8/11/10 (chiang mai)

Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai

After spending an entire week in Chiang Mai we headed up north to Chiang Rai. We both really liked Chiang Mai and agreed it was our favorite Thai city. Staying at Mr. Sak’s, gave us a reprieve from the tourist center, and having a car, gave us the freedom to roam the city, which made all the difference in our experience.

We had gotten to know Mr. Sak during our time there and can only describe him as a jolly man who showed no worries. Even when we changed our plans last minute to stay another day he was more than accommodating. We offered to wash the dishes in the restaurant, which brought a roll of laughter from him and the staff. Before we left we filled up the car with gas and took it for a carwash. One of his passions is vintage cars and he owns four Mercedes Benz all over forty years old. My favorite is the bright gold one with matching gold lock/unlock buttons. He takes immaculate care of his cars and his driving is a force to be reckoned with on the mean streets of Chiang Mai. He drove us to the bus station and as we parted ways he invited to come back every year to stay with him. As a token of our appreciation we bought him a shirt from the night bazaar, which I hope he likes and will wear.

We were experts on bus rides and were prepared for anything and everything the Thai buses had to give us. Surprisingly the bus ride was one of the more pleasant ones we had been on. We went with a company called The Green Bus Company and they provided everyone with a bottle of water and a pack of cookies. It was also one of the newer buses and after playing Thai music for about an hour, not even at a blaring volume, they had shut it off. We couldn’t be happier.

After three hours we arrived in Chiang Rai, which looks like a smaller version of Chiang Mai and was a little sleepy town. We checked into the Orchids Guest House at $12/night with a/c, tepid hot water, and blazing fast internet. I grabbed a light lunch for us while Jon worked with Pai on how to get the remaining software he needed. Pai offered to send us the software saving us a bundle because we otherwise would’ve needed my sister to send the Time Machine from Los Angeles to Chiang Rai. We needed to extend our time in Chiang Rai to wait for the package from Pai but luckily at $12/night it was within our budget to stay an extra few days.

We both took a nap to refresh ourselves since the last twenty-four hours had been stressful trying to deal with the hard drive crash. We ventured to the night bazaar for dinner where there was live music. There were four singers dressed in traditional Chinese robes lip singing to Thai music. We are pretty sure one of them was a lady-boy. It’s always an adventure at the night bazaars. After filling our bellies with noodle soup, fried noodles, vegetable tempura, beef meatballs, coconut shake, and a jug of Singha we were ready to call it a night.

What started off, as a disaster with the computer crash, is becoming something of a minor inconvenience and delay. Things are looking up.

As a side note, Mr. Sak has bungalows that he rents at various rates depending on the season. He has rooms suitable for one person to families. He has no website so it's only by referral. His bungalows are in the midst of a forest-like atmosphere and is located about 10 minutes from the city center. If you are interested in a bungalow please call him at 08-1882-3390 (international code not included).

8/10/10 (chiang mai)

Chiang Mai

I knew at 2am that I was in trouble. I was pressing hard to finish the New Zealand recap video. I had been at it for days and I was just finishing up the sound design and it would be ready to upload to the world. This project had been bittersweet for me over the last five months. I was excited about the wonderful video captured but also stressed out due to the vast amount of footage and less than ideal working conditions. I had buckled down with Annie’s encouragement and I could taste the end. Then my computer started acting up. In the Mac community they call it the beach ball of death. It is a rainbow colored ball that spins as your computer freezes and I was seeing this ball on a frequent basis. My editing software was freezing and the audio was acting very strange. I ran the disk utility, which often fixes problems but it came back with an error message and suggested I needed the install DVD disk to fix my corrupted hard drive. The install disk was buried in a dark San Francisco basement along with a thousand other things Annie and I packed before we left the states. It was out of reach but I quickly came up with a plan. Being a Mac nerd, I had seen an authorized Apple service center as we explored Chiang Mai two days prior. My plan was to wake up early and borrow an install disk from the service center to fix my problem and then get to the bus station for our departure to Chiang Rai at 10:30am. 

I got a few hours of sleep and then woke Annie up early and explained the situation. We quickly got ready and explained everything to Mr. Sak who suggested we speak to the bus company to see if we could get on a later bus. We agreed and before heading to the service center, we stopped at the bus terminal. Annie explained the situation to the bus agency and they informed us there were no more buses on this day and the small bus was booked for tomorrow. There was availability on the larger bus that stopped more frequently and took a little longer. We agreed this would be okay and then watched as the agent sold our bus tickets to a Westerner and a Thai. We purchased tickets for the following day and felt thankful we were able to get our money back. 

Our next stop was the Apple service center. We explained the situation and after a few tests, I received a lot of cryptic looks for the staff. I had a sinking feeling. Fortunately while I was in Bangkok, I had backed up my entire system including all the photos from our trip. The unfortunate part was this drive was on the slow boat to America and would arrive in October. No easy restore in my near future. The problem turned out to be the hard drive, which was failing. After running the diagnostics, my system wouldn’t even boot. We decided to replace the hard drive and that would have me up and running within a few hours but I would lose my music, photos, and specialized video editing software. We left the computer and returned to explain the situation to Mr. Sak and ask if it would be okay to stay an additional day. 

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8/9/10 (chiang mai)

Chiang Mai

Jon took the opportunity to have Miguel’s again for lunch since it’s hard to find good Mexican food in Asia. The food is really spicy to cater to the Thais though we usually see more foreigners than locals. I ventured to a local noodle shop nearby. It’s always an adventure ordering since most noodle shop owners don’t speak English. One of the monks taught me how to order noodle soup in Thai. I tried it once but the people were still confused so instead I use a lot of facial expressions and finger pointing. Luckily they only have a few items on the menu and you can’t go too wrong if you just point to a sign.

After lunch we ran errands to we prepare for our trip to Chiang Rai. We bought our bus ticket and decided to splurge on the VIP tickets, which was $8 per person. It was worth the extra three dollars for a direct route to Chiang Rai and no Thai music. Then we headed to the post office and bank.

Since we walked away from the night market yesterday empty handed we went to the night bazaar today to find a gift for Mr. Sak. It is amazing how much shopping you can do since the night bazaar happens every night and then on the weekends there is a special night market. All the markets sell the same things and my guess is the vendors are at all the various locations. As soon as we arrived at the bazaar we saw the same shirt we were going to buy for Mr. Sak. It was a different lady than the day before and after some friendly negotiation I saved thirty cents. I could’ve bargained harder but with time running out we needed to get something.

With all our errands done we returned to Mr. Sak’s place. Jon worked until the wee hours of the night to put the final touches on the video.

8/8/10 (chiang mai)

Chiang Mai

In the morning Jon continued editing the New Zealand video with hopes he can, as he calls it, “give birth” to it before we leave Chiang Mai. The last few days before the sending it out to the world is always stressful but Jon was hanging in there. While I waited on the sidelines I continued to update our daily details page.

As the afternoon rolled around we set out to find a place for Jon to record his voice over. Mr. Sak gave us a few suggestions but Jon had a place in mind. We drove to the Night Safari park where he had seen a temple perched high in the mountain. When we arrived at the temple we were pleasantly surprised to see a huge Buddha statue perched on the mountaintop. It was the biggest one we had seen so far. The temple overlooked the entire city. There were a lot of gongs in the temple for people to ring as they said their prayers so needless to say it wasn’t the quietest place to be.

On our way down from the temple Jon found a deserted parking lot that would make do for him to record his voice over. He spent the next twenty minutes recording his recap of New Zealand. It wasn’t the perfect setting but it was as close as we were going to get. After the recording we went back to one of our favorite temples, Wat Suan Dok, to record my recap of Thailand. We arrived just as the sun was setting so it was the perfect light to do the recording. But it was also really hot and humid and facing the sun was not an ideal setting for me. I was wiping my sweaty face with a tissue in between takes and ended up with tiny white tissue remnants all over my face. Now I know why actors have stand-ins for certain situations. I’m hoping Jon can do some Photoshop magic on my face in postproduction.

After the interview we headed to the Sunday walking street in search of a gift for Mr. Sak. He has been extremely generous with us and we wanted to find a way to express our gratitude. We saw a dress shirt we thought would look nice on him. It is common practice, if not expected, that you bargain when buying anything on the street except for food. I started to bargain with the lady and usually it goes back and forth a few times before a price is agreed upon. The lady only lowered her price once and refused to go any further. There was a Thai man buying a similar shirt and I waited to see how much he paid for it. I think the lady knew what I was doing and refused to bargain with me anymore. The shirt wasn't that expensive but out of principle I walked away.

As we continued along the street, we could sense the rain coming but we were determined in our pursuit. Within seconds of a few raindrops it started to pour. We were left in the open with no umbrella. We took our chances and made a run for the car, which was much much farther than we remembered. Half way to the car we bought an umbrella but by then we were both soaking wet. We had been very lucky not to be caught outside in the middle of the rain but I guess it’s not really rainy season if you are not soaked at least once in Asia. We had gone through the initiation process. With our clothes soaking wet we headed home to dry off.

8/7/10 (chiang mai)

Chiang Mai

At one of the monk chats a monk suggested two temples for us to visit. We told them we were looking for quiet temples with not a lot of people. He said they were secret temples, which we thought would be perfect places to do Jon’s voice over of New Zealand. When we looked in the Lonely Planet guidebook we found out one of them was a forest temple and the other one was the most visited temple in the city. I guess there must have been a miscommunication.

We drove to Wat U Mong, the forest temple since it was the farthest one away. I can see how the monk called it a secret temple since we had gotten lost and it was really difficult to find compared to the other temples. The forest temple had tunnels leading to small shrines and above the temples was a large stupa. It was quiet and we considered recording an interview. As we were walking to the car to get our gear the monks started their chanting session over a loud speaker. Guess there goes that idea.

We then headed to the most visited temple, Wat Phra Singh. Inside the temple there was a monk sitting among the statues. He was sitting so still that he looked like the statue next to him. We had visited a lot of temples and by this time they were all starting to look alike. We needed an energy boost so stopped into a coffee shop for a caffeine fix.

We were ready for something different and decided to check out the Saturday walking street. They close down an entire street to vehicle traffic and vendors set up shop along the road. There were food, clothing, souvenir, and drinks stalls along with street performers. I bought two new shirts since we started traveling and was in need of new clothes. After some encouragement from Jon I spent $35 and walked home with a skirt, three tops, one pair of flip-flops and four tank tops. Not a bad deal and it felt good to splurge on myself. Jon bought a few Thai CD’s which he is hoping to use for his video. As we were heading back to our car we could feel a change in the wind, a sign that the rain was coming. Just as we got to our car there was a huge downpour.

Feeling lucky and adventurous we checked out a live band at the Good View, a restaurant along the river. The Thai cover band played classic and contemporary rock tunes. I ordered a Thai whiskey since I had heard that it is popular among the locals since it’s very inexpensive.  A glass of whiskey was $2 but a bottle was only $5! After the Good View we walked to another bar right next door called Riverside. It was a rocking joint filled with young Thais on a Saturday night. As we walked in we felt two years too old and the band were taking a break so we headed home instead.

Nonetheless it felt good to have a night out in town.

8/6/10 (chiang mai)

Chiang Mai

We felt good about our two days of sightseeing and decided to take an R&R day. It was raining all morning and the perfect day to stay indoors. We may have taken a break from sightseeing but we had a lot of work to do. Jon and I both wrote two daily detail updates and he continued to power through the New Zealand video. We spent five weeks in New Zealand and captured a lot of footage so the video is a challenging one to edit. One of the challenges is that Jon didn’t like his interview so he did a voice over but it sounds different from my interview since mine was done outdoors. We have been trying to find a quiet outdoors place with no motorcycles, chickens, frogs, or people but it’s not easy.

We nestled in our room the entire morning working hard and took a break to have lunch at Mr. Sak’s restaurant. He was very excited to see us and hear about our adventures from the day before. We have eaten at Mr. Sak’s every day and enjoy the food there. It is reasonably priced, good food portions, and the food is tasty. Today he offered us Thai ice cream made from coconut milk with bits of sweet corn. I love ice cream so I couldn't turn down his offer. It was delicious and not as sweet as American ice cream.

After lunch we continued working. We have been trying to decide where to go next. The dilemma is money. We originally planned on visiting Laos and Vietnam but along our travels we have added Burma and India. With Thailand being in the middle we had to decide to which way to go first. We also had to consider what is the best and cheapest way to get to Taiwan. I spoke with my sister a few days ago to give her an update and she suggested that we fly to Taiwan and then she would accompany us to Hong Kong and China. She has been there several times and is familiar with the area. I spent the afternoon researching various options.

In the evening we went to the Chiang Mai Night Safari, which is an animal park where the animals roam free on the grounds. The more docile animals come right up to the tram while the ferocious ones are fenced in though each section is gated. When we arrived at the park we drove through a sanitation station. It was a ditch filled with water. I am not sure if it was supposed to sanitize our car tires since the water seemed pretty filthy. As we parked our car there were deer enjoying the sunset along the road. The park was much bigger than we anticipated and it appeared that they spent a lot of money building it. It was supposed to attract the middle class tourists though I am not sure the idea ever took off. We rode in an open-air tram touring the grounds. It was hard to see at night since they only flash the lights when we were in certain areas to show us the animals and the tram stopped for a few seconds at each place. We saw some amazing animals, many we hadn’t even heard of before such as barasinghas, gorals, serows, and gaurs. The most tenacious were the wild yaks who kept following beside the tram because the driver was feeding them. There was a huge wild yak about four feet long. After the safari ride we stayed for the laser and water show, which was okay. Overall it was a pretty good trip and we were very lucky that it didn’t rain since it had rained every evening.

8/5/10 (chiang mai)

Chiang Mai - Mae Sa Valley - Chiang Mai

By my standard we woke up early in the morning at 7am to get ready for our day. We were going to the elephant camp about an hour away at Mae Sa Valley and had to be there before the show at 9:30am. We checked in with Mr. Sak before leaving who gave us directions on how to get to the camp. Along the way we got a bit turned around on the road but found the camp with plenty of time to spare. We are always a little weary of going to animal camps or farms since there is a reputation that the animals are not treated very nicely. Pai recommended the elephant camp and said that the elephants do amazing things. When we arrived there were a row of fifteen elephants each with their own trainer, called mahout. There was a wall listing each elephant and its own mahout. It is said that a very special bond is formed between the elephant and its mahout. We watched people feed the elephants bananas and sugar canes. Some of the elephants got impatient with the people taking too long untying the bundle of sugar canes that they just grabbed the whole bundle with their trunk and shoved into their mouth. There was a very cute little girl about four years old feeding an elephant at the far end of the stable away from the crowds. She was nervous and excited at the same time. I’m sure the elephant was feeling the same thing.

The beginning of the show started with the elephants taking a bath in the river. The mahout instructed the elephants to lie down and the mahouts poured water on the elephants and scrubbed their bodies. I think the elephants liked the baths so much that they would let themselves go and poop in the river. If you have never seen an elephant poop it is about the size of a softball. There were women standing at the edge of the river with baskets scooping up the poop. If you ever thought you had a crummy job just think of theirs!

Then we entered an open stadium where the elephants performed all sorts of acts from kicking a soccer ball into the net with an elephant as the goalie to playing harmonicas using their trunks. The most impressive thing was watching them paint. Their mahout handed them different color paintbrushes. Some painted stems with different color flowers on each one of them and it was amazing the control they exhibited with their trunks. One elephant painted a view of the mountains and it even had a dimensional effect to it. It was incredible! The paintings were available for sale afterwards. All of them were $67 US each except for the mural of the mountains, which was selling for $200. I would have seriously considered buying one of them if we were able to carry them around easily in our travels. The most amazing one was a huge mural that was selling for $10,000. I would like to meet the elephant who painted that canvas. After the show we walked to visit their newest addition to the park. An elephant had given birth to a baby girl elephant five months ago. The mom and the baby were kept far away from the other elephants and crowds. The baby was rambunctious and several times tried to put her mahout into a corner and kick him with her hind legs. The mahout had to be careful and would hit her legs when she did so. I guess the baby elephant had a lot of learning to do.

After a full morning with the elephants we headed to lunch at a boutique hotel called Proud Phu Fah that I had read about in Lonely Planet. The hotel was tucked away in the valley and had an open-air restaurant with a view of the valley. We had a very relaxing lunch so much so that we considered asking them if we could take a nap before heading off. If someone was looking to unwind and get away with very little to do this was the perfect place.

Along the way to the elephant camp we passed by a tiger farm that Jon was curious to check out so we drove back to the tiger farm. The place was such a contrast to the elephant camp. It was one of the most modern and sophisticated entrances to an animal park we had ever seen. There were TV screens showing you various packages. The packages depended on what size tigers you wanted to see and how many ranging from $10-$66 and higher to spend ten minutes with each tiger. The most expensive was a visit to the baby tigers. We felt it was too commercialized and a profit center. The tigers looked like they had been drugged, which is likely considering they probably don’t enjoy lines of people coming up to the them to take pictures. I felt bad for the tigers.

By this time we were feeling groggy and needed a nap. We considered going back to Mr. Sak’s place for a nap but were also interested in a monk chat at another temple. We had become monk chat junkies. We headed into town to find the temple. I took a quick nap in the car to recuperate while Jon enjoyed a chocolate latte at a nearby coffee shop. After a quick nap and caffeine surge we headed to the monk chat. We found several foreigners talking to monks. We sat at one of the tables with a few monks and quickly developed a friendly rapport with them. They were all university monk students and were as curious about us as we were about them. We met a lively young monk nicknamed Tiger who shared with us his reasons for being a monk. He is from a village close to the Laos border and is learning English so he can go back to his village to teach the children. Many of them were intrigued that someone, like me who looked like them, can speak English so fluently. They envied Jon’s pale skin tone while we tried to explain to them that westerns spend tons of money to get tanned skin. We tried to explain a tanning salon but I don’t think they understood the concept. Jon approached one of the more fluent English speaking monks for an interview for our blog. He was nervous being on camera since it was his first interview.

After spending a few hours with our monk friends we decided to head home. On our way home we stopped for dinner. Jon was in the mood for Miguel’s Mexican while I settled for some local food. For dessert we got a fresh juice shake along with a banana and chocolate rotee. A rotee is what I would describe as an Indian fried crepe filled with any topping you like and most order it with condensed milk and/or chocolate on top. It was a sweet ending to a full day.

8/4/10 (chiang mai)

Chiang Mai

After a full night’s rest and a few hours of reacquainting ourselves with driving a car yesterday we were ready to explore the city. Before leaving Mr. Sak provided us with clear instructions on how to reach our destination. He reminded me a lot of my father with his exactness in driving and road conditions. He would tell us when to turn on a road based in kilometers and the road conditions to expect along the way. His kindness touched our hearts.

Our first stop was the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, considered one of the most sacred temples in the north. To reach the temple we drove up a summit, which reminded us of the roads in New Zealand. In some parts there were only two lanes though it was only as wide as one car and it was very lush and green everywhere. Once we got to the base of the temple there were 306 steps waiting for us. There is also a tram you can take instead of walking the steps but we figured we were young and fit enough to tackle the steps. Luckily, the step were evenly spaced out and seemed newly constructed versus the steps at the temple in Battambang. After catching our breath we walked around the temple. In the center of the temple is a huge shrine encased in gold. There was construction going on so it didn’t make for the best photo spot but it was still an amazing sight. Around the shrine there were smaller prayer rooms with statues of various deities. In one of the rooms there was a monk offering blessings to people. After the blessing people approached the monk for a wristband made from yarn. In the Thai tradition women are not supposed to get close to the monks or have any physical contact with them so the only the men went to the monk to get the wristbands while the women went to an assistant sitting next to the monk.

Mr. Sak recommended that we visit the royal family’s winter palace after the temple. When we arrived there were about a hundred middle school children waiting to enter the palace. We decided to grab some lunch and wait for the crowd to thin out. But then a thick layer of fog rolled in and we figured if we went into the palace it would be hard to see anything. We skipped the palace and continued on the road to a Hmong village. There were two villages mentioned in the guidebook and one was off the beaten path so we decided to explore the road less taken. It did prove to be less explored as the paved road turned into gravel roads and became treacherous in some parts. When we arrived at the Hmong village it looked as if it was deserted. There were only a few people near a roadside convenience shop. We did see a lot of dogs and they laid around looking lethargic. They weren’t too curious about us and we had to weave around them on the road since they didn’t even bother to get up. We decided to drive further down the road and stumbled upon an elementary school. There were some people knitting but it didn’t appear that they spoke any English. We saw the biggest rooster ever standing on top of its wooden cage staring down at its little chicken subjects. There were wooden houses, some look like they had been built decades ago and not in the best conditions, along dirt paths and surprisingly there were solar panels next to some of the houses. I was surprised to see solar panels, which is a modern invention, in a village that appeared to have been unchanged for decades.

As we headed back to the city we made a pit stop at a coffee shop along the hillside near the Hmong village. The shop overlooked the valley and reminded us of some of the places we had been on our travels. Continuing down the road we made another stop at a vista point overlooking the city. We didn’t realize how big Chiang Mai was even though it is the second biggest city in Thailand. In the distance we saw two rainstorms approaching the city from different directions. It was an awesome view.

One of the things we had been curious about was how the monks lived in Thailand. Every morning you see monks going out to get their daily meals from the public. The monks will go from shop to shop to collect food or money and in return offer the shops a blessing. It had been hard to talk to monks since we are not sure if we can approach them to ask questions and if they speak English. So when we found out about monk chats we were very excited. There are a few temples that have a Buddhist university attached them. The universities created monk chats as a way for monks to practice their English and for foreigners to ask questions about monk life and Buddhism. We visited Wat Suan Dok where there was a monk chat from 5-7pm. We sat around a table with monks from Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos. We met a monk from Cambodia who was the most talkative though some were just there to practice their listening skills. It was interesting to hear his perspective on Cambodia as he was about seven years old when the Khmer Rouge was coming into power. We also learned that the color the monks wear doesn’t have any significance though many of them choose the yellowish orange color as it resembles the mature life cycle of a leaf. Overall it was an engaging experience and opened our minds.

After a long day of exploring we were ready to head back to Mr. Sak’s restaurant to have some dinner. He was very excited to hear about our day and impressed with our determination to climb the temple steps. He also helped us plan our next day of sightseeing in kilometers.

8/3/10 (chiang mai)

Chiang Mai

Annie and I woke up to the swaying of the train and the banging of the bathroom door. It was a rainy morning as the train raced through the Thai countryside. We arrived at the Chiang Mai train station at 11am. Both Annie and I were feeling tired. Annie had trouble sleeping and felt a little disoriented when she stepped off the train much like setting foot on land after a long and wavy boat ride. I feel like Ambien sleep isn’t real sleep. I like to call it fake sleep because I feel like it isn’t a deep sleep. We were met by Mr. Sak, who is the father of our friend Pai from Bangkok. Pai had arranged for us to stay with his  father while we were visiting Chiang Mai. Mr. Sak eagerly greeted us and escorted us to his car. We loaded our luggage and were off to Mr. Sak’s restaurant and bungalows called Khun Chai Kitchen. We got a brief glimpse of downtown Chiang Mai and Mr. Sak pointed out many areas of interest. When we arrived we were shown to our accommodations and quickly got settled. It was lunch time and we visited the restaurant. We had a good lunch and then headed back to our room to rest for the afternoon. At 4pm we decided to explore the downtown area of Chiang Mai and Mr. Sak had armed us with a car and directions. I had not driven a car since we were in Australia roughly three months ago and Asia driving has a unique ebb and flow. I am going to go down a politically incorrect path but most people know the bad reputation Asians get for driving in the United States. It all makes perfect sense to me now having spent the last three months in Asia. It is very different from US driving. For instance when entering the flow of traffic, most drivers don’t stop to wait for a break into the traffic. To me it feels more like a short yield with the expectation that you will let them in. In America this would result in a lot of swearing and probably a few middle fingers. In Asia, it is customary and no one seems to mind. You also have to contend with the thousands of motor bikes weaving in and out of lanes. They really come at you from all directions. It is a unique free flow much unlike the more proper US system. Rules are bent but it all seems to work. I will cut the Asians a little more slack having seen what it is like on their home turf. 

The city center of Chiang Mai is surrounded by a square moat and we did a short loop inside the inner city. The town itself it a lot larger than I anticipated and has a population of two million people. It reminds me of Siem Reap in many ways as it was the center of Cambodia before Phnom Penh. Both Phnom Penh and Bangkok became the capital due to its close proximity to the sea. The city has many ancient temples mixed with many modern buildings. The town is loaded with restaurants and is very tourist oriented. After driving around for 30 minutes we discovered a school supply store and I picked up some paper and pens for a writing project and then decided to head back to have some dinner. We had several days to explore and decided to return when we felt a little fresher. On the way back I spotted a little Mexican restaurant called Miguel’s to have dinner. I never turn down a chance for Mexican, a true rarity in Thailand. After dinner it started pouring and luckily we were very close to the Khun Chai Kitchen. We quickly ducked into our room and were in for the night. We spent a little time planning some areas for exploration and were off to bed for a much needed sleep. 

8/2/10 (bangkok)

Bangkok - Chiang Mai

This was our final day in Bangkok as we were headed out to Chiang Mai via the overnight train. These long trips are always an adventure and we were excited to try our first train ride. I woke up early to put the final touches on my New Zealand edit and Annie worked to tidy up Paul’s condo. We gathered the items to be sent back to the states including 3 autographed Principles of Thai Cookery books, a Cambodian and Bali Lonely Planet, a back up hard drive, and a canister of Malaysian tea. After a quick lunch at Top’s Market, our favorite neighborhood grocery store, we were off to seek out the Thai post office. It is rainy season and as we navigated the neighborhood streets the rain poured in sheets. Luckily Paul had two umbrellas in his condo that helped us stay dry. We found this obscure post office tucked behind a large bank and the Thai employees worked hard to bridge the language gap to help us deliver our large package to America. It cost $50 US and we have lightened the load on our travels. After the post office, Annie and I split up to run our own errands. Annie had a credit at a used book store she was going to cash in and I was off to the Emporium mall to shop for some new hiking shoes. I purchased a pair of Gore-Tex Solomon’s before leaving the US. I had used them for several session of Basic Training before leaving to break them in as well as a few hiking adventures during our travels. The problem was that because they were packed deep within my suitcase they never really had a chance to dry out and began to stink. I am sure the Gore-Tex contributed to this as well. They were not breathable. I had soaked them several times and sprayed them with Fabreze in Australia to no avail. I wanted to hold onto them because they were very expensive to replace in Asia. I had them tucked away in a plastic bag deep in my suitcase and that seemed to keep them subdued. It was very muggy in Bangkok and when we left the air conditioning off at Paul’s things began to smell a little funky. By process of elimination we determined it was the shoes and I felt pretty embarrassed that the smell was my own. I quickly decided to retire the shoes and made a trip to the mall to find some new ones. After an hour, I was unable to find a suitable replacement and decided to see if I could find something in Chiang Mai. When I returned to the condo, Annie and I completed our final clean up and made our way to the train station. We took the Sky Train to the subway and arrived in a half hour. It is always an adventure navigating the subway stairs and turn styles with a sizable amount of luggage. We arrived at the train station an hour early and had purchased our tickets a few days prior. We settled into some seats and I enjoyed some Thai music videos on a jumbotron as Annie searched out some dinner. Annie went with her customary noodle soup and I then settled for some KFC and two Dunkin’ Donuts for dessert. It was a mad dash when the time came to board the train and I waited last to step aboard. It was much like boarding an airplane as you struggle a narrow corridor trying to squeeze past people busily loading their luggage into the appropriate bins. The main difference between an airline and the train was that everyone has all of their luggage and I worked hard to roll my main suitcase around all of the obstacles. Our seats were the first in the car and after a few minutes of settling in a Thai attendant kicked us out of our seats and unfolded and made our beds. We settled in for a bumpy Thai style ride up to Chiang Mai. I took an Ambien and looked forward to exploring Thailand’s oldest city tomorrow.