Thailand, part 1

Leaving Laos and heading into Thailand

Luang Prabang had been great. A wonderful place to close our Laos travel chapter. And it was time to hit the road again. Return to a country we have previously visited, and both love. For the people, and the food. We were headed to Thailand. 

Despite several trips to Thailand, neither of us had been in the north. Today we would remedy that. Our flight from Luamg Prabang was to Chiang Mai, a city some 700 kilometres from the capital, Bangkok. We boarded our plane at Luang Prabang international airport and before we knew it we had wheels down in Thailand. 

Chiang Mai 

The airport in Chiang Mai is only a very short distance from the city and within minutes we were checking into the Pissamorn guest house, run by the highly talkative and multi lingual Pissamorn herself. In subsequent conversations over the next few days we learned of her history in running large guest houses, her husband getting his PhD in America, and how the maid has an afternoon job making burgers for her sons cafe. Never a dull moment with Pissamorn, not least when we checked in. Now in her 70s, she has downsized and runs a guest house of only four rooms. As she walked us upstairs and showed us our room, she very proudly told us we had the most comfortable bed in the house.

As she left, I bounced on it to check. Before I had even bounced back up again we had a breathless Pissamorn at the door. She had run up the steps to tell us she had made a mistake. The “most comfortable bed in the house” was a double. We had booked twin beds, being the only option when we booked. She had shown us the wrong room and we had to move. Thankfully, I hadn’t stripped off and got between the sheets.

Still smiling, we went to have a wander around the streets of Chiang Mai. It is immediately obvious why it remains a favourite destination for digital nomads. A low cost of living and some very modern co-working (and co-living) spaces, makes it an ideal proposition. I was itching to get my laptop out and earn a few dollars for beer money. In the years since I was last in the region the coffee shop scene has also exploded. There are so many coffee shops that wouldn’t look out of place in Melbourne. Needless to say, I had to try as many as I could.

Checking the watch before buying beer in Thailand

When I am not drinking coffee, I am usually drinking beer. Alcohol in Thailand is more expensive than neighbouring countries. It is often more expensive than a meal at dinner. “Family Mart” and “7 Eleven” remain a travellers best friend, being able to pick up beers much cheaper. As long as you are within certain hours. It was in Chiang Mai that we became aware of an arcane, and slightly bizarre rule concerning alcohol sales. Having visited Thailand quite a few times in the past I am sure I’ve noticed before, but I can’t honestly remember. 

It turns out that, by law, shops are not allowed to sell alcohol between the hours of 2pm and 5pm. Researching this strange law we discovered it was enacted to prevent civil servants going off for lunch and getting drunk. Impairing their performance in the afternoon. How draconian. I wonder if this resulted in people getting drunk before work? All it meant for us was that we kept forgetting and had shop assistants tapping their watches when we tried to buy our Singha beer outside of the allotted times. 

Chiang Mai and the temple of Don Suthep

No trip to Chiang Mai would be complete without a visit to the temple of Doi Suthep. So, one morning we set off walking, stopping for coffee along the way (of course). We knew we couldn’t walk all the way there, due to it being located on the top of a very high hill, quite a number of kilometres away. But, we figured after coffee we would flag down a red taxi van. Which you see dozens of plying the streets of Chiang Mai. These are shared taxis, people jumping in the back, and pressing a button when you want to get out. The cost being almost pennies. 

On this particular day we couldn’t find any going in our direction. So we walked. And walked. And walked. When the sun got too hot and our legs felt they wouldn’t walk any further we flagged down a tuk tuk to take us to where the red vans to the temple go from. 100 baht he said. 50 each. Sounding reasonable, in we jumped. He proceeded to drive us around the corner, to the end of the street, and dropped us off. Yes, we were that close to the vans. 

Night markets and the street food of Chiang Mai 

Around town there are many other temples, even if not as eye catching as Doi Suthep. You can spend a whole day just meandering through the streets and visiting the temples. The old city is in a perfect square, and one can imagine it being surrounded by fortified walls at one point. The entrance gates remain at the four points of the compass. At the South Gate we visited the night markets.

Food is always a massive highlight of a trip to Thailand. We just love so many Thai dishes it would be hard to get bored. And the night markets in Thailand are some of the best places to eat. Visiting at dinner time you are spoiled for choice and you can get some very tasty, very cheap, street food.

The small, local restaurants are also a great bet for dinner. As I always do, I tried the local specialty. In Chiang Mai this is Khao Soi. A yellow curry noodle soup dish. With chicken. Good lord, it was spicy. I couldn’t feel my lips at the end if it. And so delicious. Every mouthful was a taste sensation. Victoria had a minced chicken, basil and chilli dish. And if I thought mine was spicy at least I was still able to talk at the end of it. 

Our step count is always high when we visit cities, and Chiang Mai was no exception. Our poor legs and feet having suffered through another hot day we finally went and had the foot massage we had been promising ourselves for weeks. Only 150 Thai baht each, for a 30 minute massage. It was bliss. Highly enjoyable. And left me wondering why we had left it so long. 

Heading to the islands

With my feet still grateful for the massage, and my senses full of the amazing sights and smells of Thailand, it was time to slow life down a little. We were heading south, to spend a week on the island of Phuket. How much will it have changed since my first visit in 1999?