Thailand Day 5 – Daytrip to Chiang Mai (22th July 2006)

Located 700km north-west of Bangkok, Chiang Mai's climate is cool and forgiving unlike the past few days in Central Thailand. Bookworm travellers might find this place like a kid to a candystore - bookshops predominate instead of glitzy shopping centers. For those wanting to learn more about Thailand culturally, there are classes in Thai language, Thai cooking, Thai massaging, meditation and even hill-tribe trekkings. Extreme sports like mountaneering, rock climbing, abseiling, shooting the water rapids are abound for those adventurous! Souvenir hunters are not to be left out...read on!

Thank goodness…we didn’t have the usual beer session last night as we would have to wake up at 3 am for the 5-hour journey to Chiang Mai. The cold air of the morning dawn was cold and biting as the Isuzu Hi-Lander 4x4 mazed its way through the darkness! However everyone of us were well prepared with windbreakers. Jeremy was not with us this time as he went to Bangkok last night for an appointment with his friend.


Our trip-by-pickup was unlike the previous trips where we travelled during daytime under the hot scorching sun, our Chiang Mai journey was in complete darkness! Given the condition, we hardly 'talked' with one another. Opportunities to chat (yeah...we sign!) only came when beams of light shined upon us from vehicles following behind!


We stopped by a roadside petrol station near Lampang for refuelling. Some of us went for light snacks of hotdogs and instant hot coffees, not forgetting the anxious rush to the loo. Hotdogs were DIY. Type of flavours included beef, pork, and chicken. Vegetables provided: lettuce, minced onion, sliced tomato and sliced cucumber. We topped our hotdogs with veggies as much as we liked to - there's no minimum amount! Then dressed our creations with sauces: thousand island, tartar, tomato or chilli! Whoooaaaa...great taste! Cost: B19


Two hours later, Chiang Mai town beckoned in the distance! First order of the day was to have a proper breakfast! Us budget travellers headed to the foodcourt where foodstalls abound.

Doi Suthep
First thing in the morning: visited Wat Phra That Doi Suthep perched on a hilltop. This wat is one of the North's most sacred temples and the most touristed too as indicated by the throngs of tourists around. There were Middle Eastern tourists too with their long flowing black robe one-piece dress!arms of many tourists



The main attraction of Doi Suthep!

The site's was 'chosen' by an honoured Buddha relic mounted on the back of a white elephant; the animal wandered until it stopped (and died) on Doi Suthep, the relic's new home.

The short journey to Doi Suthep goes through a hairpin-curved 16km road that ascends the hill to a long flight of steps, lined by ceramic-tailed dragons, that leads to the temple and expansive views of the valley below







Dragon with multiple heads greet visitors.




One of the many souvenir stalls at the foot of Doi Suthep.


Chiang Mai Zoo
With Doi Suthep sightseeing done, some of us wanted to visit the Zoo which is just down the road as they wanted to see for themselves some cute animals that they could only see in Animal Planet channel.





Pygmy hippopotamuses open their wide mouthes begging for titbits - in this case, sweet yam that one must buy (B20 per bundle) from the animal's handler! Gracious ziraffe obliging for a photogenic shot!


Humboldt penguins moved so fast in their air-conditioned enclosure. The moist on the glass wall prevented a good photo opportunity. If only my compact got a fast shutter speed!




The star attraction of this zoo! Despite the separate entrance fee (B50), it was a bit congested inside as there were swarm of tourists taking endless snaps of the pair of pandas! (NOTE: Camera flash is not allowed when taking photographs!)




It was fun and enjoyable to watch these cute and adorable creatures with their playful antics and chasing each others around the enclosure. This was the second time I have seen pandas in person, having done so before years ago at Washington DC Zoo!










After Doi Suthep and zoo walkarounds, our stomaches started to make growl! Whooaaa... time for light snack of noodle soups at this foodstall (again!) outside a shopping center!



Insect food galore ala Fear Factor! Dunno what type of bugs are these but I don't want to know anyway!




Close-up shots of these critters!



"When in Rome, do as the Romans do!" All of us except for Thien (he chickened out!) just went for the experience without any second thought! Want to know what it tasted like? Yummy and crunchy!


Chiang Mai Night Bazaar
Chiang Mai Night bazaar is in fact the biggest tourist attraction, covering multiblock area, as we saw so many farangs (foreigners) looking for bargains! But beware though, as prices are very touristy (READ: expensive), so best to haggle as low as you believe is low enough. This bazaar offers a huge variety of Northern and Northeastern Thai goods: seua maw hawn (blue cotton farmer's shirt), Northern and Northeastern Thai hand-woven fabrics, hill-tribe crafts, woodcarving (figurines, elephants, Teak salad bowls...), antiques, teak hardwood furniture, textiles, jewellery, pottery....the list could be very long as I have not covered all areas! You'll find also some goods from India, Nepal and China on sale here.



Shopping for souvenirs for loved ones back home in Sabah!




Some of the surprises at the bazaar!




We were so darn tired, we actually did not have any problem taking 40 winks in the small space at the back of the truck on the way back Phitsanulok!...haha!



Our 3 AM supper upon arrival in Phitsanulok.


Regrets:
Our only regret was the lack of time as we were on a dayrip. We would have liked to spend 2 more nights here so as to give us more time to visit some of the popular places around Chiang Mai. Well, I think I will want to Chiang Mai again in the near future!

to be continued...