We arrived refreshed in Chiang Mai, an ancient city with an inner city surrounded by an old city wall and a ...............
............Moat.
Like most of Asia there is temple after temple, but here there were some especially beautiful ones. See the snake banister, a mythical creature who was refused entry by Buddha and spends his days protecting the temple instead (I think).
A very old Stuppa.
Christmas decorations never come down here, I think that they think they are too pretty to take down. Finally Slade has his wish it really is Christmas Everyday!
We decided to explore the city on scooters but ended up on push bikes as Kenny crashed his in the first few yards and we think broke his toe!
A wonderful wooden temple.
With a big Buddha!
A more glamorous Stuppa.
Outside the museum with the statue of the 3 Princes. (Kenny wanted me to call this photo the 4 Princes).
(Did I say that? - K)
We booked an evening dinner at the cultural centre through our hostel owner, who told us it included hostel pick-up to get us there. I think we miss heard him and what he actually meant was The Hostel Pick-Up would get us there!
The dinner was fantastic. A whole range of Thai food was served to us while we enjoyed some native dancing.
The Finger nail dance.
Before long they were pulling people up from the audience to join them.
Later we were lead to an outside area were the hill tribes folk did a few turns.
They were really very good, featuring loud drums ..............
........ beautiful dresses ...............
........... all very entertaining.
After adoring the food, we decided to book onto a Thai cooking day course (mainly so I could learn how to cook Phad Thai noodles and Mango Sticky Rice - my staple diet). We collected some goodies from the market and headed back to the school.
Before too long I was cooking my beloved Phad Thai - it was so easy!!!!
Kenny cooked different dishes.
Kenny's Panang Curry.
(And that's my Chuicken with Cashew Nuts behind it, by the way. - K)
Doing some kind of preparation.
(I think I'm holding up a catfish head and tail, having just boned the rest of it! - K)
I opted to cook Spring Rolls. The rolling is very tricky a bit like rolling a big cigar (I imagine).
Would you look at that - very proud moment for me.
The finished dish.
We had a fabulous day cooking and made all sorts including Mango Sticky Rice, Green Curry, Coconut Soup & Sweet & Sour Veggies. At home I hate to cook but this was great fun. I am now a Thai cooking convert.
(Hooray! - K)
There is a lot I love about Thailand. The Mangoes are right up there as are the fabulous Massages but also high on my list are the Markets. (Later Christened as "Sarah's 3 M's")
Time to move on. We headed further north to Chiang Rai, not as pretty as Chiang Mai but it had one incredible landmark - The Golden Clock.
That on the hour through the evening played music and a light show. It was actually quite lovely.
We set out on a day tour to take in this fabulous temple, some hill tribes, The Golden Triangle & the Opium Museum.
This new White Temple was incredible, the detail amazing.
It depicted the horrors of the world. See these begging hands beneath the bridge. Inside the walls and ceiling were being painted with modern scenes i.e. 9/11, tanks and Spiderman. It was very moving and showed very clearly how we have many problems, most self-created.
Just Fabulous.
Next the Hill Tribes, who had all been congregated in small villages for the tourists to visit. I still do not know how I felt about this. They were very much being asked to 'perform' for us. It was interesting to see them but I feel saddened by this exploitation. Or maybe this was a great earner that they were more than happy to oblige in and we were the ones being exploited by paying relatively high prices to visit? My mind is not made up.
We wandered around these 'typical' villages.
Meeting the locals, listening to them sing.
They seemed quite happy and welcoming and of course it helped that we bought souvenirs.
Would they have dressed in local outfits had we not been there or would they have opted for the easier more western look of jeans and a BeerLao t-shirt?
There was a sense of community here and they had relatively easy lives from the tourist trade. It is fair to say that these tribes once lived high in the mountains between Thailand/Laos and China. Due to work, food & war, etc they have moved further and further down the valley. They still have tribal areas where they live and small teams are sent down for these 'tourist villages'. So I guess it is better than us going up to their actual villages as down here is more on their terms.
Of course the most fascinating tribe are the Long Necks. The women’s' necks are bound in these (very) heavy rings. It is not that the neck is lengthened but that the weight of the rings pushes the shoulders down. Some of these rings weigh over 5kg!!!!!! I thought it was a beauty thing but no. Apparently, it is because many, many years ago women were being attacked by tigers and, so to protect them, they surrounded their necks in metal. (At least this is what the book says - make your own mind up. As far as I know there are very few tigers left yet they still continue this tradition from a very young age). The neck is so weakened that the women cannot hold their own heads safely without the rings.
The Golden Triangle, where Thailand meets Laos meets Burma. So called due to the very profitable Opium trade.
Nothing much to see here so they built something to see - Big Teapot.
Big Buddha.
Looking across the Mekong to Laos.
The Opium Museum.
The very pretty weights for weighing out the drug.
I am very anti-drugs but only in the abuse of them. Opium is a very, very important drug for pain relief as it is the base substance of Morphine. It is a shame that so many people do abuse drugs as they could be even more useful to those in severe pain and suffering if they were available on prescription.
Last stop is the ancient city of Chiang Saen.
Very old Stuppa who recently had its top knocked off by an earthquake.
Old city foundation structures.
The temple.
Our Thailand leg had come to an end (until we return in July). We drove up the border with Laos, the Mekong in between, and endured a 2 minute boat journey to cross over.
No comments:
Post a Comment