thailand: chilling in chiang mai
after exploring the southern parts of thailand, we decided to have a change of pace. onwards, and northwards 700km to nopburi srinakornping chiangmai. at least thats what it used to be called but fortunately nowadays its just 'chiang mai'.
we met up with our good friends from kenya marcus and lily. we hang out often in nairobi, so it was a bit surreal being together halfway around the globe. surreal good, obviously.
chiang mai has a lot going for it. for one thing, the weather is a bit cooler than bangkok. it also has a rather excellent night market. one attraction was these tanks of creepy fish that eat the dead skin off your feet.
i am such a coward when it comes to putting my feet into a tank of carnivorous fish so there was no one to hold marcus' hand. poor guy.
lily had a large checksheet with the 327 items she wanted to see, and we had 24 hours in which to do it. i kid, her list wasn't that long. so off we went to the bamboo river rafting spot. which i loved - it was so peaceful, rafting down the river, passing elephants happily grazing on the shore.
they even let me have a go. however, after some frantic thai urging and a near miss involving a sandbank, they quickly took back the pole.
next stop on the list: tiger temple! actually, i had mixed feelings about this one. first, a slight correction: tiger temple was actually a different place, run by monks that was shut down last year by the government because of being a cover for animal and animal parts trafficking. there are several places like this in southeast asia, and there are pros and cons: as humans take over more and more land, the natural habitat of such animals is slowly taken away, and the only way they can survive is in captivity. it is estimated that the tiger population has dropped from 100,000 a century ago to less than 4,000 today.
on the other hand, cats don't like being caged up, and many of these cats looked unhappy, pacing back and forth like, well, caged animals.
also, i love how cats look and move, and tigers are the biggest and prettiest of them all. and just like all cats, they have that way of looking at you that says, 'i am only in this cage, because right now thats where i feel like being. and as a bonus, i will let you feed me.'
some of the biggest tigers can be almost 4m (154") in length, and weigh up to 380kg (675lb). tigers aren't just pretty - they are seriously agile, quick and muscular. marcus and lily braved going into one of the cages. but first there was an intensive training regimen:
"you must always, always stay behind the tiger"
"do not make sudden movements"
"never ever ever look it in the face"
"sign this paper here, here and here"
"remember what i said about not looking it in the face"
as soon as they entered the cage, the 3 tigers rearranged themselves in such a way that there was no place you could be without staring at least one of them directly in the face.
fortunately they got out alive. immediately after, we did a quick google search and found dozens of people who were maimed by tigers and were quite grateful that there was still 4 of us in the group. onwards to our next stop! fortunately it was across the road from where we were staying. the famous night market.
chiang mai has always been famous for its handicrafts and did not disappoint - anything you could imagine, and some things that you couldn't, were available for a reasonable price. the hawkers in kenya could learn a lot about tourism from thailand. no aggresive sale tactics, hundreds of middlemen, or nagging and following around here, everyone was absolutely pleasant and lovely to deal with.
we were happy to show marcus and lily how to find the amazing street food. after a couple of weeks we were now experts :) and THANK you lily for your list - i saw a whole lot of stuff i don't think i would have otherwise if you hadn't drawn it up.
one of my favorite photographers is steve mccurry, who took this famous 1984 cover of national geographic. so this guy was doing wonderful huge paintings of the cover, and one day who shows up? mr. mccurry himself. apparently he was quite tickled and took a shot of himself next to the artist.
a nice tip for anyone wandering around in thailand: the temples are a lovely pitstop. they all have beautiful gardens, pleasant seating under the shade of the trees, toilets, and quite often there is a street food vendor outside the gate. there is never a shortage of temples: chiang mai has 800. also, the history of the country is tied up in the temples, so its a lovely history lesson.
all in all, chiang mai was a delightful town. it was recently voted one of the best places to work as an expatriate because of its combination of a laid back vibe, vibrant culture and good access to internet. i can see why.
we met up with our good friends from kenya marcus and lily. we hang out often in nairobi, so it was a bit surreal being together halfway around the globe. surreal good, obviously.
chiang mai has a lot going for it. for one thing, the weather is a bit cooler than bangkok. it also has a rather excellent night market. one attraction was these tanks of creepy fish that eat the dead skin off your feet.
i am such a coward when it comes to putting my feet into a tank of carnivorous fish so there was no one to hold marcus' hand. poor guy.
lily had a large checksheet with the 327 items she wanted to see, and we had 24 hours in which to do it. i kid, her list wasn't that long. so off we went to the bamboo river rafting spot. which i loved - it was so peaceful, rafting down the river, passing elephants happily grazing on the shore.
they even let me have a go. however, after some frantic thai urging and a near miss involving a sandbank, they quickly took back the pole.
next stop on the list: tiger temple! actually, i had mixed feelings about this one. first, a slight correction: tiger temple was actually a different place, run by monks that was shut down last year by the government because of being a cover for animal and animal parts trafficking. there are several places like this in southeast asia, and there are pros and cons: as humans take over more and more land, the natural habitat of such animals is slowly taken away, and the only way they can survive is in captivity. it is estimated that the tiger population has dropped from 100,000 a century ago to less than 4,000 today.
on the other hand, cats don't like being caged up, and many of these cats looked unhappy, pacing back and forth like, well, caged animals.
also, i love how cats look and move, and tigers are the biggest and prettiest of them all. and just like all cats, they have that way of looking at you that says, 'i am only in this cage, because right now thats where i feel like being. and as a bonus, i will let you feed me.'
some of the biggest tigers can be almost 4m (154") in length, and weigh up to 380kg (675lb). tigers aren't just pretty - they are seriously agile, quick and muscular. marcus and lily braved going into one of the cages. but first there was an intensive training regimen:
"you must always, always stay behind the tiger"
"do not make sudden movements"
"never ever ever look it in the face"
"sign this paper here, here and here"
"remember what i said about not looking it in the face"
as soon as they entered the cage, the 3 tigers rearranged themselves in such a way that there was no place you could be without staring at least one of them directly in the face.
fortunately they got out alive. immediately after, we did a quick google search and found dozens of people who were maimed by tigers and were quite grateful that there was still 4 of us in the group. onwards to our next stop! fortunately it was across the road from where we were staying. the famous night market.
chiang mai has always been famous for its handicrafts and did not disappoint - anything you could imagine, and some things that you couldn't, were available for a reasonable price. the hawkers in kenya could learn a lot about tourism from thailand. no aggresive sale tactics, hundreds of middlemen, or nagging and following around here, everyone was absolutely pleasant and lovely to deal with.
we were happy to show marcus and lily how to find the amazing street food. after a couple of weeks we were now experts :) and THANK you lily for your list - i saw a whole lot of stuff i don't think i would have otherwise if you hadn't drawn it up.
one of my favorite photographers is steve mccurry, who took this famous 1984 cover of national geographic. so this guy was doing wonderful huge paintings of the cover, and one day who shows up? mr. mccurry himself. apparently he was quite tickled and took a shot of himself next to the artist.
a nice tip for anyone wandering around in thailand: the temples are a lovely pitstop. they all have beautiful gardens, pleasant seating under the shade of the trees, toilets, and quite often there is a street food vendor outside the gate. there is never a shortage of temples: chiang mai has 800. also, the history of the country is tied up in the temples, so its a lovely history lesson.
all in all, chiang mai was a delightful town. it was recently voted one of the best places to work as an expatriate because of its combination of a laid back vibe, vibrant culture and good access to internet. i can see why.
