Northern Thailand

After a raucous New Year's eve in the one-horse (one water-buffalo?) border town of Chiang Khong that included the ever popular floating bonfires - bags held upside down by several hands until a large flame inside them causes the entire thing to rise in the air, later sending showers of fireworks down (screeching heads, motorbikes, coconut matting, it's all fair game) as the wind takes the flaming bag higher (hopefully) and farther away until the entire thing either sends a house up in flames or it merges with the stars - we got a bus to the northern town of Chiang Mai. It's Thailand's 2nd largest town, but considerably smaller than Bangkok and has everything at hand.

First thing we did was happen along our two German friends eating breakfast (at 4:30pm) as they'd also enjoyed a raucous News Year's Eve. Ever notice how sometimes you try to organize somthing or meet up with people and it never happens? You realize that you just missed each otehr or were one day apart. And then there are other people you are destined to happen across despite different schedules and modes of transport. Such a couple are Fritz and Hildegarde (as they are to us - we prefer pseudonoms as they sound more mysterious)

who are travelling for a year and will end in Vancouver of all places so we hope and expect to meet at least one more time. Incidentally they are doing their own blog - so if you want to get their side of the story, go to: www.kalexis.de

Chiang Mai has a ton of lovely wats - but as we've seen our fair share of wats we chose just one to explore - the 14th century Wat Phra Singh (Temple of the Lion Buddha), and ended up being there on a big celebration of the New Year along with a throng of others, mostly locals. Monks blessed individuals with water shaken from branches and strings tied around writs, who presented offerings with money hangings, candles and small banana leaf boats of food with flags. Novices walked with a lavishly decorated float. Outdoor stalls served food, sold handicrafts and did foot massages in big chairs on the grass.

We booked a two day trek, which started most inauspiciously with a requisite vist to an orchid farm and another to a snake farm (complete with well-rehearsed show) then we finally walking along the river. Maybe it was just as well we didn't know what we were in for, because it ended up being about 1000 meters straight up - the narrowest steepest path. There was a litle waterfall part way where we could strip off and cool down, and the top half revealed fantastic views over the valley, but we were mightily pleased to get to our village - Ban Huay Kup Kup on the top the mountain.
our hut for the night:
our bathroom:

our bedroom (room for 12 but only half full tonight)The inhabitants were Lahu people, originally from Myanmar - mountain people just beginning to learn how to live in one spot and grow things other than opium. I decided this would be the last place appropriate to hand out our pens and balloons to children and was swarmed as soon as I openend my bag. Literally swarmed. They grabbed at my clothes and tried to rip everything out of my hands, but I had the benefit of height and was able to hold the things about their heads and hand them down to indivuals one by one until I knew everyone had something. Then I ceased to exist and they all went back to their ball and rope games.

We 'helped' the cooking (they only let us hold the flashlight over the cooking pots and occasionally stir something) then ate at a long bench table, sitting on long bamboo poles.

After we sat by a fire, listened to our guide play the guitar and sing American oldies (his favourite song is "every rose has its thorn" so much that he had it tattooed on his arm, except that he was roaring drunk and found out the next morning that it had been incorrectly spelled "every rose has it's thone" - we saw the proof) and watch the stars wheel in their orbits, reflected by twinkling lights in settlements far below.What goes up must come down and we had a steep, slippery trek down the next day. Halfway another waterfall presented itself - remarkable how these waterfalls seem to appear at the halfway point - then finished at the elephant camp (can never have enough time with elephants) before getting back down river by inflatable rafting (it was a hoot - actual white water this time) and bamboo rafting.

Another memorable day was an all day cookery class. We were picked up by tuk-tuk, then taken to a market to buy ingredients before arriving at the farm, where we each had our own flame and pot and could choose what 5 dishes we wanted to cook, including red, green or yellow curry paste, red, green or yellow curry with chicken, tom yam soup or coconut soup, pad thai or spring rolls, bananas in coconut milk or sticky rice and mango, chicken with cashews or chicken with basil. We we were two, martin did one set and I did the other so we could share and compare. Fresh and simple, as spicy as we wanted it, it really was about the best Thai food we'd ever had.

Our last evening (still stiff from our trek) we took a boat ride on the ping river, shared with a large bottle each of water and Chang Beer. We drifted past the night market, which was a lot smaller and more repetitive than we had expected, lonely bars and nightclubs, and restaurants with only one or two tables filled - there really do seem to be so many fewer travellers, or maybe it's because it was after new years.