Tonights sunset in Chiang Mai! It's good to be out of Bangkok!
Mmmmm....more delicious Thai street food!
Nightime...Shh.....its so peaceful in Thailand's 2nd largest city!
Temple across from our rented apartment.
Sunset from our front porch! Not too shabby for 250 baht / night (less than 10 bucks for AC, hot water and cable)
A nice hidden alleyway off the main street. I wish bamboo would grow like this in Colorado!
A little overwhelmed with getting to the train station in Bangkok!
Which train is ours?Took the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai...Northern Thailand near Burma (Myanmar) Laos and China. What was scheduled to be a 12 hour train took 15, but we were delighted that the seats we had bough were also beds! Ahhhh... rest for the wicked! (finally...)
From my journal:
"ratcheting down the rails away from the heat and bustle of Bangkok we rocked. Left to right. The motion was set and tonight i would be rocked back to sleep after a 25 year hiatus. Pickup up sleep where I could the pre-dawn light enticed me with misty mountain fog and lush, but still sunless rainforests. The mist veiled canopy of the moonlit yearning for the morning light to replace the night. Mountains of vine covered limestone peered up from their soft pillow of sleep and midnight dreams. Clicktey-Clack, Chang, Chang, Chang we ambled along through villages and towns. Slowly up we rose into the emerald canopy, thick with bamboo gently bowing to greet the the new day. Ravines and waterways pass underneath as we roll onward, fuled by diesel and dreams. "
We arrived in Chiang Mai safely. Unharmed by the possibility of wild Bengal tigers and railway thieves! Have you ever had to use the toilet on the 2nd class (or heaven forbid, 3rd class!) trains in a 3rd world country?! ITs a delight! Thankfullymy buisness was limited as a I was gifted with the hardware which allows me to pee while standing! The toilets really are not...they are simply holes welded out of the bottoms of the train car floor which allow your deposits, waste etc... to fall directly to the train tracks below. No flushing, no rinsing...no NOTHING! No pictures even... i feared the loss of my camera too much. Perhaps on the way back to bangkok in a few weeks i will brave the photo op.
Chiang Mai is gorgeous. The old city is surrounded by a moat, and the best temples and hidouts are inside! The clubs, discos and commerce areas are all outside the moat leaving an old world charm within. As we have just arrived this morning and have been negotiating our way around in the back of a Suakonthong (SP?) (pickup truck with a cage around it) I haven't been out to explore. My photos are limited to today only!
More to come im sure! We have arranged for a 3 day trek in the hill tribes that live near the border of Burma (Myanmar) which will allow us to see a side of Thailand rarely experienced by most. Part of our journey will be on the back of an elephant to a remote camp in the rain forest! Let's hope I brought enough bug spray!
4 comments:
I'd have to say, your journal entry makes the train ride seem like a wonderful respite from the burdens of travel. THEN you shocked me back to reality with the "bathroom" ("bathHOLE"??) description. Nice.
I'm addicted to your blog! With the exception of the potential future picture of the "bathHOLE", all of your pictures are totally postcard worthy! I feel like I'm with you smelling all the smells, seeing all the sights and walking the walk in your shoes right beside you. I love the journal entry...keep those coming. And ps, I want to hear more about this Chinese Siamese! :)
I meant Thai Siamese! Either way, Charvie knows he's not a real ninja and gets his tuna from a can...
so the old city is the better part of the city? and the new city (outside the walls) is the part of the city that has all the dancehalls and stuff are on the outside? Did they not go to discos hundreds of years ago or what? I liked the train station picture a lot! It would have been very interesting to see the old part of the city and the new part of the city as well. People have told me that Jerusalem is like that and I would very much desire to see that city.
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