Mick's profileChiang Mai DazePhotosBlogListsMore  |  Tools Help |
Chiang Mai DazeEnjoying life in Chiang Mai |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
October 05 NineYou may have noticed a new face in my photo's, Suphanan whos nickname is Nine. I had met NIne in November and hit it off from the start, she had been asking about me but was told I had a girlfriend. But when that finished Nok called her and told her I was single so she asked me to come and have a drink with her, we have been inseparable since that night. Her nickname is 'Nine', she is of course gorgeous, never been married, no kids, she can touch type in English has better computer skills than me and LOVES PHOTOGRAPHY!!! Talk about hitting the jackpot!! She interprets for me before I ask and makes life much easier, she stays here now and life is very very good. Whenever we go out we have our cameras with us, she drives a Nikon and her photo's inspire me to take better pics. She bought me a watch for my birthday (June 17th)and is a good travel companion. Sinse we have been together we have travelled out to Nan and Praeo Payoa, then down to Hua Hin to visit Max and we have just retirned from a ride up to Fang with Kieth from the Isle of Mann, who was on the 6 day ride back in January. February 10 Cathing upWell it's been a while eh! There's been a lot happening, Nong May got married and Kaeo and I have been apart since December. It was very sad what happened but enough of that.
I of course dove right into retail therapy and bought a Honda Phantom. This was part of my plans for Thailand, to explore the country on a Phantom. Since buying the bike one month ago, I've done over 5000 kilometers. My worries about gear changes were elliminated on the day after I bought her when I rode in a 'Toy Run' with the Chiang Mai bike clubs. About 80 of us rode the Sameong Loop, a winding mountain road about 100 ks long.
A couple of weeks ago I rode to Hua Hin about a 1000 ks south of here and called in at Cha-am to see some old friends. It was a good way to judge costs and times for future rides and to get more atuned to the bike.
Last week I rode for 5 days around the Norther Borders of Laos and Burma. We started at Nan then rode to Pua and around the stunning Doi Phukka Loop. Again the scenary was wonderful, 7 of us followed the mighty Mekong River for 2 days stopping at The Golden Triangle, famous for it's opium production in years gone by. Here the Mekong River forms aborder with Thailand Burma and Laos (hence the triangle term). We spent the night in Chiang Saen which was an ancient Lanna capitol before they moved to Chiang Rai and then Chiang Mai. Incidentally Chiang means walled city.
After a night in Mae Sai we headed out through villages along mountain tops covered in tea plantations. Diminutive figures with tribal head dresses carrying baskets of kindling in Mae Sa Long. A small town perched on top of a mountain ridge with only room for one road which winds through a wonderful combination of houses, mostly with a Chinese influence. From there we rode to Fang and next day back to Chiang Mai through mountains and limestone outcrops both rising vertically from the surrounding rice fields. I can hardly wait to do the trip again with more camera gear.
So as you can see life has changed a bit and 2008 looks like being a good year! August 07 A day at San Kamphaeng Hot Springs On Saturday the 4 of us headed out at 9:30 am and rode out past the silversmiths and umbrella factories in the small villages to the west. Just out of town I noticed the roadsigns were written in 3 languages Thai, English and a new one to me... Lanna, Chiang Mai's own language. Perhaps it should have occured to me, that this having been a separate kingdom,would have it's own separate language. The script is very fine and looks like a cross between Myanmar script and Tolkiens Elvish.
We rode through the small Lanna style villages with their wooden two story houses and silk factories, past the endless stalls and out into the low surrounding hills. East of the village of Mu Song we past the towering limestone peak where the caves of 'Tam Muang On' await further exploration, they are said to have impressive stalactites and stalagmites.
After riding an hour taking our time enjoying the sights, we arrived at the entrance to the park. We left our bikes in the care of a stall holder (10 baht) and strolled across to buy food for our picnic. The girls bought BBQ'd chicken and birds eggs in bamboo baskets to hang in the boilng water. We bought our tickets for 15 baht each and gave the stubs to the guard on the gate. As we walked past the shops selling food and clothing I saw a lovely dress for Kaeo. She loved it too so I bought it and the jewelry used in it's display, the price was just over 300 baht around $10 Aus. We walked through the gardens to another stall and the girls bought Issan food (Som Tam Poo Pla) and I bought beer Singha. They sent me off to take photo's while they found a spot and prepared the food. I got back to find our eggs hanging off a hook in the boiling water, the bamboo picnic mat laid out, the ice cold beer poured and the food ready for our mini feast.
I ate the chicken and a couple of eggs leaving the Issan food to those with stronger stomachs. Som Tam Poo Pla is salted raw crab with a VERY SPICY papaya salad, it is eaten with khow neow (sticky rice) and dipped in a chilli paste. I tried it ... once!
After lunch and a rest we walked further into the garden area past the bath houses and bought tickets for the thermal swimming pool. For a long while we had them to ourselves which was nice but after a while a group of tourists arrived. They were friendly enough and even joined the girls under the waterfall for photo's, but after an hour or so I started to know how the eggs felt, I'd jumped out for cool showers a couple of times but was cooked and ready to leave, Thankfully so were the girls as the sky was also looking very dark with black rain clouds coming in. Near the gate to the park I photographed what looked like a small squirrel on a tree, it was eating a banana put there to attract them and was very cute.
outside in one of the stalls Dan and I shared one more beer, Poum drank water and Kaeo cola as we ate fresh green mango dipped in sugar and chilli, there was another fruit that tasted like a pickled gerkin but it had no English name. Thirsts quenched we retrieving our bikes and heading for home under the cooling black clouds. In Muang Song the Saturday markets had been set up turning the main street into a walking street. We detoured through the back roads that were crowded with others trying to find their way through the narrow lanes, then back into top gear Kaeos arms wrapped around me as we reached the highway again. Poum tends to ride very slowly on her Honda Phantom so we rode ahead just so I could get out of 3rd gear ha ha, Not too fast, 60 to 80 kph is fast enough for me after that conversation gets too hard.
We called in at Poums house and gave Dan a lift to the bus station before arriving home as the rain started. Good timing eh!!! July 22 Just kiddingAnother great day yesterday. We headed out the door early to arrive at Pooms house for an 8 AM start. Kaeo and I followed Poom and Dan who were riding a Phantom and headed North East on our fuel injected Honda Wave past the temple at Doi Saket in the light rain. Riding in the rain was not a problem, it just made things cooler, but Doi Saket was almost hidden by the low clouds. Kaeo hasn't been there yet and asked me to take her there 'one day but not today', her English is getting much better. Another 15 minutes riding brought us to the turn off for The Hua Hong Khrai Royal Development Center, here in an initiative of the King, research is conducted into sustainable farming and the management of water and forestry resourses. We rode the winding road down steep hills and past many dams to the cattle and livestock section. then down a muddy dirt trail to where they kept the goats. Half way along this trail we were halted by a mob of these animals who looked at us with curiosity before ambling off up the hillside. Further on we came to the milking shed, our destination. Here Poom bought the goats milk she will use to make her cheese. We looked at the young kids who were like little puppies eager for attention. I took photo's of the girls feeding a couple of them before stashing the milk into an esky and saying our goodbyes. Just outside the center we stopped to buy bamboo shoots and mushrooms at a roadside stall. There was a poster on the wall with a picture of a rinoscerous beetle, I asked what the poster said and was told of an upcoming festival where these large beetles fight one another. I made a note in my mental dairy to come back for it, I thought only Aussies were that crazy! Back at Pooms house the girls laughed and joked in Isan as they prepared another delicious meal which was washed down with ice cold Singha beer.Then back to our apartment for Poom to use the webcam to show her growing tummy to her husband Richard who is in France for another few weeks. Poom and Richard had been wanting a baby for sometime with no luck until Poom prayed for one at a shrine on the way up the mountain to Doi Suthep. A few weeks ago we went back for her to say thank you. As I filmed, the passing drivers all tooted their horns to ask the spirits to safeguard them on their journey. A sort of Buddhist St. Christopher. After watching Issan music video clips and drinking couple of Sang Soms we decided to go out to a French restaurant for a meal. Being French the owner was a friend of Richard and Poom's so we were made very welcome. Poom gave kaeo and Dan cutlery lessond to show how to sue the knife to cut the steak as Thai's don't use them all food being prepaired to bite size in the cooking. This restaurant is at the top end of Loi Khro Road which has many bars with girls sitting outide trying to lure the psassing 'falang'. Kaeo was wide eyed, she'd never seen this part of Chiang Mai, I took her for a walk after eating and showed her the different bars as she asked "You drink here?" Well I used to drink in a couple of them but not since I met her. She laughed and said the girls were beautiful and from now on when I go out she's coming with me ha ha. Of course later she clarified things with "I love you, you love me, you go out Khun diow (alone) talk talk ladies funny, no problem but NO BOOM BOOM OK!!!" Ha ha . We had a couple of games of pool at one of the bars further down the road where a friend of Poom works. Kaeo proudly told me she could play and that there were 2 pool tables in her village. She lost the bet! We did a lot of laughing as I downed ball after ball and her's just wouldn't sink. As the winner I played Poom next and Kaeo laughed more as she made sure we didn't have the same bet! I went 'in off the black' so Poom won and we headed out the door and pointing Kaeo in the right direction, (turn her around twice and she's lost) we left the arcade of bars. Outside the drizzle continued as we donned our helmets and set off home; well that was the plan but as we came to the Guitarman Bar our friend the waiter was there. "One beer!" he said with a smile. Sounded like a good idea as our friend Rasta Tum was playing reggae. Tum finished his set then came over to say hello and share a beer. He has known us since our first date and was very helpful translating between us explaining that we liked the same things. The next band finished setting up and launched into Cream's 'I'm So Glad' followed by some Led Zeppelin songs that Kaeo and I really enjoyed. During Led Zeppelins 'Rock 'n Roll I rang Paul in Australia who is a big fan of LZ, I knew he of all my friends would still be up at 12:30 am, I let him be deafened by the music before heading out the door for a brief conversation. Paul is the person I hear from most in Oz, great company and a great friend but deadly on the chess board. Kaeo heard Led Zeppelin for the first time a few nights ago, I noticed she liked to listen to my MP3 player so bought a double adapter and another set of earphones so we could share. I like to listen to music as I go to sleep, any music is good but on this night I felt like some Zep. As Led Zeppelin II got into full swing I could hear Kaeo saying "Wow , no sleep, pleng dee!" (= good music). This was quite a change from the Isan music Kaeo listens to. People here in Chiang Mai refer to it as country music and it nearly always has a cowbell keeping time. We stayed for the one beer watched the guy's finish their set, then said goodnight and continued a laughing conversation on the bike all the way home as Kaeo tried to tell me she couldn't remember our pool bet ha ha . It's ok teerak I can remember for you  June 29 Trip to Loei in IssanHi Everybody, good to back on line!!! We have had trouble with the hotel's net
connection. They had a technician here for hours the other day and as a result we
have been given a direct line to the hotel router. Not bad as we are now on the 8th
floor! They look after me well here, the staff are like friends, especially after I joined them for the Songkhran celebrations. Now that Kaeo is here she gets on well with everybody and usually has them laughing so it's even better.
I guess the big news here is that I've bought a motorbike! It's a Honda Wave i, fuel injected with racing wheels, upgraded suspension and braking system. It's black and
grey and one of the best looking bikes in town. I can't believe how much better it is
than the hired bikes I've been riding for the past 6 months.
The other big news is our trip to Loei and the small village Kaeo comes from, Na Duang. We stayed in her brother Tong Lek's house, Kaeo is the youngest of 7 kids, (4 sisters
and 2 brothers). The house was quite modern, built of brick with a huge satelite dish in
the yard and a little bigger than the traditional wooden houses around it. Tong Lek
drives a pick up but most of the people there get around on motorbikes or those 2
wheeled hand tractor things with a trailer.
It was nice to meet Kaeo's family, they are all very nice people all living in the same village. Her her dad died a year or so ago but her mum was really nice , I met her
daughter Nong May who is 16, still at school and doing very well, she is a lovely girl
very helpful around the home without being asked. She speaks no English but used a
phrase book and asked "Papa talk?" She calls me "Papa" which I think is very sweet.
There was a big festival being celebrated to bring on the rain while we were there. I think it was called the Bang Fie Festival, 'bang fie' being what they called the HUGE home made rockets they were firing from a bamboo frame. Some of these rockets were 20 feet long with 5 or 6 tubes of gunpowder lashed to a bamboo pole. They were very loud when launched and
punched holes in the clouds.
There were lines of dozens of ladies dancing their graceful movements unique to each village, music was belted out from huge banks of speakers mounted on trucks towing
generaters. After the traditional dancers the villagers danced in the street, many of the guys were pissed and very friendly asking me to join the dancing.
Kaeo shepherded them gently away and went back to join the dancing, usually next to the
pretties ladies saying "film this one she's beautiful".
As the sun started to go down we jumped into the back of the pick-up and drove through several small villages to the "Bat Cave". Being a 'falang' everybody looked at
me as we went by so I said hello to them all. Kaeo said I was being "Ting tong falang"
(silly) but I got a lot of laughs. As we approached the cave we could see streams of
bats flying like a black ribbon over the villages. We parked the ute beside the temple
at the base of the limestone mountain and Nong May said "Papa this way" and lead me past the home of an old Buddhist monk to the best vantage point in a rice field as millions of small bats continued to emerge.
Tong Lek had taken us up inside the cave the day before, after a long climb up uneven steps we entered passed the statues of Buddha and braved the very strong
amonia smell to look into the depths where hundreds of bats wheeled around us. I
shot some video as a couple of them crashed into me, my sandaled feet sinking into
the dusty floor which I knew was the residue of a million years of batshit. I breathed
through my refresher towel and put the cam on infra-red mode to capture the flight in
the blackness and ended up with blurred streaks of little value, should have taken my
tripod (again). It was really good to get out into the fresh air and back down the steps
to where I could wash my feet and hair, I felt filthy!
The area around Loei has many very beautiful limestone mountains rising suddenly from the surounding rice fields. Their sheer cliffs have many caves, some used by
hermit monks others steeped in legends about giant tigers and naga's (naga's are the
huge snakes that protect Buddha).
Back in the village there was another celebration as one of the young men was being ordained as a monk, his head had been shaved and he was dressed in white as they took
him around the village streets in the back of a pick-up acompanied by dancing to
music played from another truck full of speakers. At one stage I gave Kaeo the
camera and joined the dancing which delighted the other dancers. Water was being
sprinkled as part of the ritual but for me there was a special (very polite) dousing with
ice cold water. It felt really good and everybody was in stitches as I played to the
crowd. We danced to the home of the monk's family where food was served then later
that night the stayers settled down to some serious drinking. Kaeo's uncle Loung Norng kept
toasting me with Thai whiskey which is the same as sake. As we toasted each other in
the traditional Thai way we swapped glasses. He would down my Sang Som in one go
and all the guys watched as I did the same with ever incresing quantities of whiskey.
Kaeo was getting worried as she knows how strong it is and kept pouring me glasses
of water, asking if I was alright and telling me to be careful or I'd end up with a
headache, but it was a bloke thing and had to be done.
On our last day there Kaeo's sisters arrived after lunch to play the most confusing card game I've ever seen. Kaeo translated as best she could as they joked and
teased their little sister with lots of laughing "lady talk". We went through a bottle and
a half of Sang Som (Thai rum) and it was one of the best days, as her sisters are
'sarnook mak mart' (great fun).
I really enjoyed my time there meeting Kaeo's family and her friends. We explored the village on one of the motorbikes and ladies greeted her wherever we went
all of them laughing and saying they want her to find them falang boyfriends too.
The busride back to Chiang Mai was a long 9 hours still a bit under the weather from all the Sang Som. We'd had a great time but it was good to be back to the cooler
climate and our own beds which we hit soon after we got home.
My head is full of good memories of that trip, I could tell you more but I'm sure you get the picture. The end result is that Kaeo told me I now have a reputation for fun
(sarnook) and a good heart (jai dee) her family like me very much and look forward to
me coming back which will not be until September when there is another big
celebration to film. Next time we will fly because Kaeo has never been in an airplane, I
think it will be less nerve wracking than the bus ride.
Thanks for visiting!
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
