So the train journey from Bangkok to Chiang Mai was great and we arrived feeling relatively refreshed and ready to go. We then got swarmed by a million tuk tuk drivers and taxi owners who wanted us to stay in their hotels but fortunately we already had accommodation lined up otherwise who knows where we would have ended up. Chiang Mai is a fascinating old city and is a lot easier to navigate than Bangkok.We stayed in the "old city" which is completely surrounded by a moat and one can still see the ruins of the walls that were built to stop the Burmese when they invaded Thailand over 700 years ago.
Our accommodation was in a busy little back road and was pretty clean and well looked after. The owner looked like Mr Miagi from the karate kid and he was such a sharp old man. He had a mole on his chin, out of which grew a plume of grey hairs which he fiddled with when you spoke to him. We tried to get an extra 10minutes out of the tumble dryer for free- two seconds later old Miagi was there. Kate went red with embarrassment and I just laughed. I then tried to ask him for two rolls of toilet paper! Big mistake. Miagi smashed us 30 Baaht for one roll. Legend.....never to be forgotten.If ever you venture into Chiang Mai watch out for this dude.
That night after checking in we went off to the night bazaar. A bustling market With tons of clothes and food stalls. People everywhere enjoying shopping and the very pleasant Chiang Mai weather. Kate bought some clothes and a bracelet and I got to practice my very rusty bartering skills. Last time I had to use them was in Mozambique almost 4 years ago. We had a super tasty dinner from a street vendor and sat on the pavement and watched the people go by. Trendy thai girls selling boxing tickets, sunburned tourists and scooters carrying everything from toddlers to televisions. We returned to our accommodation around midnight and lay down to what we thought would be a peaceful night which was much needed! Oh how wrong we were. At around 3am all the dogs in the neighbourhood started howling, but not a normal dog howl. A possessed, I'm a dog that wants to wake every tourist in Chiang Mai if not the world, kind of howl. We lay there like two school kids giggling at the weird noises these hounds were making. Must be in the dog food......
The following day we were off to a slightly slow start due to our new dog friends. We grabbed a couple of fruit shakes and some fried rice from a local eatery and headed off into town. We visited a couple of temples and just wandered around enjoying the laid back atmosphere. Chiang Mai is easy to fall in love with. It's slow pace, great food and very hospitable locals make it a dream. Did I mention that cold beer is easier to get hold of than bottled water. I'm sold, Chiang Mai you biscuit!! That night we visited the Sunday evening market, which, without a doubt was the most amazing market we had ever been to. The selection of food was mind bending. Grilled octopus legs with sweet chilli sauce, crispy tuiles with wet meringue and coconut, Nutella and banana crepes, green papaya peanut lime and chilli salads, grilled corn mixed with butter and sugar, banana spring rolls, fruit smoothies etc etc etc It was just incredible. We rolled home! It's in moments like those were you want to do like a camel and grow a second stomach. Too good.....
The night was peaceful. No mad dogs and no disturbances from Mr Miagi and his hairy mole.
The next day we were up early and off to an organic farm to learn some traditional thai cooking. First we stopped at a local market and our guide/chef showed us all the different types of rice and other ingredients we would be using through out the day. The cooking school was awesome. A couple of small stations build in a traditional thai style. Farm workers bustling about everywhere and just a general sense of happiness seemed to fill the place. We cooked a variety of dishes from pad thai to curry's and even some lightly poached pumpkin in coconut milk. One of the funnier moments of the day was when we were stir frying the pad thai and Kate was cooking on a station which had one of those gas burners that could propel a jet! Picture the scene-teacher says low heat-Kate is looking at the beautiful birds in the garden and not concentrating on the Mach 3 propulsion under her wok. Next minute all hell brakes loose and Kate's pad thai turns to charcoal. She immediately takes it off the heat and tries to resurrect it without the teacher seeing only to have him walk over and tell her it looks as tasty as dish water! Well I tell you I was finished, almost rolling on the floor. Having said that Kate did cook some amazing food that day including a very delicious vegetarian style Tom yum! If traveling to Chiang Mai be sure to check out the organic farm cooking school. Well worth it.
The next morning we were up slightly late again as our dog friends got their party on around 5am. b******s. Bags packed and by 11:30 we were fuelled up and on the road with our packs looking for a tuk tuk to take us to the airport. The airport was pretty straight forward and soon we were sitting aboard our propeller plane heading for Luang Prabang in Laos.
The flight was pretty spectacular as we were flying really low and we could see the jungle below. 1 hour later and we were in Luang Prabang speeding along in a mini van to the centre of town. Once dropped off we headed down towards the mighty Mekong to look for some riverside accommodation. We found a lekker little spot which is right next to a cool strip of cafes and bars which look onto the river. I can already tell that this will be one of those places that is very hard to say good bye to. Same same but different..........