Holiday to Thailand

We had originally planned to start the journey in Chiang Mai, in the north of Thailand where David and Lynne currently live. Then we would travel southwards to Phuket where they lived earlier. Unfortunately, the tsunami on Stephen's Day 2004 changed those plans and we decided to stay in the north for the whole stay and do excursions from Chiang Mai.

In the evening we went towards David & Lynne's apartment. We stopped by an optician where May, Sven and Kari ordered new specs. They were so much cheaper than back home so we couldn't resist. Even Sven got an order in after very long deliberation on which frames to choose. Then we celebrated all the shopping at David and Lynne's local street bar. Chicken with ginger in a white sauce on rice, Kari had home made spring rolls, delicious! washed down with the local beer chang, which means elephant beer.  These street bars are simple arrangements with a very small menu, but with very good prices.

After the meal we finally arrived in David and Lynne's apartment. They have a nice view over the city from their apartment, which was situated on the 7 floor. Kari tried out foot massage on Lynne, David and May. Luckily they liked it.

After this sight-seeing we needed some recovery and searched for a Thai Massage parlour. A taxi driver suggested a massage school and drove us there. This was an interesting experience for us. Thai massage means a lot of stretching and slow deep muscle treatment, exactly what we needed after our walk.

We finished the day by visiting the Night Market. The market opens after sunset, when it isn't blazingly hot anymore. The market consists of two big arcades with lots of stalls with everything a tourist might want. There were lots more stalls on the streets outside the arcades, making the Night Market a large area of the city. We tried a local speciality in one of the food courts in one of the arcades, fresh mango on sticky rice with coconut sauce. Sticky rice is a special kind of rice that is grown in the mountainous areas of Thailand. This was very refreshing in the heat.

Took the car up the Doi Suthep mountains, west of Chiang Mai. Visited Hmong hill tribe village. The hill tribes are different groups of people with their own culture and traditions, completely different from the Thai. They dress in distinctly different clothes and have their own languages. The Hmong village seems to thrive on tourists. The whole village is full of stalls where you can buy Buddha statues, silk etc.

On the way back, we stopped at the Doi Suthep temple. It is situated on the edge of the mountain, overlooking Chiang Mai. The temple is very beautiful and it seems to attract a lot of tourists. No wonder with the view you get from here.

In the evening we went to get a nice dinner at one of the restaurants on the banks of river Ping. David and Lynne's favourite places were already full so we tried a nearby restaurant called the Gallery. It looks nice with the trees between the tables on the sloping bank. The food took very long, especially for Lynne. When Lynne finally got here food, the meat was about 90% fat. This could have been accepted in a street bar, but not in an expensive tourist restaurant. Of course Lynne sent it but the waiter refused. Big arguments in English and Thai, calling over the manager. Eventually they agreed to give here a replacement, but by this time the rest of us had finished our meals. The waiter was very frustrated when Lynne wanted to cancel with the words "my family are all finished". We felt very honoured to be part of Lynne's family. Afterwards, we had a good laugh about the whole thing, especially the confused waiter with his girlish behaviour. Finished the night in the hotel with a bottle of local "whisky" made from sugar canes.

We had lunch at a craft village with beautiful garden and great food. Next stop was at an orchid farm. Amazing variety and colours.

Then back to Chiang Mai. We had some laundry to pick up, got foot massage and a small evening meal in a student cafe. We had seen lots of kids on the main street outside the hotel for a while. They said that the Queen would pass by on her way to the summer palace in the Doi Suthep mountains. They all wanted to get a glimpse of her. The royal family of Thailand is very popular. We wanted to be part of this event too and waited. Nothing happened for a very long time. Then we saw more and more police positioning themselves in corners before they stopped all the traffic. We knew that our wait was over now. Then we saw a big motorcade driving by in a great speed. We think we saw a face of someone resembling the queen in one of the limousines. Poor kids, they didn't get to see much of here as a reward for their long wait.

Then on to Bor Sang which is famous for its umbrellas. The whole town is built around the umbrella industry and umbrellas are sold in every corner. Walked along the main street until we needed some refreshments.  David showed us how to order ice tea and coffee in plastic bags. On the way back we stopped at a silk factory. Very up-market and expensive. They had a big par for busses. But it was nice to see what they do with silk here.

We had dinner at a restaurant near the hotel. They had good Thai food. David and Lynne saw that they had western food on the menu and couldn't resist burgers and chips. If they knew they would get sick the day after they would have stuck with the Thai food.

Evening in David and Lynne's apartment. Lynne cut Kari's hair. Kari was very happy with the result.

The night was cool. The draughty cabins made it feel like camping in a tent, but with proper beds. Cosy!

In the afternoon we all tried to travel to Ban Wat Chang along a newly built road in the mountains with wonderful scenery. But there were still road works that made the journey slow and difficult. We had to turn back and had lunch in a very small village. Not many tourists come this way. The locals were looking at us with big eyes.

Went to a food fair near David and Lynne's place in the evening. There were lots of different kinds of food from all parts of Thailand. Unfortunately, there was also a live band playing very loud so we had to leave to save Sven's ears.

Went to a thai dance show in the evening. We were seated on the floor with food served in small bowls in front of us. The floor was very hard and we were not very used to sitting on the floor. There was more and more food coming in during the show. There were lots of traditional dances dressed up in beautiful clothes. After the main show and food, we were directed to a hut with hill tribe dances.

Kari and Sven went to the night market in search for a Buddha statue. Kari found small parasols for decorations at home. After a long search we found a good enough Buddha.

As we find the Thai they looked at us as we were ATMs. David and Lynne could tell us stories from the darker sides of Thailand. There is a lot of corruption and the legal system is very strange to us. For example if there is an accident, not many people stop to help because the police will accuse anyone present for causing the accident.

But for us tourists, this is a wonderful place to come. The weather is fantastic. The street crime is less then back in Dublin. Yes, there are pickpockets, but not much armed robbery. So if you just hold on to your wallet, you will be fine.

We enjoyed our holiday very much. Thailand is a beautiful country with friendly people. We understand why so many westerners settle here. Thanks, David and Lynne for helping us so much.