Bangkok & Chiang Mai  

Arriving in Bangkok, we were greeted with hot weather that we missed in Hanoi. On our taxi ride into the city we realized that what we had been told about the city was true. It’s huge!! The motorcycle and car drivers are not nearly as ‘creative’ in their driving…ie, they stay on their own side of the road!

After getting settled in our hotel, we ventured out to see the ‘back packer’ district around where we were staying. Massage parlors and custom clothing stores were everywhere. Neither were on our buying list. However, during our Bangkok stay we were able to contribute to the local economy by visiting many other stores. We found the people of Bangkok so friendly and helpful. Every time we were standing on a street corner with our map out and lost, someone would ask us if they could help. They always struck up a conversation, asking us where we were from (ah, Washington DC? No Washington State) and would offer suggestions on places to see and shop. The tips were always good and they weren’t even trying to sell us anything. Although we did get in ‘trouble’ in the stores they suggested!!

Tuk Tuk’s are a type of taxi and a primary mode of transportation around the city. These are 3 wheel open motorbikes with a backseat for two. The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Keo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) are located in the Old City on the Chao Phraya River where river taxi’s transport people to various locations of the city. Since we weren’t within walking distance (not much is) we hopped on a Tuk Tuk for a ride to the river. We then took a boat taxi up the river, getting off at the closest point to the Grand Palace. Entering the Palace grounds we were awe struck by how beautiful the many temples and other buildings were. Such colors and different sculptural designs. While touring the Palace grounds we were told that the King would be entering later in the afternoon after the Grand Palace grounds closed. We found a place to sit along the route with many other locals and waited. About 6 pm he entered with a huge entourage. We’ve never seen so many new red and yellow Mercedes Benz’s (we think he likes those colors).

While in Bangkok we began our planning for our trip to Chiang Mai. With help from the Tourist Association we booked transportation and a tour for the rest of our Thailand trip. We had planned on taking an overnight train to Chiang Mai but they were full on the day we wanted to travel. So…. here we go again, on the overnight bus. It wasn’t nearly as comfortable as the Vietnamese buses but we arrived about 4:30 am. Then a taxi to our hotel.

Chiang Mai is in northern Thailand and a smaller city. It is a much more manageable city in terms of being able to see it. Tuk Tuk’s are again the primary mode of transportation and we hired one for our first day to tour the city and take us to a few of the most well known temples within the Old City. We were told that there are over 300, all of them, very unique, and with a rich history for each. That evening we were hungry for some ‘western’ food and found it at a restaurant along the Ping River. They offered an excellent meal with a great setting of the lights of the Old Walled City in the background. What an evening – Chiang Mai, Thailand with great food, wine and atmosphere.

Two of our objectives for the entire trip were to have a ride on an elephant and a camel. We accomplished the first on a trekking tour we took up into the mountains. It was a great day with some hiking through a very remote village, elephant riding, lunch in another remote village and river rafting (on bamboo rafts) which were all very fun.

These two cities offered a lot of very interesting sights and rich history along with the Thai people who are so nice and very helpful to us tourists. But our Thailand trip is no over quite yet. We will next fly to Kho Samui for fun in the sun and time on the beach.

Stay tuned….

Where’s Pat and Mike?