Chiang Mae

Chiang Mae

This time after several really long busrides we decided to take the train, even though it took longer than the bus and is more expensive but you have actually a bed! VERY nice on a 15 h train ride.

The train ride turned out to be very nice. Around 4 in the afternoon a gentleman shows up, showing you a menu from which you are supposed to order your dinner. At around 6 another gentleman installs a table and cleans everything neatly. Food is served!!! Well.... for train food, not to bad, but the service and the effort that they make is MUCH better than any service you will find in Austrian trains.
Just opposite of your seats a special dedicated compartment for „elderly, disabled and monks“ is located. I was wondering why monks would prefer to be by themselves. In the hall, next to the open door, where smoking is allowed I meet two monks smoking.... award (they are not allowed to smoke at all). During a small chat I found out that he is a Cambodian monk and that in Cambodia monks are allowed to smoke. (A couple of days later I found out, that monks are not allowed to touch women (not even handshake) and that s the reason why they keep to themself not to be in trouble due to intensive body contact in the train ;-))

The train arrives at 5 in the morning in Chiang Mae. I was happy that this time I had already reserved a guesthouse. As they don t have 24/7 reception service, they had just left the key outside next to the fridge for me :-)! Fabi went immediately to sleep but somehow the coffee I had at 7eleven kept me awake. So I went for a 2hour walk through Chiang Mae. It is really lovely at 6.30. Many many monks in orange clothes are walking around with small boxes asking for food. When somebody donates food to them, they start praying together. Everywhere in the city you can find small temples with a huge golden Buddha.

In the afternoon we rented again a scooter and explored the surroundings of Chiang Mae. The next day we signed up for a Thai cooking class. Fabi and I were the only students and both of us cooked 6 different dishes!! Before we started to cook we went with our teacher to the market to get an explanation of the ingredients of Thai cuisine.

With our cooking teacher on our side it was sooooo easy and fortunately we got a cook book at the end, to be able to remember how to do it at home. That day we were really full, as we had to eat all 6 dishes by ourselves.

On the next day I joined a 3-day-trekking-tour. Fabi wasn t too much into trekking so he hired a scooter and went to Chiang Pai for 3 days. As I am the author of this blog, I am gonna write about my trekking trip :-)
We started in an elephant camp where we „enjoyed“ a one hour ride on an elephant. We had declared that we would not need a sattle, cause this would be MUCH more authentical. Actually it is just inconvenient. I was sitting on the neck of the elephant, which moves all the time and I thought that I am gonna fall any second. Moreover the two Belgian girls behind we were holding on to ME.... So in case.... all of us would fall. Our elephant called Sumsi :-) was afraid of cats, dogs oxes and basically any animal that is smaller than her. I am not scared of animals smaller than an elephant but I am scared of a scared elephant lady trying to run off when she encounters any small animal! fortunately our guide could keep Sumsi under control.

After the elephant ride we started the trek. The first days trek can be discribes as EXTREMELY hot and VERY steep. The jungle is really beautiful but if you are sweating your ass off and you are busy breathing, you can t actually enjoy it as much. That evening we arrived in a minority village (Hmongh village) were we slept in a simple bamboo hut. Our guide cooked a delicious meal and we had a good time chatting in the evening.

The next day we continued towards some waterfalls were we took a shower. It was again really hot but this time not as steep as the day before so slightly better and I could really appreciate the nature and its beauty. Our guide really knew the jungle very well, cause every now and then we would show us plants that you could eat and most of us tried. Of course I tried and I became a huge fan of tanmarine. It is a brown fruit in a shell and it looks a little bit like a peanut just a little longer. It s taste is slightly sour but really delicious and as I ve learned already in my cooking class it is widly used in Thai cuisine.

After the waterfalls the group split as 4 of us (7 in total) only did a 2 day trek. Moreover one Belgian girl decided that the trip was too hard for her and that she didn t want to do another day. So there was just me and another girl from Belgium left + the guide. More sweating and walking for us BUT it was really worth it! The landscape was just beautiful up there!!! Amazing view and we slept again in a rather remote village in a bamboo hut with nothing but a view blankets and no electricity. Our dinner was cóoked in the house of one of the locals. Unfortunately I was not supposed to take pictures in there but the house consists of one roome around 18m2. In there you ll find a fireplace for cooking and a couple of thin matresses to sleep on. This house had electricity via a solar pannel (very advanced!!!) and is a home to around 6 kids (I am not certain cause there were soooo many) 2 parents, 2 grandparents and an aunt.

After the dinner, around 20 kids came to our bamboo hut to sing a song for us :-)

The night though was not too pleasant, mosquitos, dogs loudly barking, roosters screaming and lots of people talking. After a short breakfast in the morning we went down to the river for some rafting!! Loved it!!! was really fun. Unfortunately no fotos cause I was scared to bring my camara and I was right to be.

In the evening I met Fabi in front of the guesthouse were a bus picked us up to go to the border of Lao.

Kisses from Chiang Mae
Astrid and Fabian