A New Favorite and an Old Capital

I shot this at a local football game between two school in Chiang Mai.
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In my Bangkok entry, I mentioned that the city was the second-rated city in the world to visit, according to several travel magazines and agencies. Chiang Mai was also on the list but listed after a couple of places in Italy. Like all reviews and rankings, they are merely the opinions of people who are more informed than the average person. But they are still just opinions. I only spent three days in and around Chiang Mai compared to the six in Bangkok. I thoroughly enjoyed the current capital, but, in my opinion, Chiang Mai was a more charming place to visit.Truth be told, Chiang Mai was a bit of an afterthought. I was having such a good time in Bangkok and on the gulf islands, that I didn't want to venture north where I had heard the humidity, bugs, and obstacles were greater. I would have been satisfied to remain on the islands diving, sunning, and being with friends. However, the seize-all, learn-all side of me knew I should see a different part of Thailand before leaving.

Looking towards the doorway of the only fully wooden temple I encountered in Thailand. Beautiful, rich colors inside.
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Chiang Mai is a 12-hour bus ride from Bangkok. The first day I arrived in Chiang Mai, I had just come off this ride at 6am. Two days after I arrived, I boarded the exact bus (I know because the same brand of TV was broken in the same manner) at 6pm for the return trip. 36 hours was all I had in the city and many of those were spent sleeping or on a trek an hour away. However, first impressions count for a lot, and they do not take long to make. I made mine on the 15-minute walk from the bus depot into Chiang Mai City, the city center in shape of a square walled and moated for protection in the years when it was founded. On this walk I got a taste of the town's atmosphere as well as the people with whom I'd be spending my time. Rex, a guy from Seattle, and Kyung-ah, a woman from Korea, were also on the night bus and traveling alone seeking out accommodation in the twilight hours in an unknown city. Seems as good a thing as any to bond over. We shortly found a triple at the Rose Guest House whose accommodations, restaurant, and travel services were sufficient but whose staff were seriously short of pleasantries. We spent the day exploring Chiang Mai City as well as the city beyond the center and had a great time soaking in the differences to Bangkok. This was Rex's and Kyung-ah's first stop in Thailand, but even they could tell that Chiang Mai had more substance and character than that of the behemoth to the south. I would liken the relationship to San Francisco to Los Angeles.

If Bangkok is Los Angeles, then Chiang Mai is San Francisco.

The buddies I met getting off the night bus from BKK: Rex and Kyung-ah.
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The following day, my only full one to spend in the north, I went on a trek which included riding an elephant, visiting a rural village, hiking to a waterfall, and rafting down a river. Even though the elephant rides are geared towards tourists, it is more satisfying to do one in an area where they are naturally found and have worked with humans for years than in zoo in concrete suburbia. I was amazed at the size and power of these creatures up close, not to mention the amount of food they ate. I started the journey on a bench mounted to the elephant's back while our driver and his child rode on its neck. Without any indication of struggle, our 50 y.o. workhorse of the jungle trodded up a dirt hill through the trees with the same gait she displayed on level ground with nothing on her back. A truck will not run without fuel. Well, it seems our elephant refused to walk without being fed. Every meter or so, either I or the other rider with me had to place a banana or sugar cane in the trunk extended back towards us. We easily fed her 10kg of food, or just 4% of what she consumes a day.

At the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar.
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We only spent 30 minutes or so at the Mae Sapok village, a community of Karen people, but it was enough to humble and appreciate. Women here worked tirelessly on scarves for weeks on end that would only earn them a few dollars. Men took on what jobs they could, and the children walked 2km one way to attend a small school. However, few were without smiles or could be seen not laughing with each other. Money is essential to survive, but it is not the source of wealth.

After a brief hike and stop at Maewang Waterfall, which had some of the coldest water I've felt since California's Pacific, our group found its way to a river where we rafted on bamboo poles 4 inches in diameter and maybe 20 feet long. Each raft could carry up to seven people, but the two most important were the front and rear captains. Each captain was responsible for steering his/her end of the raft, but the front captain determines the initial direction. I was rear captain and punted my end quite well, but our young and experienced front captain had a rougher time. All of the other rafts not only passed us but justifiably laughed when we'd strike a rock, tree root, or the bank. Nevertheless, we four, including the front captain, had a great time trying to keep up with faster rafts and staying afloat when collisions occurred.

Atop the 50 y.o. elephant I rode as part of my one-day trek.
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The day I returned to Bangkok, I booked my last adventure, a one-day tour through some of the ruins of Ayutthaya, Siam's second capital and one of its World Heritage areas. At Ayutthaya's zenith, it was one of, if not the, center of religion, politics, and wealth in southeast Asia. Its temples were grand and palaces even grander. Some of the sites, such as Wat Yai Chaimongkhon, are very well preserved and have been reinstated to their original functions, in this case a monastery. Other locales, such as Wat Mahathat, have been left in utter ruin to mark the devastation the Burmese caused during the sack in the 18th century. In either condition one thing remains apparent, the richness of culture that this nation has to offer. People from Ayutthaya are proud that their city was once a capital of Siam. The three major stupas of the Grand Palace still stand and house the remains of the kings for which they were built. The Royal Elephant Kraal, or battle ground, is still quartered off and respected despite its lack of use in centuries. Ayutthaya is not an extinct city, just a dormant one.

Much like putting gas in a car, our elephant simply wouldn't go without some fuel of her own.
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Thailand is Bangkok and Samui. It is beaches and oceans. It is tasty food and cheap clothes. The trips to Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya have shown me that it is also jungle and mountain, culture and history, and pride and honor.