where hippies and tourists run free.........

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Week 2 :  Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is one of those unique places that truly has something for everyone. People come to this city to attend Buddhist meditation classes (which I am thinking about after Laos), Thai cooking classes, Thai massage classes, hill tribe trekking adventures and even just to relax in a major city that isn't the insanity that Bangkok is.

whatever was happening in the room next to mine would of made Marvin Gaye proud

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Having arrived so early in the morning, me and Bailong found the first half way decent place we could, which ended up being the Same Same Guest House. With costing us each a little over 3 bucks a night, having a big clean room on the roof, and a good location....it worked. After paying for the room and making my way upstairs...I was crashed out within 5 mins. The rest of the day was pretty laid back. We wondered the city, tried some new food, spent a little time on the Internet and caught a glimpse of the Bazaar Night Market (one of the "spectacles" of Chiang Mai). After finding some cheap Thai clothes, we headed off  to bed  with the intent of waking up early to find an even cheaper place. Little did we know that our neighbor had other plans. First you have to visualize our room. Two good sized beds in a square room on the roof of a guest house. The walls didn't touch in the corners cause of the humidity or workmanship and we were located on a popular street. That plus the fact that you could hear everything anywhere on our floor or on the street below made for an "interesting" night. So 2am rolls around and I awake to what sounds like an innocent late night conversation. However......soon there after, whatever was happening in the room next to mine would of made Marvin Gaye proud. I could of sworn I heard two different Thai female voices as well as a guy with a European accent professing their need for god with a lot of "oh gods" and "yes god" and so on and so forth. Needless to say, you know you are having great sex when the guy in the room next to you can hear your through his ear plugs. Good times!!!

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After an amazing nights sleep after listening to my neighbors enjoy a little friendly coitus, I woke up fairly early to go for a run around town. Having been atleast a week since I had done anything besides sweat while looking at temples...I was in  need of some physical activity. After taking in a couple miles of beautiful Chiang Mai, I made my way back , showered and headed out  to find out next place of temporary residence. With a cheaper price, quieter location and one crazy English "landlord"...Kent House has become our new home. After exploring the city once more we decided to rent a couple scooters and attempt to find some adventure in the country side....and that we did. After picking up our scooters for 3 bucks a day, heading back to our room to change and relearning how to drive a standard bike.....we made our way of the city with little problems and just a few near death experiences. Our real adventure would come a few hours later. Once out of the city and with no clue to what we wanted to see or where to go to see it...we randomly stopped at a couple Wat temples, Buddhist Meditation Temples and a waterfall. Now the water fall might of been sub par for what I have seen in my day but it was not a total loss. I did manage to eat a couple things I would of never though of. I will save the surprise for the pictures ;) Enjoy. We soon found our way in the right direction of the local mountains and began to get excited about visiting one of the local hill tribe villages. Let me tell you this...there is nothing quiet like taking mountain roads at 60-80 km/h on a scooter. Man that was fun. We snaked our way up to the village and spent some time attempting to talk to locals and taking pictures. Near sunset we began our way down the winding road at breakneck speeds as if we were in some lame Thai version of 2 fast 2 furious.

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Trekking around the Mountains: What better way to experience northern Thailand then to go live in the mountains for 3 days trekking through forests, living with the hill tribes and riding elephants? After talking to a few locals I decided to check out the 5 Star Guest House's trekking options. Wanting something that wasn't over run with tourist pollution (my new term of the day), I opted for a 3 day/2 night trek in a much more remote region of the Chiang Mai providence. After meeting the group going (2 french canadians, 3 austrians, 1 american, 1 sweedish guy and me) Map (our guide) put us in the pack of a covered pick-up and we were on our way.

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It was an amazing experience to live and trek through largely unpopulated areas of Thailand. Especially after spending most of my time so far in developed cities like Bangkok and Chiang Mai. We hiked through rain forests, through villages, under waterfalls, rode elephants and actually got a taste of actually being COLD in Thailand. One would be surprised to find out that in the mountains in Feb, late at night, it can get pretty damn cold. Having been a genius and leaving my warm top and jeans back in Bangkok...I just froze my ass off a little instead of being prepared...which is always the smarter thing to do.

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Although we were visiting and living among the hill tribes...it was always a nice sight to wake up early in the morning to 10-15 Village woman who had set up there little blankets of goodies they want you to buy. If I hear "Look....Buy" or "Hello.....Shopping" one more time...I just might buy something. Its just amusing to me that those are the only 4 words they seem to know and will just try to beat you into submission with them until you spend 200 baht on a sling shot or necklace that probably won't last the night in your backpack. However it is hard not to understand their average income and level of poverty on a daily basis. As much as I actually to love bargaining with market vendors...I don't have any qualms with paying more then I should in a village on the Burma border...far out in the boonies of Thailand.

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While the jungles where amazing, the waterfalls cold, the showering in a creek interesting and sleeping on bamboo nice and comfy....the Elephant ride was both an adventure and a future cause for a nice Thai massage a few days later. Such massive and majestic animals, elephants..while docile creatures, are not extremely comfortable to ride. I have two marks on my back from the steal bar that was my seat and in desperate need of a long session of yoga to fix my groin after ridding on the elephants neck/head while he almost started to run. It was a great experience, but one I might not want to do again....atleast not for the hour and a half my body got to feel it. The trip ended well with a nice relaxing bamboo raft ride down a slow river to our awaiting truck. Overall I had a great and eye opening time. I saw almost zero tourist pollution, rode an elephant through a jungle, lived in the mountains and have alot more respect for the value of money and kindness to the Thai people.

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Where I go from here...I am not 100% sure just yet. I might head south and go diving with Daniel (my new Swedish friend), East with Bailong to Cambodia, or North East to Laos for another solo adventure.