We leave Malaysia using the country’s answer to Southwest Airlines….cheap. Unfortunately for us, the no frills airline forces us to come up with $150 for all our additional baggage. We fly north to the small city of Chaing Mai. The closing of the Bangkok airport has affected the entire country so the city is quiet and we get to enjoy. We check into our hotel, a favorite spot where Deb and Steve have hung before. We are right in the middle of town and the only ones at the hotel!!!!. We visit several temples in our neighborhood. All very interesting and we start to learn about Thai culture. All Thai males become a monk for at least one year of their life. They learn forgiveness, kindness, compassion, acceptance, and selflessness. We also start to see how inexpensive everything is. Lunch for the 4 of us costs about $8.00, including drinks Wow! Massages $10.00 an hour, foot rubs for 30 mins. $3.00. We are only here for one day…..but we’ll be back next week. We head to Mae hong son, an even smaller city Northwest of Chaing Mai. We hop onto a small prop plane with twice the room of our earlier flight, and off we go. The plane is only a third full. The pilot does a complete 360 around the town as we prepare to land. It looks like a small Shangrala village from the air. We check into a small bungalow, again very inexpensive ($18.00 a night, satellite tv, hot and cold showers, and a king bed which turned out to be VERY uncomfortable.)
We are in the center of town across from a small lake and next to the nightly market. The beers of choice here are Chang or Singha, both very good, and we seem to go through several at each sitting. We explore the town, do some shopping and set up our daily activities. By the way, a major event is happening here, the King of Thailand’s birthday. The Thai people LOVE their King, and they celebrate by paying respect and vacationing. No wild parties, just lots of temple visiting and showing respect and gratitude. The Thai people are hoping the King does or says something about the prime minister stepping down. All of the towns are getting things cleaned up, and looking very special.
We decide to head out for an adventure. Thai elephants reside in this part of the country. Michelle and I hop
aboard an elephant and go for a ride. This was a bit too scary for us as we head across the Pai river on the elephants back. We disembark and console ourselves in a natural hot springs. The four of us lounge in the hot springs pool and soak in the minerals and the jungle scenery.
The next day, we have a guide take us to Pai. This is a hip western like town known for good music, cool people, and shopping. On our way, our guide, George, takes us to a Shaman village. We share tea with the people and watch the shaman play his music for us. While he plays his special instruments, he dances. His teeth are red from chewing too much beatlenut. He was also quite the opium smoker in his day. Opium used to be grown is these parts but the government has planted pines so that the opium can no longer take hold here. The shaman enjoyed us as much as we enjoyed him. He spoke with us through an interpreter and reminded us of a delightful leprachan. He told us about his 7 wives. He had separated from 6 of them. If a relationship isn’t right in his culture, you just move on, no negative connotation at all.
We continue off to Pai but when we get there, the town is swarming with tourists. There are no accomodations anywhere. Turns out there is a major film festival. Tents are set up in hotel parking lots. We leave and head off to Chaing Dao (city of diamonds) . The ride over was 4 hours of night time mountainous riding with two people who suffer from car sickness but we made it. What a beautiful place Chaing Dao is. Limestone Mountains tower above us in a jungle like setting. Our hosts are a Thai woman and European man. They have combined luxury and simplicity in our small bungalows with fabulous beds and linens. The food is comparable to 5 star eateries back home. Michelle is in her glory.
We have been visiting temples and hiking jungle treks. Sitting around and reading has also been on the list of activities. Tomorrow is our first massage. Two hours for $20!!!!! We are finally settling in to a slower pace and realizing that there is nowhere to go and no have to be there. It is an interesting way to be.
We are in the center of town across from a small lake and next to the nightly market. The beers of choice here are Chang or Singha, both very good, and we seem to go through several at each sitting. We explore the town, do some shopping and set up our daily activities. By the way, a major event is happening here, the King of Thailand’s birthday. The Thai people LOVE their King, and they celebrate by paying respect and vacationing. No wild parties, just lots of temple visiting and showing respect and gratitude. The Thai people are hoping the King does or says something about the prime minister stepping down. All of the towns are getting things cleaned up, and looking very special.
We decide to head out for an adventure. Thai elephants reside in this part of the country. Michelle and I hop
aboard an elephant and go for a ride. This was a bit too scary for us as we head across the Pai river on the elephants back. We disembark and console ourselves in a natural hot springs. The four of us lounge in the hot springs pool and soak in the minerals and the jungle scenery.The next day, we have a guide take us to Pai. This is a hip western like town known for good music, cool people, and shopping. On our way, our guide, George, takes us to a Shaman village. We share tea with the people and watch the shaman play his music for us. While he plays his special instruments, he dances. His teeth are red from chewing too much beatlenut. He was also quite the opium smoker in his day. Opium used to be grown is these parts but the government has planted pines so that the opium can no longer take hold here. The shaman enjoyed us as much as we enjoyed him. He spoke with us through an interpreter and reminded us of a delightful leprachan. He told us about his 7 wives. He had separated from 6 of them. If a relationship isn’t right in his culture, you just move on, no negative connotation at all.
We continue off to Pai but when we get there, the town is swarming with tourists. There are no accomodations anywhere. Turns out there is a major film festival. Tents are set up in hotel parking lots. We leave and head off to Chaing Dao (city of diamonds) . The ride over was 4 hours of night time mountainous riding with two people who suffer from car sickness but we made it. What a beautiful place Chaing Dao is. Limestone Mountains tower above us in a jungle like setting. Our hosts are a Thai woman and European man. They have combined luxury and simplicity in our small bungalows with fabulous beds and linens. The food is comparable to 5 star eateries back home. Michelle is in her glory.
We have been visiting temples and hiking jungle treks. Sitting around and reading has also been on the list of activities. Tomorrow is our first massage. Two hours for $20!!!!! We are finally settling in to a slower pace and realizing that there is nowhere to go and no have to be there. It is an interesting way to be.
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