The taxi ride across town was easy enough and I even landed in time to catch a bus five minutes later directly to Chiang Mai. However, as is the case with many of the buses in Southeast Asia, the seats on this bus were not meant for someone over six feet tall, and especially not one with a broken collarbone. So, after another nine hour bus ride, I was quite relieved when the bus finally pulled into the Arcade Bus Station outside Chiang Mai. After telling the songthaew driver, a convenient red pickup with bench seats in the back used as taxis in Chiang Mai, that I needed to head to the center of the city, he dropped me at the Tha Pae gate in downtown Chiang Mai. I checked into the Central Guesthouse and slept the rest of the afternoon.
The next day, I got in touch with Dasha, a friend I met in Nha Trang, Vietnam who is teaching English and Russian in Chiang Mai and we agreed to meet. She had been living in Chiang Mai for eleven months and had not done "the touristy stuff." So, we agreed to do something touristy, and I had just the thing in mind. I had heard through the grapevine, and various tourist literature, that there was a local attraction called the Tiger Kingdom a short distance from town where you can, you guessed it, fraternize with live tigers. we agreed to meet in the afternoon and head out of town in a songthaew to meet some kitties. The place was amazing, and in addition to the many tigers they had a stately lion and some beautiful parrots. The tigers were available in different sizes: smallest (cubs), small, medium and large. We chose the big cats, though in retrospect, the cubs were incredibly cute and we both would have loved to play with them. The big cats were amazing and regal, nonetheless. Though very tame, which rumor has it is due to a heavy dose of drugs (which the establishment denies), these tigers are still intimidating creatures. We made our way into the cages with the guide, and a nice German fellow we met in the lobby, and proceeded to pet and rub the belly of this most vicious of felines. It was so incredible to b so close and intimate with such a powerful animal. I had not properly appreciated the size of Bengal tigers, of which these "large cats" were under two years old, and I would be lying to say I wasn't a bit nervous. The guides found it amusing, at one point stepping between two "playing" tigers. I was a bit astonished, but they seemed to not think a thing of it. Yeah, a little stick with some distracting leaves on the end is sure going to do you a lot of good when the tiger has had enough, pal, so I thought.
Back in Chiang Mai after the Tiger Kingdom, we grabbed some amazing Indian food, and parted ways to rest up, before meeting with some other travelers I had met in Nha Trang who also happened to be in Chiang Mai. We grabbed some drinks at a bar before moving to the night club scene at the "Square of Despair," a collection of night clubs in Chiang Mai with an obviously notorious reputation. The four of us, Dasha, myself, and our two friends, one American and a Dutch gal enjoyed some beers and were chatting when I heard the familiar, "What-what what what...What-what what what" and I thought, could it be, then I was sure, it was Thrift Shop, blasting over the speakers at the club in Chiang Mai. A surge of PNW pride ran through me, along with a slight tinge of homesickness, as the beat bumped and lyrics flowed. I asked if everyone at the table knew the song and the resounding response was "Yeah, duh." And, as the Dutch girl finished the chorus, "...this is f**kin' awesome," I thought, yes, this IS f**kin' awesome!
Since I had crossed to Thailand via a land border with Cambodia, I was only granted a fifteen day visa in the country. However, I arrived twenty days before my flight out of Bangkok. Uh-oh. This is a common occurrence and has even spawned a market for visa run packages from local tour shops. All a visa run entails is crossing the Thai border, waiting about thirty minutes, and coming right on back. So, Friday I embarked on a northbound bus headed for Mae Sai on the border with Myanmar. As soon as we exited the bus, a songthaew was waiting for visa-runners headed to the border. After the ten minute ride, we walked across the border, checked in with Myanmar authorities and paid our 500 baht visa fee. After strolling the tourist market, and being hassled by some particularly aggressive Burmese vendors, most of us made it back to the catch the 2:30 bus back to Chiang Mai. At the border, I chatted with an American yoga instructor making his last visa run before heading to teach yoga in India, and an Irishman living in Chiang Mai who has made the visa run many-a-time. Indeed, his passport was full of Burmese and Thai immigration stamps. Why he didn't just get a longer term visa, I am not sure.
The next few days were spent recovering from the ear infection I had from the island, along with some more touring of Chiang Mai of both the local and touristy persuasions. On Saturday, Dasha and I walked the night market street and perused the offerings before grabbing some dinner and amazing pastry desserts from the local vendors. After that we absorbed the local music scene at the best jazz club in Chiang Mai. What a treat that was as the house band was playing an hour long set that we caught from outside the open air club as it overflowed with fellow spectators. A great atmosphere, coupled with tremendous music. That was certainly a treat. Sunday was a slow day, capped by a walk along the even larger Sunday Night Market, with a very wide selection of the work of local craftsmen as well as a great selection of food vendors setup in a central Chiang Mai temple's courtyard. The chicken curry was fabulous, by the way. On Monday, I hopped a songthaew to catch the temple at Doi Suthep outside of Chiang Mai. The hour long ride up the windy hillside roads led to a beautiful, golden hilltop temple with a great balcony for looking out over Chiang Mai. The only downside was the view, or lack thereof, blocked by the increasing seasonal smog due to the burning of farmland in preparation for the new planting season.
Tuesday, my second to last in Chiang Mai, was great fun. Dasha and I met up to learn all about the culinary techniques of northern Thailand in our cooking class. From 9-3:30, we perused the local organic market and cooked six different dishes along with our fellow classmates. The only others to do the full day class were an American family living in Singapore and on vacation in Chiang Mai. Great people, with a wonderful little girl who was quite the enthusiastic culinarian. At least while her interest held, which was until about lunchtime. After making an appetizer, fried dish, soup, entree, dessert and curry, and devouring them all, we were stuffed and content. We decided to retire, with plans to meet up the next day for lunch before I headed back to Bangkok.
Having had a generous helping of Thai food the day before, we decided to mix it up and head to the local Mexican spot. It was, well, pretty much what you would expect of a Mexican restaurant in Northern Thailand. Decent, but nothing like home. Afterwards we headed to the refreshing air conditioned comfort of the local shopping center to indulge in a little dessert of chocolate sundaes. Mmm, those were quite tasty indeed. After that, Dasha had a class to teach, and I a bus to cacth, so we parted ways, hoping to meet again sometime soon, probably not in Northern Thailand!
The last few days in Bangkok were leisurely. After a long night bus, a few of my fellow passengers and I headed to a cafe just off the infamous Khaosan Road to grab a bite, as we were all to early to check in to our respective hostels. Sharing a chat and a coffee and watching the monks collect their alms at sunrise with some great, if brief acquaintances, was a wonderful experience. After breakfast, I shared a taxi down to central Bangkok's Silom district where my hostel was located and crashed for the better part of the day. Having little planned for the afternoon, and it being dreadfully hot and muggy in the Bangkok sun, I decided to turn to the trusty Trip Advisor app for suggestions. And, lo and behold, the number three attaction in all of Bangkok was the cineplex not too far from my hostel. Sold. I headed down to the theater, and though I was not too interested in any of the movies, Olympus Has Fallen caught my eye and I decided to give it a go. The most bizarre part of the experience was standing while a song and montage played celebrating the King of Thailand before the movie started, which I was informed is not in lieu of a national anthem. I tried to picture that happening in America... and couldn't. Speaking of America, after the film where a Secret Service agent (albeit played by an Irishman) saves the President and probably the whole world by thwarting the ruthless terrorist attack being perpetrated on Washington, D.C., I was in a distinctly patriotic mood. What did I do to celebrate? Those most American of activities: overeating at McDonald's. I say overeating not because I ordered an unusually large amount of food, but because all of their food is unusually large and gives you the feeling of overating, even if you don't finish. Needless to say, I checked out for the night.
Friday was spent roaming the streets of Bangkok, including the claustrophobic and disorienting markets of Chinatown and grabbing a few coffees along the way. In the evening I grabbed some food with a Canadian fellow from the hostel and ended with some rooftop beers and chatting with our hostel companions for a few hours in the evening. Great fun, and great conversation.
My second to last day in Southeast Asia, Saturday, was marked by the most backpackery of experiences: a trip to Khaosan Road to enjoy the lively festivities. A few of my fellow hostelmates shared a cab uptown to the notorious road and spent the night with a few beers and good conversation. But, best of all was the people watching. Grabbing a seat and a beer at one of the sidewalk bars provided front row access to the circus. Another night of good company and conversation, as well as an incriminating photo snapped of me munching on a scorpion. Alas, 'twas not meant to be, as I had no interest in digesting a fried bug. Not on that night, and probably not any other.
Finally, after a lazy afternoon in Bangkok, I am headed to Sri Lanka, and then to the sub-continent, for what is surely going to be an adventurous ride.
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