Not that we have any concept of what day or time it is as we've just stepped off a 'sleeper' overnight train journey from Bangkok to Changmai! A comfortable way to spend the night this is not...as we crawled out of Bangkok with cars (and even pedestrians) overtaking us it was clear why the journey can take anything from 12 to 15 hours! I think its about 5 hours by car but we're not ready to brave that!
Despite reading up on the journey we really weren't prepared for when the rickety old train picked up pace and we experienced a night being thrown about on what felt like a mattress strapped to the back of a lorry! - anyway more on this later let's start at the beginning!
Journey to Bangkok! Insomnia part 1
We boarded the 'world class' Emirates airline flight to Dubai a bundle of nerves and excitement!
Despite my own levels of anxiety it seems that some were even more nervous than me as to my delight I discovered that the seat I was already sitting on was drenched in liquid! Now I won't go into too much detail here but whilst rubbing what I believed to be 'water' from the back of my trousers I discovered that it was something else entirely!! I jumped out of my seat immediately, at which point the
steward came over and half the people around me stared as I told him there appeared to be someone else's urine on the seat!!!Now i'm not a prude but i would expect better from a no frills airline never mind Emirates.
Whilst I ran to the bathroom the 'helpful' steward came back with a nice blanket for me to sit on for 7 hours!! We seized the opportunity (well Nat did) to try and get an upgrade but that got us nowhere (despite several other passengers agreeing with us) so in the end we gave in and opted for a new cushion on the chair!
Upon arrival in Dubai for our two hour stop over, my trousers had dried and i'd made it through a succession of all the in flight films whilst Nat slept..
Landing in Dubai airport I realised exactly why i never want to spend a sustained period of time there although the airport was like a palace. A quick stretch of the legs and it was on to the onward flight. It got off to a slightly smoother start although we were delayed by an hour whilst the paramedics boarded for no clear reason and we ended up sat next to a German bearded lady who practically slept on my shoulder for the entire flight and never seemed to stand up although i was desperate to!!
Sleep count: 2 minutes for Jane, at least two hours for Nat.
Bangkok - Insomina Part 2
Upon arrival we headed straight for Beth and Pete's apartment. Taking in the sights by taxi it was already clear how vast the city is. We knocked on Pete's door and eventually he came to open it - he was settled in watching TV believing we were due the next day -oops this is why we need a new laptop that actually sends messages!!
Their apartment block is amazing, look at the view:
We spent two days in Bangkok - in our usual holiday fashion of walking and walking until your legs give way! We were immediately impressed by Bangkok and charmed by the locals who seemed to stop and chat to us on practically every bend - it was only when we noticed a pattern of people mentioning suit shops that we realised the subliminal messages being sent ! Their sales technique is excellent despite being reasonably wise to it! We did initially love the fact that everyone said how beautiful our pale skin is before attempting to rip us off but it got a bit tiresome on day 2. There were however some locals who generally wanted to stop us and chat - mostly about football - and is lovely how welcoming they are and proud of their country.
Beautiful park where everyone runs in circles despite the scorching heat. They all stop at 6pm whilst the National Anthem is played:
On the second day we went to the Grand Palace and decided to take a look at the backpacker central district of Khao San Road - staying in the luxury apartment block across town was such a blessing (thanks beth and Pete)as i never want to set foot on the khao san road again!! (everything i hate about Brits abroad!)
Sleep count: 3 hours for Jane, 30 minutes for Nat - Jet lag has set in!!
Bangkok is amazing and so crazy but after two days we were ready to head off into the countryside for stop 2: Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand!
Despite the fact we were staying in luxury at Beth and Pete's place, we thought that no trip to Bangkok would be complete without a trip to the Khao San Road (Aka,the backpacker ghetto in Bangkok). In hindsight, I'm not sure why we thought this was a good idea....
The road itself is only a short strip, similar to any street you might find in Benidorm, complete with dodgy looking guesthouses, dozens of bars, 10 baht tuk-tuks and more offers of silk suits (not sure that a tailored silk suit would be the best attire for traipsing round Asia in 30 degree heat.... maybe they'd have more luck offering tailored shell-suits....).
Our trip to Khao San road lasted about three minutes.....
The train to Chiang Mai was great fun, we were sat in a carriage with lots of Thai families and couples, heading North for the King's Birthday. The seats were pretty comfy although we were concerned at the fact that old women on bicycles were overtaking us. Evidently the train picks up speed at night, when you're 'asleep'.
At 10pm our carriage guard made up the beds, top and bottom bunks with comfy mattresses and freshly laundered sheets. At this point the train was going pretty fast but was quite rickety -similar to Northern Rail's services. Lying down and sleeping felt a bit like trying to sleep on a mattress inside a shopping trolley while it's being pushed down a dirt track. We did get some sleep, mainly because we passed out, but woke up every hour or so as the train felt like it might be coming off the tracks!
In the morning, the beds were turned back into seats and we sat and looked at the beautiful countryside as we rolled into Chiang Mai. Overall, definitely better that Northern Rail and with much friendlier staff - plus a lot cheaper!!
Despite the onset of 30 or so taxi drivers as we stepped out of Chiang Mai train station, we very intelligently decided to walk to the old town. Looking at the map it didn't appear to be all that far .....it turned out it was 3.5km!
With a heavy backpack and tired legs from the uncomfortable journey it felt like a lot further so near to the old town we finally opted for the sensible solution and jumped in a shared taxi.
This was a wise move as it turned out no one in town could find our hotel (the taxi driver failed to find the right street, as did the tourist information stand and every other random person i asked). Fortunately our saviour was a lovely tuk tuk driver who was very strategically positioned to get us there in just a minute or two! As we jumped out she kindly told us that if we couldn't find it again then she would wait around the corner. Luckily we both mastered the art of navigating and got ourselves back to the Gord Hotel each day.
We were immediately impressed with the surroundings - our beautiful hotel was down a nice quiet side street with a cool cafe next door where we would have breakfast each day. Bliss after all the travelling and the chaos of Bangkok. The staff were extremely friendly and willing to help in any way they could. I really do love the Thai hospitality - they are so laid back but so welcoming.
We continued along the same vein as in Bangkok by walking and walking until we knew Chiang Mai like the back of our hand!
On the second day we used the free bikes at the hotel to explore the surroundings - well that was the intention but the front steering on both our bikes was a little unsteady so we went round in circles for a while before deciding to ride as slowly as possible to avoid an accident. Whilst taking in the beautiful countryside and the side streets around our hotel we took a wrong turn down a cul-de-sac which was lined with dogs of all shapes and sizes (this is something you get used to in Thailand as every area seems to have tons of what appear to be guard dogs). They appeared to be sleeping in the 35 degree heat so we carried on until one dog got spooked by the bikes and immediately began barking, this set all the others off and then they started to chase us - they looked quite fierce (even the tiny poodle) so we cycled as hard as possible back onto the main street with them (and the kids who found it hysterical) chasing us all the way!
Similarly a few moments later Nat decided to turn up a side road which turned out to be someones driveway with some guard dogs also - hadn't followed her up this one but she came back pretty promptly with some dogs in tow and i took this as my queue to start cycling! Shortly after this we took the bikes back and went for a drink!!
Chiang Mai has hundreds of temples to explore so we spent the next day seeing as many as we could. They are breathtaking and walking from one to the next was a great opporunity to see some areas we handed already been to. We tried to take part in the Monk chat but it was Sunday and we couldn't find any around.
Another great way to see the sights was to follow the Saturday and Sunday markets which are vast and have so many arts and crafts to buy. We decided to copy all the other travellers and buy some comfy baggy pants. It may be a coincidence but since buying these we haven't been asked once if we want to buy a suit so i think they now know we are penniless backpackers not tourists with loads of cash!
After another day of sightseeing and some chill out time we decided it was time to move on and explore Pai, further North.
The scenery is a welcome distraction and I was lucky enough to sit on the back seat next to a Switz couple who were really lovely to chat to and practise my German on...Nat got the short straw as she was sat on the front seat sandwiched between the driver and a girl from Hong Kong and I think she witnessed the worst of the drivers manouvers! Having said this considering the number of bends overall the journey was fine.
As we hit the home straight and finally came off the mountains we saw Pai in the distance and the scenery immediately made the journey worthwhile - this is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. The village is surrounded by absolutely stunning mountains and countryside and the village itself is charming!
Reading about Pai beforehand we realised that it attracted a lot of hippies and you can immediately see why many arrive in Pai for a short holiday and end up staying indefinitely. We got the impression that it is the kind of place where anything goes and you could happily spend all day doing absolutely nothing except staring at the scenery - so we did just that for most of our stay.
We were staying in Baan Pai Village along the riverside in a very authentic hut. The guesthouse was surrounded by beds and water features and it was so relaxing that we just went for walks along the riverside, read our books and relaxed. I think it is at this point that we really relaxed into travelling and started to really really enjoy ourselves.
Our hut by the river:
On one of the days we signed up for a Thai Cookery Course which started at 9:30am with a trip to the local market to source ingredients , followed by a lesson in how to cook at least 6 Thai courses.
This was probably the best day of our trip so far as we were learning alongside three Italian men who made the whole experience very entertaining. Our teacher was brilliant too. After finishing each course you sit down and tuck in so by the end of the day we were absolutely stuffed! It was delicious though.
This was probably the best day of our trip so far as we were learning alongside three Italian men who made the whole experience very entertaining. Our teacher was brilliant too. After finishing each course you sit down and tuck in so by the end of the day we were absolutely stuffed! It was delicious though.
Evidence of the skills we learnt:
The only thing we didn't enjoy about Pai was the mosquitos - which are everywhere because of the river. Despite drowning ourselves in deet, having a mosquito net in the room and avoiding sitting by the riverside at night we still got bitten to death - although not until the final evening when we sat in a restaurant with water features listening to live music. ..... we didn't think much of it at the time but Nat came away with around 24 bites and I was the lucky one with just 8 (this was increased the next day when i stood in a fire ant farm and got 6 bites off them - i have to say that being bitten by these ant feels a lot like being mildy electrocuted like on the day in Chiang Mai ;) - it was dark what can i say)
Sadly we left Pai after three days and got the lovely bus journey back to Chiang Mai. It was a lot smoother this time although one girl was sick all the way.
We stayed just one night in Chiang Mai and went over to the wealthy student area of Nimmenheim Rd for drinks in the evening which was full of trendies and really cool (sam your vintage stuff would do so well here, it's all the rage!)
From Chiang Mai we took the five hour bus journey to Chiang Khong which once again was such a beautiful route and thankfully not as bendy!! From here we bid farewell to the land of smiles and crossed the border into Laos!
Sadly we left Pai after three days and got the lovely bus journey back to Chiang Mai. It was a lot smoother this time although one girl was sick all the way.
We stayed just one night in Chiang Mai and went over to the wealthy student area of Nimmenheim Rd for drinks in the evening which was full of trendies and really cool (sam your vintage stuff would do so well here, it's all the rage!)
From Chiang Mai we took the five hour bus journey to Chiang Khong which once again was such a beautiful route and thankfully not as bendy!! From here we bid farewell to the land of smiles and crossed the border into Laos!
