or so wandering around this insanely unique and beautiful place, and another thing that's great about it - it's free.
The next day we got a local bus about 3.5 hours northeast to Chiang Khong, where we made the ridiculously easy border crossing into Laos over a new 'Friendship Bridge'. We'll be back in Thailand again at the end of our trip, but now it's time to see if we still love Laos as much as we did 5 years ago.
We knew it was a popular tourist destination so we weren't too sure what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised when we arrived in Chiang Mai. After two pretty hectic weeks of constantly moving around in Myanmar, we were ready to relax a bit and just wander around the city checking it out, and Chiang Mai proved to be the perfect place for that with its laid-back charm. We stayed in the historical part of town which is a walled city, but not all of the wall remains. The surrounding moat, however, does. Although it's actually quite a bustling and cosmopolitan city, it somehow retains a very casual and down-to-earth feel, and is the perfect place to roam the streets checking out the many markets and temples and just generally soaking up the atmosphere. We happily spent a few days here doing just that, as well as eating some good food and having a fun night at a local jazz bar with some great live music (thanks for the recommendation Rachel!).
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| View from our room in Chiang Mai |
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| Delicious pork and egg from the famous cowboy hat lady |
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| Crepe man |
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| Test-driving the motorbikes up a hill overlooking Chiang Mai |
After a few days in Chiang Mai we decided it was time to rent motorbikes and ride over the mountain about 135km to Pai, another popular tourist hang out. It used to be just a sleepy little town in a picturesque mountain valley, but over the years, as both locals and backpackers have discovered its appeal, it's most definitely on the map now. After a quick test drive I felt comfortable enough to ride my own bike (semi-automatics with gears but no clutch), so with just small day bags the three of us set off on the ride to Pai. We knew it was going to be a windy, hilly road, and it didn't disappoint! As soon as we hit the mountains it was pretty intense at times, with really tight, steep corners, but it was so much fun! A shitload better than doing it in a minivan, as I would have been sick as a dog on that road. We did have to stop a couple of times to shelter from sudden downpours, but thankfully the road wasn't too slippery after that. It took us about 4 hours, and when we arrived in Pai we all split up to go and check out accommodation options - the bikes made this chore a million times faster and easier, as all the rooms are spread out across town and over the river. After narrowing it down and checking out the finalists we settled on a place with about 8 bungalows, set in a quiet back street amongst leafy green trees. Although Pai is a popular place, there's not a whole lot to do - it's more of a place to come and chill out. We did, however, ride out to a waterfall where we took a very refreshing dip in the cold water, and we also went up to a big Buddha on a hilltop.
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| The beauty of Pai |
We spent 3 nights in Pai then rode back over the mountain to Chiang Mai, where we spent another few days. There were a couple of things we planned on doing but for some reason just never got around to it - going to watch a live Muay Thai fight and, at the other end of the scale, watching the live lady-boy cabaret. It's a shame we missed them, so I guess we'll just have to go back one day.
It was at this point, after 6 weeks of travelling together, that we said goodbye to John. It had been great to have him come and meet up and travel around with us, seeing what our lifestyle has been like for the last two and a half years. Despite some hard travel days we hope he enjoyed seeing a whole new part of the world, as it definitely opens your eyes up to what else is out there. We were heading even further north to Chiang Rai, our final stop in Thailand (for now) before we crossed the border into Laos.
Many people stop off in Chiang Rai to do some trekking, but apart from that there's not really much going for it to be honest. We only spent one full day there so we could visit the famous Wat Rong Khun (called the White Temple in English) just out of town, and we're actually glad we did. Despite the fact we were pretty templed out after Myanmar, the White Temple is like no other Buddhist temple you've ever seen. From the moment you first approach the complex and see the concrete bollards topped with grinning skulls, you know you're about the enter a place that's unconventional to say the least. The White Temple is, as the name suggests, pure white (representing Buddha's purity) with mirrored trimming (symbolising self reflection). The whole concept is the brainchild of a local Thai artist, who started building the temple in 1997. Unfortunately the temple sustained significant damage in an earthquake earlier this year, and the artist thought the whole temple would have to be demolished. Thankfully, after careful examination, it was found that the damages could be repaired over the next couple of years. This meant that a couple of parts were off-limits when we were there (we couldn't walk across a bridge over an ocean of ghostly hands reaching up from the cycle of death and rebirth), but we were still able to see most of it. Wherever you look there's something unexpected and slightly ghoulish - shrunken heads hanging from tree branches; Predator emerging, half-buried, from the grass; a towering demon wielding a sword...and then you enter the main temple itself. Unfortunately no photos are allowed inside which is a shame, because we could have captured the evil genius of the artist and the incredible mural he's painted inside. It's such a chaotic mix of images and symbolism, but the weirdest part is that it's dotted with random images of Western idols of pop-culture - amid images of swirling orange flames and demon faces appears a depiction of a plane flying into the Twin Towers with Spiderman and Harry Potter looking on, and elsewhere in the mural there's Neo from The Matrix, Freddy Kruger, Angry Birds, Michael Jackson...it was unreal. One of our favourite parts though was a large skull, and in the empty eye sockets were the images of George W. Bush and Osama Bin Laden. Brilliant. We spent a good hour or so wandering around this insanely unique and beautiful place, and another thing that's great about it - it's free.
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| Kurt got a sneaky photo of the mural inside the temple |
The next day we got a local bus about 3.5 hours northeast to Chiang Khong, where we made the ridiculously easy border crossing into Laos over a new 'Friendship Bridge'. We'll be back in Thailand again at the end of our trip, but now it's time to see if we still love Laos as much as we did 5 years ago.
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