First Day in Chang Mai

We arrived in Chang Mai a little late. We were dropped off at the train station by the merry Tuk Tuk driver (who also happened to be the first female one I’ve seen) just after eight pm to make sure we didn’t miss our nine o’clock overnight train. At half ten the train rolled up and we were beckoned onto the train by the official who was clearly sick of directing stupid foreigners around the place and saying ‘no Chang Mai, you wait’ every time somebody got up to check on a passing train.

It was warm sitting in the train station. Not night time warm, warm British summers day warm and everyone around us was clearly feeling it. As soon as we stepped onto the train the air con felt like you were stepping into a giant fridge. We found our bunks and there we were for the night.

We were a little silly and paid for breakfast on the train. It seems the concept of a captive audience is not lost on the Thai’s in any way and it was over priced and pretty average. Note to self, in future go to a store and buy enough food to get you through!

Once we arrived in Chang Mai the temperature difference to Bangkok was really noticeable. The average temperature here is perfect. Not too hot, not to cold and nice and sunny. The place we are staying at is called BMP, which is a little too close to BNP, and is actually quite nice. I think we might have missed out on the back packing side again and picked a hotel by accident but we are not paying much more and this place has a nice swimming pool so I don’t care!

Once we arrived we were bombarded by leaflets and hostel staff offering to book them for us. There were several things we wanted to do, well actually everything but we limited ourselves to two things. Getting into the cages and coming into contact with tigers and tree top canopy exploring. Which is like GoApe in thetford forest but in a jungle!

When we went down to the reception we noticed a group who were discussing going to the tiger place and wanted to find others who wanted to go so the taxi was cheaper. We went over, made our first friends of the trip so far then piled in the back of the hostels taxi for a day of tiger fun.

This was where I started to get a little nervous. However exciting it is, you really notice quite how big and powerful tigers are when you get chucked into an enclosure with a group of them! Even more so when some nutter tells you to rest your head on them for a photo. It took me a little while to come to terms with this idea but got a little more comfortable eventually.

(Pippa’s side note: I was a little worried before we went about the conditions the tigers would be kept in and if they even cared about them or if it was just a money trap. However they had notices up all over the place talking about the care of the animals, how they didn’t agree with drugging them like some places drug the animals to make them dozy, and when we talked to and saw the handlers you could tell how much they loved the animals and how they kept them in the best way. My over all opinion of the place is that it was 100x better then any zoos I have visited in that all the tigers were well stimulated, they played with them with giant sticks with leaves on the end like you would with a pet cat, which you could tell they loved the game. They rotated the cats you would see, so some could have completely undisturbed nap time (even though none seemed at all bothered by the presence of strangers), and if they got too excited around humans they got a bop on the nose, nothing more drastic. I loved it there. It was a must see experience for anyone around Chiang Mai. I have heard on the grape vine there is somewhere similar near Bangkok, but that one is not to for the animals, and not nice to visit. So if you have ever seen a big cat and just wanted to give it a big cuddle, go to Chiang Mai tiger place! )

This was definitely one of the most defining parts of our journey so far and I think it might be a little hard to beat. If you go to Chang Mai, do this! You will not regret it at all.

It was also nice to spend a day with a new group of people and listen to their stories of travelling and pick up some tips of where to go and what to expect.

All in all… Not bad for one day.

Chang Mai is definitely my favourite part so far. The town is much nicer, the locals smile at you in bemusement as you go past and I have heard many more locals with better English skills than I did anywhere in Bangkok. They also appear to be a little less jaded to foreigners.

Of course we have only spent one day here so my opinion might change before we leave. I doubt this, but it’s not a rare occurrence that I am wrong.

Tomorrow we have to be up at 7:30 as we are off to stay with a jungle hill tribe to do some trekking, bamboo rafting and riding elephants for 3 days!

Yey!

edit: had to upload this next morning as couldn’t get wifi! Now off trekking in an hour!

A Day In Ayutthaya

Bikes. Mild sun burn. Laughing locals. Parks. Heat. Posing for tourist photos. Snake.

Thats what our day condensed of if you don’t want to read too much… Otherwise,

Today was our day in Ayutthaya. We made it into the old part and it has completely changed our opinion of the area. Once you start to reach the older part the built up town starts to disperse and leaves behind a maze of ancient temples, posh houses, tourist spots, parks and the occasional group of shanty houses.

We rented bikes (the best decision ever) and set off into the heat and manic traffic to brave roundabouts and junctions with no lights. It sounds mad but actually once you are in it, the traffic takes on a different form. The Thai’s are funny drivers. From the outside it’s manic lane changing, beeping, speeding and an excuse to ignore any and all road signs. Once you are on the inside all cars are perfectly content to sit behind you, then give a little wave as they pass. They also seem to understand that you are a naive foreigner and give you a wide birth. All junctions are actually quite civilised because everyone expects to be cut up otherwise everyone moves in the same way quite smoothly.

It was only like this for a couple of minutes and then changed as we entered the old part into quieter roads. Can’t explain how much of a relief that was!

A day tripping around some of the wats was actually really nice, and we saw our first elephants. Sadly they were being ridden by tourists in the little boxes and being led up and down. This was a little unsettling and we both really do not condone this kind of elephant ride. If you want to see them go and find an elephant sanctuary and do it that way. We intend to try to find one ourselves without the aid of a western company that will take a sizeable cut of the fee.

The temples are breathtaking. Large and numerous they dominate this area completely. The only problem is they all follow a very similar style so seeing all of them is very unnecessary. It does give you a chance however to pass by all the parks and lakes which are nice even though they are struggling with the dryness at the moment. They are all filled with birds all constantly singing. Many of whom sound like old mobile phone ringtones.

The other biggest event from today was being giggled at by all the locals as we passed on the bikes. I guess it’s funny seeing an oversized person on an undersized bike. At one point whilst riding around Pippa suddenly shouted “A snake! I’ve just run over a snake!” It wriggled itself across the road in front of her before she had time to notice it and she ran over the very end of it. It seemed alright and just slunk on it’s way. Later we passed a giant lizard of some kind. Luckily Pippa didn’t run that over too.

So now we wait. We have an hour and a half till our train. We are sitting in the courtyard of our ‘boutique hostel’ surrounded by the sound of bird song, chattering locals and dogs humping (apparently all the dogs here are in season). Oh, and of course Mosquitos!

Chang Mai here we come!!

Our room is the top left one! Think this might be the nicest room we are in for a while. BaanEve is Ayutthaya.

Arrived In Ayutthaya

We are out of Bangkok! It was about the right time to go as we were both itching to get out of a run down city and into the countryside you see on the postcards. Our first stop is Ayutthaya. Apparently it was an earlier capital, previous to Bangkok but was attacked and nearly destroyed. The parts you see before arriving paint a picture of a little pedestrianised ancient town where you can quietly walk or bike around and see the sights. However the half we have seen is just as modernised as Bangkok and there are cars everywhere! There’s not much point in coming to see an ancient city if they have built a new one on top of it! However it is quite nice and the housing is not quite as run down as parts of Bangkok. There are stray dogs everywhere and not quite as many of the signs have English on.

We have not seen the other half yet so I am hoping to be proven wrong. The best part by far is the hostel! We are currently in an old fashioned styled half wood room with panel doors and windows, a cute bathroom and air conditioning. Oh and free wifi! Brilliant!

Tomorrow we will head into the old part and see if we can find some of the ancient city all the brochures tell you about!