We're going to miss Thailand ! Our last 2 weeks in the North, a bit more away from mass tourism, have been incredible. We met some wonderful people, learned a lot about the Thai culture and also the specific customs and beliefs of the various hill tribes that populate the northern regions of Thailand....

After Lopburi and Sukothai, we went to Chiang Mai, compulsory stop on the tourist tour of Northen Thailand. It is a charming city, with an historic centre surrounded by old walls and filled with temples. Smaller than Bangkok, it has a very chilled and relaxed atmosphere. No more : "Want Tuk-tuk ?...massage ?....tailormade suits ?...?!!" shouts at every street corners !! :)
We met a great bunch of travellers, whom we spent most of our time with there. One of our key highlights : an "educational" chat with young monk novices. Every 2 evenings the monks open the door of the temple for foreigners to come and chat with monks for 2 hours, for free. They practice English, and we learn more about Buddhism and their beliefs system. Win win !
But boys being boys, 20mn after the start of our chat on Buddhism philosophy Andy managed to orientate the conversation onto football, which lasted for the remaining 1.30 ! So I don't know about knowing much more about Buddhism but it gave us a great insight on the life of those young novices who in spite of their strict way of life, are like any other young boys, passionate about football and music, and struggling to concentrate during meditation classes :)

Our second highlight was our cooking class. We're loving so much Thai food that we couldn't go away without learning some of the secrets of its preparation. Not that it will be that useful when we're back since most of the ingredients can't be found in the UK !!! But it was a fantastically fun day !

During our time in Chiang Mai, in a more relaxed atmosphere, we had at last the opportunity to chat a bit more in depth with some locals. And that's when reality hits home.... In spite of the appearances (young people wearing fashionable clothes , having modern equipment like mobile,...etc), their life is incredibly hard, and we tend to forget it. For those working in the tourism industry (hotel, tour operators. restaurants...etc) salaries are low and most of them work from 7.00 to 22.00. 70% of the salary goes to paying the rent, 20% goes to supporting the family often living outside the city, and the 10% remaining to simply live. In term of accomodation, most of them live in building where they share a room (not a flat...a big room!!) with 1 to 2 other people.
So easy to forget what lies behind the facade, and how much of a huge gap there is with us, even when you're a traveller on a budget ! You can't even compare....

After Chiang Mai, we wanted to move away a bit from the tourist track. We picked the Nan region which is located East of Chiang Mai. Being 7hours away from Chiang Mai, accessible only via a very bumpy road has considerably restricted the tourist flux to the region, which suited us just fine !
Nan will remain our best memory of Thailand. In 4 days we only saw a handful of tourists. We got to see the real Thailand and also share for a few days the life of some hill tribes who have such a distinct and fascinating culture. We opted for a 2 days moutains trek, and ended up being the only 2 tourists doing it. Our guides were incredible. Their knowledge of the region, plants, culture, animals was gigantic. Our first day guide, Savi, 80years old but looking 50, warm smile and communicative laugh, had a fascinating life. He emigrated to the US in the 50's in search for a better life : he worked as a coffe boy in the Empire State building and saw the twin towers being built. But after a few years there, he decided he was missing his green hills too much and returned to Thailand. Our second guide Cho is from the Hmong Hill tribe who emigrated to Thailand from Laos after the Vietnam War. Like many other Laos people, as a young boy he collaborated with the CIA during the Vietnam war, but had to flee the country with his family at the end of the conflict in order not to be killed by the communist government. His father was also a medicine man (with a huge medicinal plants knowledge) and a chaman. He captivated us with stories of spirits and really taught us a lot about the animist beliefs of his tribe.
But the most emotional moment of our trek was our lucky encounter with a nomadic Malbri family in the forest. There are only 15 to 20 Malbri families that still live a nomadic life in the North of Thailand. Their lifestyle is simply so far away from everything we know that we were extremely moved and honoured to meet them. Check the pics, it was something special.

We're now back in Bangkok, about to leave to cross the border with Cambodia. Yesterday did one last tour to visit the famous floating market South of Bangkok. A perfect example of the impact of mass tourism on local customs. The market had nothing to do with what I remember it to be 20 years ago when I visited it as a young girl. It was then a chaotic exhibition of fruits, meat, flowers...etc. The only boats on the canal were local boats. Nowadays, it is a tourist trap where tourists are packed into boats which stop every few meters in shops on the border of the canals, filled with mass produced cheap goods. Very sad. Fortunately we managed to find a little isolated canal where a few locals continued trading, away from tourists. A little oasis of calm in the tourist madness....

Keep well everyone & keep writing to us ! Missing you all loads !!!!
Lots of love
xxxx
Andy and Soph