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The second part of the trip consisted of visiting Chiang Mai and northern Thailand.
Of Thailand’s second largest city I had read great things, but I did not particularly like it, perhaps because it is most famous for its large number of Buddhist temples, which to me, after seeing four or five of them, get fed up.
Visiting Chiang Mai
Unlike the earlier stops that were less crowded with tourists, everyone and everyone in Chiang Mai goes on the same train that leaves from the capital (I got on halfway) and arrives early in the morning. The arrangement is great, as all public transportation generally is; I remember very comfortable reclining seats where I had a super sleep.
Everyone goes to visit Chiang Mai also for massages and many also go for classes. I walked into a center and was greeted by a little girl who was really slim and I thought she was like the receptionist believing that to me big and tall, someone like that couldn’t move me, but instead she was really the masseuse and she even flipped me over by walking on top of me.
Visiting Chiang Mai while avoiding the onslaught of Tuk Tuks
The problem is arrival, when there is a crowd of ravenous taxi drivers and Tuk Tuk drivers crowding around those getting off the train to propose. So annoyed by this I purposely decided to walk even though it was quite far. The tuc-tuks are incredible; they flutter and come at you from afar and you think:
- Maybe I know him?
- In high school I had a Thai in my class?
- Is the world in danger and can only I save it?
- Did they look for me from home that my granddaughter was born?
No….they want to ask if you want a ride. It seems impossible to them that one is browsing the stalls or crossing the street on foot. Tuk Tuks are the Apecars used as cabs, ubiquitous in Asia, but also in other countries. They get their name from the noise they make and are characterized by quite reckless driving, as well as often by their original colors and accessories.
I am proud to say that I was able to visit Chiang Mai without taking a single Tuk Tuk.
The golden triangle
The second misadventure of the trip happened to me a few days later during tour that took me from Chiang Mai to the northwest with a small group assembled in the hostel. Spending practically all day together we made friends and good conversation. My Canadian neighbor who had already been in the area for a few weeks explained to me that ants are good; scorpions on the other hand suck and they sell them only for tourists; while the worst food is the ubiquitous durian. He was a university student I think of physics, really nice, but he was not the only one.
In fact the whole area, including Chiang Mai would be included in the Golden Triangle; the name comes from the fact that it was the area of greatest opium production.
The field trip included.
- jungle trekking
- River ride on rafts made of bamboo canes tied together
- another ride on the back of an elephant (which I would never do again, given how those poor animals are treated)
- visit to the famous so-called long-necked women (which I refused to do having already nosed through the terrible exploitation and torture they were forced to undergo in order to be seen by tourists)
Chiang Rai and the jungle
The first stop was the truly original White Temple in Chiang Rai (featured photo). It is modern (built in the 1990s) and has a stunning interior because it is wallpapered with religious symbols mixed with images depicting characters from the world of animation, such as Spider-Man, Superman, and Kung Fu Panda.
We arrived at the point where the Mekong River marks the border with Myanmar and Laos; even at that time you could not go to the former Burma, while with a small boat we could stay half an hour in Laos, precisely at a market selling the usual junk; I bought the magnet, but black convinced that sooner or later I would go there to visit it properly.
Fell from bamboo bridge and rescued by Madrid bomber
During the forest walk in the rain, I felt like Forrest Gump when he is in the war in Vietnam, and although it was rather short, I really felt like I was in another world surrounded by all that exuberant greenery. Too bad about the fall from the bamboo bridge.
As I said in Thailand they are disinclined to consider even minimal safety measures. On that part of the tour we were accompanied by a guide, who did not say a word and basically ran away right away and we had to chase him.
In front of me I had the two Chinese friends who together weighed less than I did and had no problem flying across the improvised deck, to say the least.
It was actually 2 bamboo canes not even tied together. As I reached the middle I lost my balance, basically the 2 logs drifted apart; falling vertically I grazed the bark of one log with a shin. The stream was dry, and it appeared that I had done nothing to myself. I was rescued (in the sense of helped back up) by the Spanish couple following me, in particular he was indeed a fireman (bombero) from Madrid. Actually what appeared to be just a little scratch, later became infected and gave me problems later as we shall see.
I’m in shape to shoot crap in English
The next day I met a couple of Belgians, and since they were undecided whether to go to the jungle because he was afraid of insects, I reassured him by suggesting that he thought that since they were giants, for example, he could consider a spider to be a rabbit; and he had to trust me because I am a psychologist.
Home travel Travel to Thailand and Cambodia: Buddhist temples, stray dogs and a lawyer
Previous stop Traveling in Thailand: chased by stray dogs
Next stop Visiting Angkor with Parisian lawyer.
Trips taken, travel stories divided by continent
Countries visited in my travel stories
Anecdotes, divided by type in travel narratives
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