Good Bye Viet Nam, Hello Thai Land

Up at 0530 for an early hotel departure to Hanoi airport for yet another border crossing, this time thankfully by air to Thailand. As a result of our earlier mix up with the 15 day Thai visa and the brief excursion into China our route through Asia was reversed so Hanoi became our end point. We’ve heard so much about Northern Thailand that we decided not to miss it so decided to fly to Chiang Mai via Bangkok whereby we get a 30 day VOA before heading back home to the boat. As border crossings go this was a breeze with one exception in that our pre-booked/paid hotel car became a small unpaid taxi. With the airport 35km away our concerns and tempers rose, once the payment was finalised by the hotel and many lame apologies made to us we squeezed in with our luggage and headed off.  A mile down the road the heavens opened up, it was pouring with rain and guess what NO WIPERS!!! in the middle of Hanoi traffic lucky it was still early. The driver pulled over, raced around the back of the car and pulled out a socket set and 2 wipers from god knows where and then proceeded to install them on the side of the road while we watched in amazement, he then got back in the car soaking wet. Why take them off in the first place we asked ???????, he looked at us as if we were both mad, then turned up his radio and sped off. The only conclusion we could reach was that people steal or vandalise wipers here in Vietnam.

Thankfully our 35km trip to Hanoi airport was marginally better than the Thai version available

30 days in Vietnam virtually to the hour was great with the exception of Hanoi which made our arrival in Chiang Mai very refreshing. The Vietnamese especially in the north are quite aggressive in their manner and you have to reciprocate to gain their respect and avoid being taken advantage of and despite the challenges being somewhat entertaining and profitable at times it does become tiresome. The Thais on the other hand are genuinely very friendly and honest especially in the north a total contrast to Vietnam. Communication in Thailand is still very limited and surprisingly much worse than Cambodia, although we did manage to find a good quiet guesthouse with a lovely lady host named Juan who speaks excellent English, is very well educated and has a great sense of humour.

The scenery in Northern Thailand is stunning

Our first night in Chiang Mai was spent the same as usual finding the closest restaurant with the cheapest beer. We found it after wandering through the local night market and to our surprise it was owned by an Aussie named Bob. The food was nice and the beer was cold, not as cheap as in Vietnam but such is life. It was good to talk with another Aussie for a few hours so we got part of Bob’s story and staggered back to the guesthouse about 2300. Gluttons for punishment we returned the next night to hear more of Bob’s story, this time along with another Aussie traveller, Jason, who we met at the restaurant. As the many stories from all participants filled the air it turned into a session and we left the restaurant at 0400 only to find the guesthouse gates closed and our comfortable bed on the other side. Undaunted by the memories of straddling the marina gates on many occasions back in Townsville after similar sessions these gates were much easier to get over or at least we think they were. We collected the key from reception desk and after almost tripping over the guard asleep on the floor under his mosquito net, we finally hit our bed. The next night we ate at an Indian restaurant that didn’t serve any alcohol and in the opposite direction to Bob’s place.

I'm sure this is what Bob served us that night, by the way it's pronounced pee

We stayed another couple of days and did some sightseeing around Chiang Mai which was once the capital city and like all ancient capitals it has a large Citadel approx. 2km square surrounded by a 50m wide moat. Like all Citadels the walls lay on the cardinal axis with an entrance gate located midway along each wall and the main entry on the Eastern wall usually called the “Victory Gate”. Inside the Citadel the streets are very narrow and a hive of activity from market stalls and restaurants to the ever present Buddhist Temples (Wat). In a way it can be described as medieval in appearance as you wander around you could easily think it’s the 14^th century.

An ancient Chedi within the Citadel

We hired a small car for a week and decided to explore some of the country around Chiang Mai. First we headed off on a loop out to the northwest and found a tourist attraction called the Tiger Kingdom. They breed and keep tigers from cubs through to adults and train them to ignore contact with humans similar to domestic cats. This means that anyone other than small children can have personal contact with a small or full size tiger inside an enclosure with a handler. The owners categorically state that they don’t use drugs like other tiger places but even though we paid for a visit we weren’t fully convinced. The tigers didn’t appear drugged or unbalanced, however the older ones did seem very bored with the constant attention and preferred to lie in the shade and try to sleep. Unfortunately the centre seemed more focused on revenue and punter satisfaction than tiger welfare or lifestyle. We believe that the numerous elephant “training” centres have similar agenda so we declined another chance to ride on an elephant’s back.

A magnificant animal but sadly caged forever

Heading further north we stopped at a small town at the foot of the 3^rd highest limestone mountain in Thailand called Chiang Dao. The guesthouse was located in a rainforest well away from any others and the setting was serene with the only noise coming from the birds and cicadas.  We grabbed a bungalow tucked away in the gardens after a quick dip in the pool then headed out to explore a nearby network of caves. The caves were fantastic and we hired a local guide with a lantern to show us the way through. Huge big galleries were joined by small narrow passage ways we had to crawl through and at the end was a 300m deep chasm which contained water that flowed underground below the mountain and out into an external lake.

A bit of a tight squeeze at times between caverns

We then drove to the end of the guesthouse road to a Buddhist temple where we climbed 510 steps up to a memorial cave dedicated to the founding monk who was awarded the highest recognition possible within the monkhood. We thought the feat of building such a monument was unsurpassable in present time till we travelled the next day to a town called Thaton on the banks of the Mae Nam Kok River a tributary of the Mae Nam Kong (Mekong) River where we visited a 9 level temple and memorial that stretched up a hill for 3km. The effort and expense that goes into the building of these religious structures is mindboggling and is evidence of the strong and dedicated Buddhist beliefs of the Thai people. For all the 1000’s of temple complexes in Thailand none are the same, as each one has its own personality and purpose, the understanding of which would take more than one lifetime. Perhaps the monks do have the keys to all the answers??

A wax model of Luang Poo Sim who reached the highest level in monkhood after a lifetime of dedication and worship to Buddha

From here it was up into the Golden Triangle where all the opium was grown for hundreds of years until recent government regulations amended the laws and changed the agricultural habits of the local hill tribes. The only legal high available is to travel up to 1500m where the hill tribes live perched on the side of the steep mountains growing corn, pineapples, tea, bananas and other assorted vegetables. The views down to the surrounding valley plains are incredible. We visited the Hall of Opium a museum on the banks of the Mekong River at the border junction of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar (Burma). The museum instigated by the Kings late mother contained excellent displays depicting the history of the opium trade, wars and ultimate mass addiction of many millions of people in countries worldwide.  Strangely it was the western world which prospered most from the trade and China who suffered the worst. The shoe is now on the other foot so it seems. Beware of the hungry dragon that eats while we sleep.

The scales are made of pressed SS plate and each one is inscribed with the name of a generous benefactor

The size and scale of construction is mindblowing

The monsoon season finally caught up with us and we moved on with a different stop each night at Chiang Rai, Phrae and Lampang before heading back to Chiang Mai. The road this way is less travelled by tourists and it was quite noticeable as the food was ordinary, accommodation basic but expensive and communications very poor. The area had an odd feel about it and the continual rain didn’t help lift our spirits. Because of the rain and lack of any good accessible sightseeing the days were spent driving and laying around in our hotel rooms.

A small boat is the only way home for these locals when the monsoon arrives

Back in Chiang Mai again with 5 days to kill before the first of 2 overnight train trips to Bangkok and Hat Yai close to the Malaysian Border. We decided to have our first Thai massage and our lovely guesthouse owner advised us to go to the old medicine massage school for a proper traditional massage rather than one of the many tourist massage parlours. The massage was excellent and different to the Swedish style we are used to with more limb stretching and pressure point application; there were no happy endings when we both wanted to extend beyond the 1.5hrs we booked. Happy endings of all varieties are optional extras only at the parlours.

The main temple at level 8 Wat Thaton, it has a spiral ramp inside leading up to a viewing platform midway up and masses of buddhas throughout

The next day we were off to a Thai cooking class, yes both of us. The class was made up of 5 other couples from Holland, Italy, France, Ireland, Korea and an excellent Thai teacher named Ann. We learnt how to cook 6 different meals each and all the Thai curry pastes which are essential in Thai food. The course went all day; cost A$30 each and we ate everything we cooked, needless to say we didn’t have to go out for a meal that night.

Guess who?? pounding the chillies to make sexy (hot) curry paste

Well its farewell to Thailand for a few months and back to the boat for some well-earned R&R at Rebak Marina Resort. We have been away from the boat for over 3 months and from Oz for 12 months now although it seems much longer. We have travelled many miles, seen some wonderful sights and had many great experiences. Fortunately this is not the end but just the beginning and hopefully our journey will continue to keep us and you entertained. The blog may become a little quiet for a while and may not be as regular but we will endeavour to keep it active and entertaining.

Bye for now, Beers and Cheers

J&J