Chiang Mai: By motorbike, truck, foot, bamboo...

Jacqui and the bike at the gates of Doi Sutep
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Still loving Chiang Mai - to catch up on the last few days may require quite a few paragraphs...

Day 8 (Tues 25 Sept) started by Mike deciding we should hire a motorbike - I was reluctant at first but by the end of the day I did not even wear my helmet (act like the locals!). It was a small 125cc and Mike took it for a test drive first (got lost of course) and then picked me up. The traffic here is surprisingly calm and casual so there were no problems. We first went to Doi Sutep which is a temple on top of the mountain about 16km from central Chiang Mai. It was a nice ride on the bike, very scenic and cooler as we ascended the mountain. It was a steep climb on foot to get to the temple but good to see. I was a little worried on the way back down the mountain, thinking a big tourist bus would run us off the road but it was very calm the whole way and I began to feel quite comfortable and enjoy the bike ride!

As usual we were just picked up and hauled into the back of the truck/taxi

Over 300 steps to the temple - a good warm up for our trek.
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Back in the city we got a little lost (yes disappointing for me as "chief navigator") but eventually found the Tourism Authority Thailand to get some advice on where to book our flight to Luang Prabang (not wanting to walk into the first agent and get ripped off). We were directed to Laos Airlines office which was on the other side of the city (thankfully we had the freedom of zipping around on the bike!). Apparently the office closed for lunch so we wandered to a nearby 7 story high shopping centre (and some kind street vendors minded our helmets - still wearing them at that stage). Then went back and booked our flights to Luang Prabang for Sunday afternoon (could not fly on Saturday due to regular maintenance on the propeller plane - will email everyone when we hopefully arrive safely back on the ground and don't miss the tiny runway...)

100 Baht each - bargain on a 30' day.
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Went to visit another wat in the city but hot and bothered by this stage (I lost the helmet from here) we quickly went to find a new guesthouse possibly with a pool. 2nd stop we found a new place The Britannia that just opened recently and had a special going which we could not refuse after seeing the room with air con, tv, actual bed sheets and a shower that was not a dribble - so booked for when we returned from trekking. Next, convinced there was an ice skating rink at the local Kad shopping centre we went on the search. The ice skating rink was no longer in action so we went ten pin bowling - I WON! Having read there was an adjoining hotel with swimming pool we also went searching for that - having finally found it we tried to communicate to a hotel staff member we were not guests but could we pay to use the pool. Not sure if he understood but he came back with two towels which we paid 100 baht each for, signed in (fake names just in case!) and enjoyed every baht of it!

Whole fish - gone...
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After quick stop "home" and phone call to real home in Aus - we headed to the night bazaar for some Chang beer and a whole fish - to toast a successful day not falling off or getting hit while on the motorbike!

For even more adventure we had signed up for a 2 day, one night trek departing Wednesday - thunder, lightening and rain at 3am was not a promising start but the weather turned out fine and we had the most amazing time. As usual we were just picked up and hauled into the back of the truck/taxi (same thing) not really knowing where we were going. After a brief stop at the office where Mike learnt about beetle fighting and associated gambling, another truck picked us up where we met the rest of our group and were taken out to the jungle/forest north of Chiang Mai (now friends with a French couple, a kiwi and a pommy guy and all have taken our recommendation and moved to The Britannia for top guesthouse rooms!) First stop was the elephant camp where we rode on the elephants through the local area for an hour or so, feeding them with bananas and being blasted with their slag, and splashed as we went through water along the way! Next the walk started and we went to a nearby waterfall for some lunch and a lovely swim in the river (far from city so clean and fresh to swim in).

Elephants eat 250kg of food per day including lots of bananas.
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After this the real hard work started - 2 and 1/2 hour ascent of mountainous terrain - quite steep and tough going for majority of the way. We reached the hill tribe village of the Karen people for a much deserved rest and shower. Karen are one of the  many hill tribes that live in villages across Northern Thailand and up to the borders of Myanmar and China. This particular village had only 22 families in it and we were free to wander and have a look. We learnt that our tour guide Sam was actually from that village and he was also very educated and a teacher who was educating children in his village and surrounds. The children are taught of the other ways of life and raised to have the option to stay in the village or move to the city. This is only the basics of what Sam has achieved and our group realised by the end of the night that we were very privileged to have him as our guide! The children of the village and surrounds all came to sing native songs for us and have photos - it was a wonderful experience.

One of the scenic stops on our trek.
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In brief we stayed in huts that had quite comfortable mattresses and mosquito nets so no issues with insects. The next morning we were provided with a "western breakfast" the first we had since being in Thailand and then set off for another morning of walking. Our group was split as some were staying on for another night - Sam took four of us to meet up with 3 other people at another camp and another guide. Koncha set a fast pace and we did not stop for a rest for almost 3 hours! While the majority was descending the mountain, due to rain overnight it was very slippery, muddy and there were a few falls (but not us of course - Mike did roll his ankle a record 4 or so times though). We reached the 7 11 jungle store for much deserved water. Mike also had a try at a local's air rifle and 2 out of 3 hits impressed the locals! This time pick up was a ute and we stood up in the back of it - quite enjoyable - as they say "do like the locals"!

No electricty but still cold beer.
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Lunch stop for fab pad thai noodles and fresh pineapple and then to the relaxing climax to our trekking adventure - bamboo rafting. Basically floating down the river on long thin pieces of bamboo strapped together. We shared one with our French friends Caroline and Evan - guide at the front and Mike at the back with bamboo sticks to steer. Mike lost the stick along the way and we had a mini drama when we got stuck on the rocks in the mini rapids! Overall good relaxing and cool wet fun! Then it was back to the back of the truck for the drive home. Thankfully we had our new guesthouse to look forward to! Caroline and Evan also moved there and we met for a couple of beers and went to a nearby restaurant for more authentic Thai.

A nice retreat for a night or two in the jungle.
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In brief, we spent Friday back at the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School! The French couple came along also and this time we went to the place outside of the city where the owner also lives in adjoining house. We actually had the owner teach us for some dishes - he is actually a Thai celebrity chef. Mike and my fave was learning to actually make the curry paste from scratch. After that we cooked the best Penang curry! Also made fish with chilli and basil, northern thai curry, sweet sour veg, chilli glass noodle pork salad and black sticky rice pudding (don't let the colour put you off - the dish has a lovely vanilla flavour!).

Seven Eleven Jungle - Thai's love a laugh...
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After a brief rest we all met at night again, including Dan the pommy guy, and the boys went to the muay thai boxing and some beers, and Caroline and I went for a full body massage and then icecream. Bliss!