Tuesday 29th October 2013
I slept in this
morning and then chilled out at the hostel for a bit getting some personal admin
done before wondering about and exploring the neighbourhood. Back at the hostel
I got chatting with a Dutch girl and in the afternoon we went on a sightseeing
adventure of Bangkok. We took a rickshaw around enjoying the drive before
stopping by the river and taking a cruise on a longboat. After that we went to
the golden mount which is a Buddhist temple atop a hill the view from there is
quite cool unfortunately y camera battery was dead so I didn’t get any photos. That
evening we got dinner at a local restaurant which was pretty tasty before
getting in an early night.
Wednesday 30th October 2013
I mucked about this
morning feeling pretty unmotivated to do much. Late morning I hired a rickshaw
for the day and did some more sightseeing first stop was the golden Buddha then
I went to the amulet market where I lost the rickshaw driver for ages and was
considering leaving and walking back to the hostel when he appeared out of
nowhere. We drove about some more and went past the palace etc. so I could see
them from the outside. Back at the hostel I got my bags from the luggage room
and waited for my bus to Chaing Mai after a while it appeared it wasn’t coming
there were a group of us who had been left behind as the mini bus driver that
was to take us to the bus station didn’t take everyone just the people for the
south which was weird. We got a taxi to the mini bus station which was
stressful as we left an age after everyone else and there was so much traffic. Eventually
we stopped at a petrol station ad were ushered into the minibus along with a
bunch of locals we got to the main bus
station and turns out we had over an hour to kill before the bus left! Eventually
we boarded the double decker we had great seats right at the front with a ton
of leg room and they provided us with neck pillows and blankets it was by far
the most comfortable night bus I have been on. We reclined and went to sleep
stopping once for a food break and to stretch our legs at about 1am and then we
were on the road again.
Thursday 31st October 2013
The night bus
last night was so comfortable that I was still fast asleep when it pulled into
Chaing Mai. I didn’t have a place to stay so went with the two girls Olivia and
Katie who were on my bus to the place they had booked when we got there it was
closed but had a cell phone taped to a bit of string tied to the door and a
note that said to call a number from that phone if you were locked out. We called
and the woman kept asking “do you see the pig?” there was about 10 pig statues
about so yes we did she kept saying the key was under one but there was no key.
After a while someone came and let us in but we couldn’t check in yet when
someone eventually arrived we went upstairs the hostel itself was not the worst
I’ve stayed in and I would have been happy there but the girls wanted to move
and the location was a bit far out so we all jumped on the local bus/taxi thing
and went to a hostel in the old town which was much better. The place lacked a
real atmosphere but there were loads of travellers staying there so it was easy
to meet people. We checked in and showered and then I went and got food with
Brian a guy I met In Bangkok. That afternoon I joined him and his friends at tiger
kingdom I was somewhat reluctant to go as I have heard really bad things about
the place but the tigers were all happy and healthy and had a really good bond
with their trainers. I went in with the babies which was cool they were the
size of a smallish dog but had so much character it was just like playing with
a big kitten. That night we made a half
arsed attempt to dress up for Halloween and went out for dinner and drinks
ending up at some weird lock in at a lady boy bar.
Friday 1st November 2013
Today I visited
all the temples in town it was a real spiritual day out I stopped for a juice
late afternoon and after one more temple got a massage from an inmate at the Chaing
Mai woman’s prison it’s all part of their rehab into society I had reflexology
on my feet and it was by far the best I have had I walked out feeling like I was
walking on air. That night after we had some dinner we hit up the night Bazar
and I got a t-shirt with a panda on it to wear to the zoo in a few days’ time.
Saturday 2nd November 2013
This morning I got
picked up around 10am to head off trekking in the jungle for two days. Compared
with the trek up Rinjani this one was a walk in the park we drove for about
30mins then stopped at a market to pick up all the food and supplies for our
trek before getting back in the truck and driving a few hours to stop for lunch by some rice fields
we ate and then got back in the car and drove some more we didn’t actually
start walking until quite late in the day. Our guide knew everything about the
bush and kept stopping to show us different plants and explain their uses. We stopped
by a waterfall and had the option to swim but by this stage it was late in the
day and feeling a bit cool so no one was up for it. We continued on to camp
where we were staying in a hut on stilts the camp was just a few building our
hut another one that seemed to have no purpose (but there was a dog with tiny
puppies underneath) and the kitchen which was where the guide slept. We put our
bags in and changed into warmer clothes and sat round the fire chatting while
dinner was cooked. The food was amazing and there was so much of it no one went
hungry. After food we hung about for a while before heading to bed. I was the
only one without a mozcito net which I wasn’t too pleased with but there didn’t
seem to be many mozzies and the only interruption to my sleep was when I woke
up with a huge spider on my face!
Sunday 3rd November 2013
We woke up this
morning and had breakfast before heading to the waterfall for a swim he water
was freezing so we didn’t stay in long and headed back to camp where we packed
up our things and continued on. We stopped
at a village and met the locals who showed us their homes before moving onto another
waterfall with a natural water slide we swam again but the water was icy so
only a few of us went in and it was only briefly. From the waterfall we trekked down to the
lunch spot where food was waiting for us. From there we walked along the road
for a while learning about and tasting all the fruits that grew beside the road
then we veered off and walked through the rice paddies to the end of our trip
at and elephant farm we met one elephant and got to feed her before getting on
the truck and driving back to Chaing Mai. I checked back into the same hostel
and got my stuff out of the luggage room showered and put things away. Later on
I went to the Sunday night market and had a good walk around I bought and ate a
lot of street food but mostly just looked at the handicrafts my favourite stall
was one where you could get your name written on rice as a pendant or get a
crack pipe! By the time I made it back to the hostel I was pretty exhausted and
fell into bed.
Monday 4th November 2013
I woke up early
this morning full of excitement as I was going to the zoo to see pandas! I got
some munch and then flagged down a share taxi to the zoo I had to pay extra to
see the pandas which was a bit shit as you can only go in once and also there
are normally three pandas but two are on load somewhere so there is only one. Nonetheless
I had a great time there chilling out with my panda buddy. The rest of the zoo
was a bit hit and miss some of it was really cool and modern other parts the
animals looked neglected and their living conditions were less than ideal. After
the zoo the plane was to get a share taxi the rest of the way up the hill to
the temple but the drivers were being dicks and wanted to wait until the taxi
was full so I had to sit about for a while waiting for others I met a girl who
had been volunteering at a school and was on her way home so we chatted while
we waited eventually we were on the move we went in and checked it out it was
beautiful but super load and busy with obnoxious tourists. The ride down was
super windy and rough and the guy dropped us on the edge of town we decided to
walk the rest of the way in which turned out to be further than we thought but
was good exercise. On the way back to the hostel I stopped at a vegetarian place
and had a curry before finishing the walk. Back in the room Andy and Anna were
back from their trek and in the same room as me which was cool. I spent the
evening uploading photos off my camera and organising my bus to Pai tomorrow.
Tuesday 5th November 2013
I got up and
packed up this morning then went for breakfast with friends before waiting for
the bus to Pai it was late and got later and later until It was clear it wasn’t
coming at all no one seemed to take responsibility for it and it all just
seemed to be a joke eventually we got to the travel office and over two hours
late got on the road. It’s supposed to be a rough journey but I found it fine
and slept most of the way. The driver was completely normal until we stopped
for a toilet break where I think he smoked a crack pipe because suddenly he was
mental driving with no hands and yelling at nothing, pointing out elephants
(cows), tigers (dogs) and pandas (small dogs) he also declared his love for
everyone and called Andy handsome stressing he wasn’t gay and that he had many
girlfriends. As we drove into Pai he pulled over and aske a girl for directions
to Pai she was so confused. It was a bizarre journey. When we eventually arrived
we waited or our hotel transfer which turned out to be a motorbike with a cage
on wheels attached we all piled on with me and Anna in the cage with the bags
and Andy on the back of the bike. It was a hair raising but fun journey to the
Pai circus school where we were booked in for two nights. We hung about for a
bit before walking into town (in the near pitch darkness) we had dinner in a disappointing
Falafel shop and then had a few drinks in a bar on the river which had a fire
competition happening which was cool to watch. We were almost taken out by a
fire poi which came flying in our direction! Back at the hostel I got into bed
and promptly froze all night.
Wednesday 6th November 2013
Today we hired
scooters from the place we are staying first stop was town for breakfast before
heading back ad picking up swim stuff ready for a day out. We started by
driving up to the big white Buddha that you can see from town we had to park
and walk up about 200m it was quite steep but easy going up there the Buddha looked
huge and we took a bunch of photos unfortunately you don’t get much of a view
from up there as the tree line blocks it. We didn’t stay long as there was no
shelter and up there the sun was blazing. We got back on our bikes and rode and
rode we missed the turn off for the water fall but didn’t really mind as we had
a cool drive through some really awesome scenery eventually we turned back and
got back on track. We arrived at the waterfall and took a bunch of photos but didn’t
swim in the afternoon shade it was pretty cold there. Back on our bikes we
headed back into town. We got back to the hostel and left the bikes there
walking into town for some street food and a few drinks at the jazz bar and the
reggae bar.
Thursday 7th November 2013
We checked out
of Pai circus school today and into a place called riverside which was on the
riverside for not much more money it was much better than freezing on the other
side of the river. After breakfast we rented scooters again and drove to the
hot springs we were the only ones there which was cool we relaxed in the heat
for an hour or two before heading to Pai Canyon we walked on the edge of the
canyon and took heaps of photos before heading back to town via Strawberry
world which was this weird roadside shop thing that sold juice and sweets and
had a weird fun park out the back. We took the scooters back to the hotel and
then got some street food before meeting Becky and Abbie in the Jazz bar for
some drinks.
Friday 8th November 2013
This morning we
all had breakfast together and then Anna Andy and I drove up to the Chinese view
point it was a steep ride and I was shitting myself a bit at the top they charged
us to come in which was a complete swiz but it was only 20Bhat the view was stunning
especially with clear blue skies above us. When it came time to leave I was too
scared to dive the first part of the hill which was the steepest so Andy had to
walk back up and drive down for me, the rest of the descent I dragged one foot
along the ground as extra brake! We returned our scooters and were just in time
to meet Laura checking into riverside with some girls she met on the bus up. We
dumped our things and then all headed into town as we were going tubing. It was
such a laugh in places the river was too shallow and so our arses dragged along
or smashed into rocks, we frequently crashed into the side or got stuck in the
middle with fallen branches and other debris it was a good way to spend several
hours and the best part was when Andy flipped in his tube the sad part about
that was we lost many of the drinks as he was attached to the cooler. I would
have had a perfect graceful dismount but got dragged further along by rouge
tubers and almost missed the finish. We clambered out ungracefully and pulled
clothes on we had to walk our tubes back to town. That night we grabbed some
food and then had drinks on our balcony before hitting up the late night bars.
Saturday 9th November 2013
This morning
there were so many of us at breakfast we had to have two different tables after
eating we all went our separate ways Anna Andy and I once again hired scooters
an drove back to the waterfall but went during the morning when the sun was
out. The water was still freezing so I was reluctant to swim I soon remedied
that by accidently falling in much to everyone’s amusement! We climbed out and lay on the hot rocks to
dry off and warm up before driving back to town for a munch we met Laura and
all had lunch together then she jumped on the back of my bike and we got some
errands done. That evening we walked about the night market eating street food
and looking at all the crafts. Later on we all met up on the balcony for
drinks.
Sunday 10th November 2013
Sadly today we
had to leave Pai Abbie, Becky and I had the long journey all the way from Pai
to Bangkok and then I was getting another bus south! We went to get breakfast
and on the way saw Laura who was out and about looking for her camera which she
lost last night (she did eventually find it yay) she was really upset as she hadn’t
had much luck and so wanted to be alone. The rest of us got food. After eating I
helped Laura search her room for the camera we didn’t have any luck but I did
find her missing iPod. I then took her out on the scooter to all the places
they had been last night but most of them were closed and we didn’t have any
joy. Eventually we had to say goodbye and head to the bus stop we all went
together as far as Chaing Mai this time the drive made us all card sick I was
really struggling not to throw up. Back in Chaing Mai we said goodbye to Andy
and Anna who were staying there we had a short break to get food before getting
a share taxi to the bus when we got there most of the seats were gone and it
seemed to be a first come first serve basis so we ended up right at the back
the only bonus was I was in the middle so had leg room there. We chatted a
while and then went to sleep.
