After a local lunch Nooka took me to an outdoor temple. It was a small shrine enclosing a four-faced figure. Many people were coming by to present incense and flowers. The large majority of Thais are Buddhist, and it is very prestigous to become a monk. It's very hard as well - for one thing you can only eat at the prescribed times, twice a day.
The next day, on my own, I walked around Chinatown. There is a thriving market there, with narrow lanes barely two people wide, and everything under the sun for sale. Near Chinatown I explored another wat (i.e. temple). Here there is an enormous statue of a Buddha. What makes this one unique is that it is made out of solid gold. It's size was almost too large to contemplate. Now that's devotion.
I also visited the snake hospital. This is a working anti-venom
facility, producing serums from seven of Thailand's deadly snakes.
There is also a small museum and an interesting live show. For the
show several snake handlers came out with a half dozen "working" snakes
in turn. The cobras (King and Siamese) were the most interesting.
The handler actually taunted the snakes
into rising, and even striking. Yes, they have been bitten many times.
I even got into the act, getting up close and personal
with one. I assumed this one was defanged; they didn't say, and I
wasn't going to ask. I also took a little water taxi ride up the
river - this is a form of transport still in use today. Bangkok has
a small series of canals running through it. Considering the amount
of street traffic, it's no wonder many people use these. The last
thing I saw was the National Museum. It
was somewhat interesting to wander around in, but is one of those sites
that would be okay to skip. Then I was moving again; night train
to Chiang Mai.
There are almost as many temples in Chiang Mai as in Bangkok, and being smaller in area, this means that there is one on almost every corner. The first day I walked around the city proper, which is enclosed in a 1 mile square of city wall and moat. I checked out many of the temples, including one with a cool elephant base. The rest of the day I spent checking out the region's biggest tourist industry (besides souvenirs): hill tribe trekking. The hill tribes are a number of isolated communities, which have developed there own language, customs, and costume. Almost every guest house offered a menu of mountain treks to visit one or more of these tribes. I had mixed feelings about going on one of these trips. As with most packaged tours, I was afraid of getting a canned experience. I was also a little concerned about tourism disrupting the peoples lives and cultures. Remember Heisenberg. But if nothing else, I thought it would be a good camping trip, so I signed up for a decent looking tour.
The 3 day trek was fun, with a good group of people - both trekkers and guides. Interaction with the hill people was minimal, which was pretty much what I expected. The first day was a short 2 hour hike in to a village. We slept in a large cabin with two elevated sleeping pallets made out of (hard) bamboo. The next morning I walked around a bit and saw a group of boys playing in one area. I also saw a group of girls, but they were working, chaffing some rice. I think some of the hill tribes are strongly patrilineal. We continued hiking, with several breaks for water and music (the guides brought along a guitar). The highlight of the day was getting to a raging little waterfall, where we all got in and took a soak. The water was pretty cold, too! After lunch we continued on to a small elephant camp, where we mounted up for a one hour ride through the jungle. This was actually cooler than I had thought it would be - a very large all terrain vehicle. Our elephant kept ripping up branches as we went along to snack on. An impressive beast to see in person. The next day we hiked out, and finished off riding these bamboo rafts down a river. Unfortunately the water was very low, so we ended up doing a lot of polling. Back at the hotel it was good to wash off the layers of grunge, and to sleep on a soft matress once more.
Next day I went to cooking school - Thai style. A one day course included preparation of six dishes (one of which I assisted in), which we consequently consumed for lunch. Included was a recipe book, and a description of the core Thai spices, including substitutes. A good time, and hopefully something that I can pick up on when I get back. The next day I rented a motorbike and went up to Doi Sutep, a temple up at the top of a small peak. Allison, another of the cooking students, accompanied me. The temple was a relaxing place to visit, but the best part were the just ripe lychees that they sold at the bottom. The best snack fruit in the world, and the freshest I've ever had. After the temple, we zoomed down the hill to a waterfall, and a quick dip. We followed the stream up a small trail for a bit, then came back down for a dip in the pool in Allison's hotel. At night I walked around the Night Bazaar again. This is an awesome and fun place to roam around in. I bought some clothes, and spent some time chatting with the vendors.
Next day was pack up day. After checking out of the hotel, I rented a bike and went toodling around the town. When it came time to catch the train, turns out it's three hours late. Another adventure on the night train to Bangkok. I slept pretty well though. A few more hours in the city, then a morning plane to Nepal.
