Chiang Mai
Wesna Engelhart • February 13, 2019
I've arrived in Chiang Mai, a city in northern Thailand. It's old city is confined within a square, partly still surrounded by the ruins of the old city wall. But Chiang Mai is much more than this.
I took the nighttrain from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. The nighttrain is a great way to travel and buy time at the same time. If you have to sleep anyway, why not travel comfortably at the same time. After 12 hours I arrived in Chiang Mai. Outside of the trainstation there are a lot of small red firewagon looking buses. These buses are typical Chiang Mai taxis, that will take you anywhere in the city for a reasonable price.
After settling in my hostel (private room with private bathroom, I am a bit of a glampacker) in the old city center I took an exploratory walk. As the old city center is just ..., it is perfect to get around on foot, though the main method of transportation used by tourists that have a longer stay in the city is a scooter. I prefer walking, because I believe it's the best way to observe and well, I have the time. But, as in any major city, you will have no trouble finding a taxi(bus) or a tuktuk that will get you wherever you want to go.
Strolling around the city center, you will encounter a lot of buddhist temples. As a big part of the Thai population is buddhist, you will see the most beautifully crafted ornaments made out of stone and wood, splashed with a lot of colour, mirrored tiles and even gold. All in honour of this religion, that teaches to do good, to get better in the next life. I visited a lot of temples, but Wat Phan Tao impressed me the most, with its magnitude. It is easy to forget that you're visiting a place of worship, but seeing someone in prayer makes you humble to this fact. When entering a temple, silence is advised. Though this silence makes the experience all the more meaningful.
Visit the Lanna folkmuseum to learn more about the Lanna people and the way they practise Buddhism. Learn why temples are decorated the way they are and have a better understanding of the architectural complexity and the detailed elements that make a building into a temple.
Next to these holy temples, the old city is filled with restaurants, guesthouses and hostels, though you will not see enormous hotels here. These are located outside the remaining city walls. Tourism is, as in a big part of Thailand, the number one source of income. This makes Chiang Mai a very busy city. If you're looking for a place to relax and enjoy some peace and quiet, this is not the place for you. Though there are ways to seek some peace and quiet in this region. If you're looking for a rest, visit the Nong Buak Hard public park. Entrance is free. You will see families having picnicks, backpackers
practicing yoga and tourists taking pictures before the beautiful floral backgrounds and water fountains. A wonderful to lie down and relax with a book.
If you're a nature lover and like to hike, get up early and walk
the monk trail to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (yet another temple, but it
is worth it). As it is a steep walk up the mountain, this is not for the
weak. Walk trough the jungle and enjoy the view. You will see some
small waterfalls along the way. After a while the jungle will open up to
a beautiful view of the 'small' Wat Pha Lat temple. Take a rest and
enjoy the view, the peace, the silence. You will encounter some
tourists, but as this temple isn' t the main attraction in the area, you
will have the time and space to make beautiful pictures.
After this, walk further up the monk trail to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. I have to be honest, midway I was having a hard time and was thinking I'd made a mistake. Why did I put myself in this situation? I'm not the hiking type. But I pushed and made it. Arriving at the foot of the temple, yet another challange arrived. To get up the temple, I needed to walk the 306 step naga stairs. So, I decided to fuel up with some Pad Thai and a fresh coconut first. After that, it was stepping time. Arriving at the temple, it was all worth it. I treated myself to a taxi ride back to the old city (yes, you can reach these points by car/scooter too).
At night chiang Mai's vibrant
nightlife wakes. The sunday night market is an experience on it's own.
It is big, streets are temporarily closed of to traffic. You will find
your typical pashima scarfs, keychains, magnets and photo postcards. But
a big part of this market contains of stalls selling beautiful handmade
dolls, chopsticks and woodwork. You will see craftsman handcarving soap
into beautiful and colourful orchids. Woman crocheting dolls and
handbags, artist selling and painting on the spot (the talent here is
amazing!). And of course, the smells. Barbequed skewers of sometimes
unidentifiable meat, the sweet smell of freshly cut fruit, banana
pancakes and fruit shakes. You will not go hungry here.
When
walking trough the city, try to avoid the main streets and be surprised
by the most wicked and suprisingly bold street art in Chiang Mai. Here a
simple tag just won't do, you will rarely see it. True artists here,
make something more graphic.
So here's
my report of Chiang Mai, a city worth visiting. There is something to do for everyone. The experiences I had
are just the tip of the iceberg, there is so much more to do and to see.
In my next post, I will tell you all about the cooking class I took
here. Yet another experience in Chiang Mai, worth mentioning.
Though you will have to visit Chiang Mai yourself to get the complete experience, I will upload some photos in my gallery soon.
Every place in town is in walking distance, with the highest point in town, the That Chomsi stupa on mount Phousi, visible as a landmark from every point in town. Make sure you're in good shape before climbing the 300 steps up and be amazed by beautiful views of Luang Prabang.
The center of this town, in the north of Laos, is quiet and small. There is one main street, which you can easily walk in under 10 minutes. This is the street were you'll see most guesthouses, some combined with a restaurant. Though eco tourism is on the uprise in this area, you will not see mega hotels in this area, there is no party scene. Luang Namtha is for nature lovers that love to explore and come back to town to relax with a cold Beerlao (Lao beer).
From Chiang Mai a mini van will take you to Pai within 3 hours. Be prepared, these might feel like the 3 longest hours of your life as the bus will drive up a mountain containing a mere 762 curves. Motion sickness pills may help you survive the ride. If you’re feeling adventurous, there are several companies that rent out scooters for your ride from Chiang Mai to Pai and deliver your luggage for you for a reasonable price. This however is at your own risk. Along the way we encountered a transport van that lost some mattresses along the way and our own driver almost hit some tourists driving on the wrong side of the road. But the view up to Pai is beautiful. Along the way you will see deep valleys, large trees and blue skies. Like everything outside the major cities, it is quiet and picture perfect.
The workshop started with an early visit to the market. Here our cooking class got to see and smell different vegetables and herbs that are used in the Thai kitchen. Our teacher explained the variety in ingredients that depict typical thai food. I saw various products I hadn't seen before and it was fantastic to learn what was actually in the different dishes I'd tasted already.
A homestay means that you will be staying on the property of a local Thai person. There are different variations, ranging from booking a room in a familyhouse to different rooms with bathrooms on one property. In some cases it is possible to eat with the family. In my case I'd booked a separate room with private bathroom and optional breakfast. Booking a homestay is a way of supporting local entrepeneurs. Besides that, it really feels like you're on a holiday when you're trying to communicate with locals that only speak basic English. It has it's charms. If you're ever in the Ban Krachao area, I do recommend 88 Homestay . It looks exactly as pictured and the people there are really friendly. After settling in the room, I took a short biking trip. Biking is the best way to get around in this area as there is so much to see. It is also relatively safe, there aren't a lot of cars and people drive cautiously. The area is a mixture of modern villas, which are quickly being build all around the area, and the wooden, more traditional, pavillions. The contrast between wealthy and poor is also visible in this part of Bangkok. Between uprising villas there are also homes, made out of cheap materials, where whole families (including grandparents) live in a small amount of space. Different from Bangkok though is that people aren't living on the street. You might encounter some stray dogs though. Even though Ban Krachao is still part of Bangkok, it has a different and much more relaxed atmosphere. It reminds me of a caribean island, with multicoloured houses and concrete highways, intertwining with nature. People grow a variety of fruit trees including mango, coconut, durian and bananas. Gardens are well taken care of, with a variety of flowers and plants. Inbetween homes you might find some small banana and coconut orchards. It is a village within a city, where everyone seems to know each other and every person, native or foreign, is greeted. People are polite, a bit shy, but wiling to help and answer any questions you may have. As tourism is still up and coming in this area (it isn't even mentioned in my Lonely Planet!), there aren't a lot of tourists. You might have to rely on your hands and feet to get around, but people are willing to help, sometimes even supported by Google translate. The second day I got up early and took a walk to Sri Nakhon Kuenkhan Park. This park is accesible by bike or on foot. In between the concrete paths you will find a reconstruction of the biodiversity that used to exist within the area. The swamp-like lakes make for picture perfect views. As it is yet to be discovered by foreign visitors, it is a very quiet place to observe the animals that live here. You might see some squirls, a variety of birds, fish, butterflies and if you're lucky even a water monitor (giant lizard). On my way back I found a local restaurant serving Thai food. For only 50 Baht (about €1,50) I had my first pad thai of the trip. This typical thai dish is made with rice noodles, vegetables and any type of protein stir fried in a fish sauce and with ground peanuts. Why go? If you like a relaxed athmosphere and you don't mind not having everything at arms reach (restaurants and supermarkets are scarce and you will not find a Starbucks or any other foodchain here), this is a perfect place to relax. Rent a bike, take your time, enjoy some peace and quiet. Perfect when you've just come of the plane and want to adjust to the change in climate, without the noise of the city (though at night you might hear some dogs barking). The first pictures have been uploaded to the photo gallery.
The last couple of weeks I've been meeting up with a lot of friends and family, wanting to meet up with me before my journey. Unfortunately I couldn't see everyone, but I received a lot of phone calls, messages and even practical gifts that I can use along the way (you know who you are and I will be writing one line a day ;-)). A lot of people asked me which places I will be visiting. I will start in Bangkok, where I will be staying near Ban Krachao, which is also known as the green lung of Bangkok because of it's green character. After that, I will be travelling up north to Chiang Mai to see it's beautiful temples and hopefully learn how to cook proper Thai food. After that I will travel to Chiang Rai and, among other things, visit the golden triangle. This is where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet. After this I will cross the border over to Laos. After Laos I will visit Vietnam and Cambodia, and return to Thailand for my flight back to Amsterdam. As you might have noticed, my itinerary is a little vague after I leave Thailand. The reason for this is that I simply do not know how I will be travelling trough these countries. I have a couple of months and will be taking my time getting from one place to another. Hopefully I will receive some tips along the way to safely deviate from the beaten track and experience some truelly amazing things. During this journey I will be using trains and buses as much as I can. This has different reasons. It leads to places you might have missed when flying and I do have time to make unplanned stops. It is a great way to meet people making a similar journey and share travel tips. Taking a night train saves time, as you need to sleep anyway. Last but not least, it is very affordable. In a couple of hours I will be boarding and my journey will begin. I will be arriving in Bangkok on the morning of 5 February. As you might have heared, there is a lot of smog covering this city at the moment. Though action has been taken to lower the smog levels this is a continuing issue, caused by extreme traffic pollution. As I will be staying near Ban Krachao, 'the green lung' of Bangkok, I hope the air quality will be better. I will keep you updated in the next couple of days.
The last couple of months I found myself in a job I was good at, but didn't particularly like. I wasn't my best person and felt I could do better. However not knowing what it is that I did want to do kept me stuck in a a place I didn't want to be in. It was time to make some changes. I didn't want to change me, I was quite happy with myself. I couldn't change the work environment I was in. The only option that was left was to change the thing I had an actual influence in. And thus I made the decision to quit my job. It was a shock to many. Did I have another job? Did I know what I was going to do? How was I going to pay my bills? These are some of the questions I got asked. People didn't understand how I could make such a crazy decision at my age. But what I found alarming was people telling me that they understood. That it was daring, brave even. That they would if they could. These were people of my generation, struggling with life. Struggling to find a balance between careers, social life, family. Not doing the things they want to do. Keeping up appearances, pretending to be fine. People being overworked and unhappy. I can not even put in writing the relieve I felt when I made a decision to choose for my own happines and health. I felt as if an enormous weight was lifted of my shoulders. Starting 2019 I was free to do whatever I wanted to do with my time, no obligations whatsoever. And to make the most of this free time, I decided to go travelling. Not to 'find myself', I have a good enough idea of who I am. But to enjoy the time I have,and make fantastic memories. So it's a fact. on 4 February I will starting my journey trough southeast Asia, starting with Bangkok, Thailand. If you're interested, check out my travel logs in the coming months, where I'll be sharing travel updates.