The North (5)

So I’m in Chang Mai for a few days and I’m not really sure what I want to do with my time here. On reflection I realise that I did it all back in 2006. I’ve done the trekking, the elephants, the temples and old town already.

I hired a little motorbike for a couple of days as it’s much easier to get around. I must say having a Thai person around is very useful. A quick wave of the Thai ID card and no need to leave the 3000 baht deposit for the bike. It also helped when we were stopped by the traffic police. I’d left my license at the hotel, but after some explanations by my friend, I was allowed to go and get it and not be fined.

A word on that subject. There are police checkpoints that pop up on a regular basis, they only ever stop foreigners as far as I can see with the express intent of fining them for whatever they can find wrong. I’ve been stopped 3 times so far. Luckily I have all the documents with me so I’m ok, but it’s time consuming and annoying as well as being more of the cash cow scenario and it doesn’t make you feel very welcome. I think they need to be careful, tourists aren’t entirely stupid and once word gets around, visitors may start voting with their feet.

One of the must see sites in the area is the Wat Phra That Doi, which sits atop a hill with majestic views over Chang Mai. The way up is 13 km of very twisty road, but the little bike handled it well. Entry is free, but it is a real tourist trap. There are beautiful statues all around, together with lots of buddha’s and museum pieces. There are numerous monks offering benedictions, for want of a better word and, crowds aside, an aura of peace and tranquility.

I drove along to my old guesthouse the BMP guesthouse in the hope that maybe my old friend Nok, who took us trekking back in 2006, would still be associated with the guesthouse. Unfortunately the mobile number I have for him is no longer in service.

The property itself is now closed to guests, another victim of the covid lockdowns. We did however chat to the owner for half an hour and she was very friendly and spoke good english. I showed her a picture of Nok and she remembered him, but said he had left to persue another career a few years ago.

She was thrilled to see some of the old pictures I had of her guesthouse from all those years ago and gave us a couple of recommendations of places to visit.

I booked a nice restaurant for tonight with a table overlooking the river. I remember nearly eating here before, but when we turned up they told us they weren’t serving any alcohol as it was a buddha day, so we went next door where they weren’t observing the day. No issue this time though and there was a good range of thai and some western dishes. The tables were all candlelit and a live band provided the music. They also have a river cruise with dinner which looks lovely and I would definitely do that if I was staying longer.

After dinner we headed off towards the Northgate Jazz cooperative, a place that my daughter said has great music and she wasn’t wrong. Situated on the edge of the old town, it’s little more than a lock up and was packed. In fact most of the patrons are standing in the street, as we had to for most of the time.

Next morning after the usual stop by the police, we headed to another temple, again it was very impressive with lots of beautiful statues. My friend bought some flowers and another offering, which looked rather like a prettily presented bowl of wheat and then she very kindly used the blessing to ask that my business prospers and is always full of customers. I presented my flowers to another monk and had the dubious pleasure of being tapped on the head with some sort of raffia stick and splashed with water. I then had a cotton bracelet fastened around my wrist and then he said in perfect english that he hoped I was enjoying Thailand and thank you for the offering!

Next up was a stop at the royal flower gardens, which have a huge array of different plants, flowers and trees. I’m sure my sister and my aunt would have been in raptures and it was interesting, but lunch was beckoning.

I had the strangest salad ever, there were chunks of raw ginger and of raw garlic. This was mixed in with raw onion, chillis and small pieces of lime, together with glass noodles, peanuts and spicy thai sausage. I suspect that I now have the most purified blood in the whole of Chang Mai at this moment. Equally glad that the hotel room has two bathrooms. Dessert, if you can call it that, was sour mango served with a sweet, fishy chilli paste! Well when in Rome and all that…

At the night market I found another linen collarless shirt which I bought and then I was hunting for a new belt as mine has clocked up far too many years and looks the worse for wear. I found a nice leather belt that they cut down to size on the spot and added a couple of extra holes. At the part of the belt for the slimmer figure I hasten to add and not the end for fatties!

We ate in the food market, picking and choosing bits from several different stalls and finished up at the Northgate again, which had a jazz band playing as well as it being open mic night. Open mic jazz is a strange affair. First up was a rapper, so we had jazz rap. Next up was a Aussie didgeridoo player, who’d have known that jazz and the didgeridoo would go so well together.

Three nights in Chang Mai flashed past by and now I’m on the road to Pai, another 130 km further north. It might not sound much, but the road is incredibly twisty and it takes the best part of 3 hours to cover the distance.

When I last came to Pai, my opinion was that it was populated by snobby hippies. While I’m sure that they are still here, there is a lot more going on and it is a pleasure to be here. It is obviously much more compact than Chang Mai, so we don’t need a bike and there is a great mix of Thai culture and cuisine, together with western influences. The main street in term of eating, drinking and live music is pedestrianised from 6-11pm. Well it’s supposed to be, but the Thais’s take little notice.

The food offerings are really varied and very tasty. I ate at about 5 different stalls. We saw some live music including a friend of my daughter’s from when she was here some months ago. Lodging are at Pai vintage garden, which is set in some dense rainforest type vegetation. It makes for a very different view from my balcony than the ones of the sea, rivers and mountains, I’ve had so far, but is very pleasant. The owner is also very friendly and knowledgable about the area.

Today we visited the Pai canyon, which has some fab views and is not for the fainthearted. There’s nothing to stop you walking off the edge in numerous places. No health and safety here, which is great as its not spoilt with loads of signs and fences. You just need to be sensible. Next up was the BIG buddha and he was big. Set atop a hill, overlooking Pai, reached by numerous steps it towers above you reflecting the sun off its polished white suface.

Last stop was at the Chinese village, which is a couple of miles out of town and again offers breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. There are lots of little shops as well selling not just souvenirs, but food as well. I bought some chestnuts. They had been cooked earlier in the day and also were slightly smoked. They were perfectly cooked and really tasty.

Last night in Pai before the 1000km journey back south and my impending flight to Vietnam :). Not much to report, I wandered around the walking street sampling several different foods, including an Indian curry which was good and also a treat as they don’t have Indian food where I live. I listened to a bit more live music, one guy singing and playing guitar and the other on the drums. I had a front row seat, well bench actually, so it was great.