Blowin' In The Wind

Wednesday, 20 November 2013

A Slice of Pai (Nov 9-11)

Our latest trip was to a small town approximately 80 km (50 miles for those of you born before 1970) north of Chiang Mai called Pai. Although most people just pronounce it as “pie”, the Thai sound for P is really closer to B, according to Tick, our language teacher. Anyway, it’s a town of about 2000 people which has become an immensely popular tourist stop, particularly amongst the backpacker set. It’s easily walkable and the streets are filled with locals selling their wares. As well, numerous bars and restaurants, along with cheap guesthouses, are everywhere which makes it extra attractive for the young travellers. There is a relaxed but energetic (is it possible for those two words to go together?) feel to this beautiful town located on the Pai River.

Pai itself is nestled at the foot of the mountains and the surrounding countryside is stunningly beautiful. There are hot springs, waterfalls, and hiking areas. We rented a small motorbike for the day at a cost of 140 baht (under $5) and explored several areas. One place that we wanted to see was the bridge on the river Pai (see blog from Oct. 27, One Night In Bangkok). Although this one was not the subject of a movie, it had many similarities to the one over the Kwai. According to locals and most tourist information sites, it was built by Japanese soldiers during World War Two in order to transport goods and troops across the river. However, there is strong evidence which suggests that the bridge was built much later by the Thai government and the historical connection invented, presumably to attract tourists.

I mentioned earlier that the distance to Pai is only 80 kilometers so it should only take an hour to drive there right? Well it doesn’t quite work that way. The route from CM to Pai has 762 curves (apparently someone had the time to count) which is boasted about on t-shirts and other paraphernalia. We were warned that at least one person always gets car sick on the trip to or from Pai and it was very nearly us. Sitting in the back of the mini-van was a gut-wrenching experience which will not be repeated. Next time it will be the 25 minute plane ride in a 12-seater Cessna instead of the three hour rollercoaster in the van.

Until next time ………

Tuesday, 5 November 2013

BUA TONG WATERFALL

The Bua Tong Waterfall (also referred to as the Sticky Waterfall) is located approximately 45 kilometers north of Chiang Mai. With our fellow thespians Angela, E.J, Shelley, Karen, Ian and Charlotte, we spent a fantastic Sunday at this relatively secluded area. For some reason it seems to have stayed off the tourist map, leaving us ample room to play.

At the top of the falls is an area like a small park where people set up little spots to eat, drink and socialize. There is no cost to get in and they even sell food and drink there. We were able to buy beer and Sangsom (Thai rum) which was fortunate because it was election day in Chiang Mai and the sale of alcohol was banned for a 30 hour period. Yes, people were able to sit in a public area drinking alcohol and no one was injured, maimed, scarred or killed. Take that, Ribfest at Zwick’s Island! (Canada is without doubt one of the greatest countries in the world but the liquor laws are archaic and absurd.)

But enough pontificating. Back to the waterfall. There are four levels to the waterfall and it is possible to actually walk down through the flowing water even though it is quite steep in parts. The limestone rocks have been perfectly smoothed over by the running water and have a “sticky” feeling, making the footing secure. From the top area there is a drop of approximately 50 feet to an area of flat rocks and that pattern continues for two more levels. You can stand at the bottom of a rock and have the water cascade over top of you, a sort of Sticky Falls shower. An amazing feeling.

Every once in a while you have one of those days where there is a feeling of complete joy and freedom, untouched by the multitude of troubles in our world. A short break from reality in a sense. Sunday at Bua Tong was just such a day.

Until next time ………….

Here's the link for more waterfall photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200838034696466&type=1&l=2ff8ec5d54

Monday, 4 November 2013

Visa run to Laos

After our failure to secure a visa in both Chiang Mai and Bangkok, Plan C involved a trip to Laos, Thailand’s neighbour to the east. The capital city is Vientiane and a trip to the Thai consulate there was necessary for us to extend our visa for another 90 days. They make sure you stay at least one night by having you apply for your visa one day and receiving your answer the following day.

Vientiane is a city of approximately 800,000 people and it seemed to us that their national pastime was “napping”. Actually, the Lao people could not have treated us any better than they did, going out of their way time and again to assist us. Unfortunately, the city itself did not leave a wonderful impression. There was a great deal of garbage in the streets (reminding us of Cairo last year) which apparently is somewhat new to this city. Vientiane hosted the Asian Games a few years ago and at that point the city was spotless. Afterward, it seems, the money for cleaning projects dried up. The Mekong River runs through Vientiane and where one might expect a number of beautiful riverside buildings, restaurants etc., none existed. At least we didn’t see any.

Luang Prabang, a Unesco World Heritage site, is a small city north of Vientiane and that was our next stop. A beautiful and charming little city, LP is also on the Mekong River but in contrast to the capital it uses its natural beauty very effectively. There are numerous guest houses along the river but no high-rises or modern hotels to be seen. It is a town that is easily walkable or rideable and fortunately our guest house provided free bicycles (as well as a free pickup from the airport). We decided a river cruise on the Mekong at sunset would be a perfect end to the day and start to the evening (the sun sets about 5:45) so for 100,000 we got an hour on the water.

Ah yes, the prices. One U.S. dollar is approximately 7500 Laotian kip, so the majority of our time was spent trying to make sense of the money. We actually withdrew 2,000,000 (that’s right, million) kip at one point just to have a cup of coffee and a muffin. If you dropped a 500 kip bill in the street you really had to consider whether it was worth your while to bend over and pick it up.

One of the highlights of our trip to LP was being part of tak bat, the daily procession of monks along the main street at 5:30 a.m. Hundreds of locals and tourists line the street with alms (offerings of food, mainly sticky rice) every morning to give to the monks for their daily sustenance. There are well over a hundred monks walking in single file as well as in complete silence. There is also almost total silence among the almsgivers which makes for an eerie but awe-inspiring ritual. The people give the food in order to “make merit” or receive spiritual redemption. As is often the case though, the spirituality is somewhat lost when you see such things as monks having to sidestep cameras on tripods in order to accept the alms. Subtlety and discretion are seldom evident in tourists. However, a return to Luang Prabang is certainly in our plans.

Until next time…………

Here's the link to see some more photos including more details from the rice paddies :
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200840581560136.1073741837.1331881912&type=1&l=7e29b8cfdd

Sunday, 27 October 2013

One night in Bangkok ...

Actually it was three nights but that’s not how the song goes. Anyway, we were told by Chiang Mai immigration that they could complete my visa right there but Sarah would have to go to Bangkok for hers. It turns out that such information was false but that’s another story. We had already decided to take a long weekend to the place that Travel & Leisure magazine has named the world’s best city, four years in a row.

The choice of hotels in Bangkok is vast and many decent ones are less than $40 per night. These are the type that might be $70 - $80 in Canada and most include breakfast in the cost. We knew we were in a high class affair when we read the sign in the stairwell that warned us it was illegal to bring prostitutes to our room. Sarah was disappointed but we agreed to stay anyway.

Not long after our arrival we took a long-tail boat through the Chao Phraya River and its various channels. Bangkok transports thousands of its citizens per day using water taxis and the hundreds of canals give it the title Venice of the East. (It should be noted that several other cities in various countries also lay claim to that title) We even saw crocodiles during our 1 hour trip, along with hundreds of houses built just above the level of the water. Most of these places were quite rundown and definitely not the sorts of mansions we often see along the water in North America. Near the end of the boat trip, an elderly woman rowed a boat toward us wearing a big smile and we thought how nice it was she was coming to greet us. To our surprise (and pleasure) she was selling beer right out of her boat. Naturally we accepted and she even talked us into buying the boat’s pilot a beer as well.

Have you ever heard of Jim Thompson? We certainly hadn’t but he was an American who revitalized the silk industry in Thailand during the 1950s and 1960s. He was probably the most famous American in Asia during that time but in 1967 he mysteriously disappeared in the jungle of Malaysia and no trace of him has ever been found. He designed and built his own house in Bangkok using traditional Thai styles as well as pieces from six different dwellings. We visited this magnificent home which is now a museum.

Put up your hand if you’ve seen the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai (Sorry, an old teacher habit). It’s a mainly fictional story about a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Burma (now called Myanmar) during World War Two. The Japanese forced the prisoners to build a bridge over the river in order to transport supplies between Burma and Siam (now called Thailand). The bridge was used for two years before being blown up by the Allies. However, it was re-constructed in the 1960s and is still in use today. We visited the area and took the train over the bridge. By the way, the movie won 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture.

A visit to see The Golden Buddha was another of our Bangkok trips. This statue is 10 feet tall and weighs approximately 5 tonnes. IT IS MADE OF SOLID GOLD! Using today’s gold prices, the statue is worth 250 million dollars. It is believed that at one time the Buddha was coated in stucco and painted to disguise its true value. Later, when Thais were moving the Buddha, the statue fell and pieces of the stucco broke off, revealing the golden interior. (Once I found $20 in a pair of shorts I hadn’t worn for a year, so I know how the Thais must have felt)

Khao San Road is one of the more famous areas of Bangkok. It is a street filled with bars, restaurants, live music, sellers, buyers, food, drink and more. It is, depending on your taste, either an assault on or a heavenly experience for your senses. This road was quite close to our hotel so we visited there a couple of times to sample its nightlife. Even though it was hot and humid, as well as being the low season, the street was packed with revellers, mainly tourists like ourselves. An amazing, if somewhat overwhelming, experience.

Until next time ……