I have received some constructive critique via email from my fellow travel-blogger Steve. I will attempt to keep up the fun to read factor but also include more description of the places we visit, (rather than lazily linking a web page J) Also I will try to limit the toilet references...lol.
Something I forgot to mention on the return trip from Chiang Rai was the man towing a huge boar in a white cage behind his motorbike. He came shooting up beside us at a set of traffic lights. Vicky saw the pig first and we all giggled at the size of its testes. Imagine two eggplants, you get the size. Vicky suggested the pig may be his pet. Peter laughed and said,
“Gootbai Pig, his going to eat you!”
Classic moment. We all burst out laughing, morbid but funny all the same. Everytime I see a chicken, pig, cow or cat behind a motorcycle I say “gootbai!” from now on.
Onto the next day!
Vicky gets us up early. The pick-up time is 9:30am. I am all for not missing arranged appointments but we are waiting outside on a back street at 8:45am. She is very cute when she wants to get going J At least it isn’t raining! It was nice to watch the world pass us by for a bit. There is a funny looking dog at the end of the street. The dog seems to be tempting fate by crossing halfway across the road, stopping in front of cars, sniffing the air then turning back to the curb just before the car arrives. I reckon it would be less likely to get run over then we would!
Peter waves from across the t-intersection, his car has been washed and it is ready to go after some gas. Our itinerary was as follows: 22km to Doi Buak Ha where the Bhubing Palace is. Back down 4km to Doi Suthep to see Wat Phra That. Back to Chiang Mai for some Khao Soi, (Chiang Mai noodle). To Wat Chedi Luang then to see the ruined city Wiang Kum Kam. Home again, home again J
The road up to the peak of Doi Buak, (I think I explained earlier the the word ‘doi’ means mountain in Thai...didn’t I?), is long and winding. The elevation is around 1.6km so we hit the clouds about half way up. I would describe it to be like travelling up Mount Tamborine only hotter, more humid and more jungle. The mad mo-ped riders fly up and down without helmets and huge smiles. We reach the summit. I don my long pants as cultural standards require that when entering the royal palace and gardens you must cover your shoulders and legs. If you don’t have long pants you have to buy some skirt like silks to cover you for 50bht. The grounds are huge and the roads are slippery, we opt for the tour guided golf cart around the palace and gardens.
 |
| Bhubing Palace - Yep it was raining! |
 |
| The Queen of Thailand. She sorts out the flowers |
The Bhubing Palace, or Winter Palace is located on Doi Buak Ha. The palace overlooks the whole of Chiang Mai, (Chiang = city, Mai = new). The palace was built in 1961 for King Rama V for its remote location and cool temperature. Due to the elevation of the mountain it is about 8 – 10 degrees cooler than Chiang Mai. This day gave us misty rain and unfortunately no view due to the heavy cloud cover. But instead of a sticky 32 degrees in town it was 20 degrees and fresh.
The palace was once only used by the Thai royal family. Later they built guest houses for prominent state visitors, (Vicky and I were offered to stay but respectfully declined J), when the King and Queen are not visiting tourists and locals can check it out. I must say the palace was not really that great or interesting. The gardens that surround it however were stunning. The King has also built a palace for every season of the year. Nice to be rich I guess...
Our guide explains that the rose gardens that surround the palace contain 300 species of rose! And then there are orchids of all kinds. The roses were beautiful and smelled amazing. Not all were in bloom but those that had, I just wanted to rub the petals all over me. Happy snaps complete we exit the golf cart. It is still crazy slippery.
 |
| They had Double Delights! my favourite rose |
 |
| This big red rose had a fragrance I had never smelt before |
 |
| And the orchids were stunning |
It is a quick trip down to Doi Suthep and the base of stairs to Wat Phra That. This temple is popular with locals and tourists, and is considered to be very special to the Thai due to the origins of the temple and the story that surrounds it.
 |
| Street parking at the base of the stairs. Lots of red taxis! |
 |
| At the bas of the stairs, 300 to go! |
A monk named Sumanathera lived in Sukhothai, Thailand. He had a dream; in his dream god told him to go to Pang Cha and find a relic. A relic is a piece of the Buddha, as when he passed away according to Buddhist custom his remains were cremated. Small pieces of bone were sent all over the world to be held in ‘chedi’ (pointy shrines in Thailand). It is said that Sumanathera found part of Buddha’s shoulder bone. It could glow, it could vanish, it move and replicate itself. I guess it was also customary that if you found a glowing, self replicating, and vanishing bone you take it to your King. King Dharmmaraja ruled Sukothai at the time.
The king made offerings and hosted a ceremony eager for Sumanathera’s return. When presented with the relic it didn’t do anything special. A bit like, I swear it did it last night your highness! As the relic just acted like a normal bone, Sumanathera was told to keep it.
News of the relic travelled to Lanna Kingdom, King Nu Naone offered to take the relic and with King Dharmmaraja’s permission it was handed over in 1368. To get to King Nu Naone, the monk travelled to Lamphun. The relic randomly split in two. The smaller piece of the relic was enshrined at a temple in Suandok. King Nu Naone placed the larger piece of relic on the back of a white elephant which was released in the jungle. The idea was that when the elephant finally rested this would be the sacred place to build a temple to enshrine the relic. The elephant took off and is said to have climbed up Doi Suthep, it was called Doi Aoy Chang (Doi = mountain, Aoy = sugar, Chang = elephant therefore Sugar Elephant Mountaint). The elephant trumpeted 3 times and died. This was interpreted as a sign and the king ordered the construction of a temple.
I bet all the builders were cursing that fucking elephant, dying on a mountain top with NO ROAD!
I wanted to include that history because it is very cool. This place is some 700 years old and everything within the temple grounds is huge! It takes no less than 300 steps to get up there. It was wet and slippery as the terracotta tile was smooth from many footsteps. The dragons that act as a balustrade on each side of the stairs are cement and tile, glazed in brilliant colours. It was a hard walk a) because we were so high up and b) it was slippery as fuck and I didn’t want either of us breaking leg. We reach the top and pay the 30bht entry, (only for tourists), which goes towards maintaining the site and feeding the volunteers.
Normally you are only required to remove your shoes when entering the worship area inside the temple, however my Aussie safety boots, (thongs), were not being very safe for me so I took them off and tucked them into my bag. The grounds within the walls are quite large, huge in fact. We wander around the outside of the main temple area for a while. Beside the main entrance stands a monument to the white elephant that ‘selected’ the place for the temple to be built. A few short steps later we enter the internal section of the temple. There are are about 100 or so statues of Buddha all around the place. In the centre is the giant gold ‘chedi’. Chedi is the term used in Thailand for stupa, which literally means heap. The chedi houses Buddhist relics, for example this chedi supposedly contains the relics of Buddha himself. They were simply a mound of clay or mud to cover relics of the Buddha. (So you all know the Buddha story right? No? Ok short is Buddha meditated for a quite a while under a tree and achieved enlightenment. After the parinirvana of Buddha his remains were cremated and the ashes divided and buried under eight chedi or stupa, (plus an additional 2 for the urn and embers). That is the short version, missing lots of important info but you get the idea J. Look it up because the story of the Buddha and the journey to enlightenment is long and interesting.
 |
| The dogs sleep on the stairs. They don't bother anyone. This was a small temple beside the main pagoda |
 |
| Don't ring the bells! They are ceremonial and for monks only! |
 |
| The shrine to the White Elephant. See how it carried the Buddha relics on it's back... |
Where was I? Oh yeah the giant gold chedi. It is massive. There are also small temple structures within the main area where you can pray and have a monk bless you. It smelt of rain and incense. It was also very busy. Many people were coming into the temples still standing up and taking photos. I was disgusted in this as normally you are forbidden to take photos from inside the temple/pagoda area. If you can take photos you should be kneeling, not standing around like a stupid French prick. (Yeah, the French tourists had NO respect in these places. I don’t apologise for being blunt about this. If you can’t respect a few simple customs in another country like paying a small entry fee as a foreign visitor for the privilege of being in a sacred place then STAY HOME!)
 |
| Big Gold Chedi! |
 |
| There were many, many, many images and statues of the Buddha... |
 |
| A Decent View from the peak, even with the rains. Cooee Chiang Mai!! |
Vicky wanted to take the cable car back down the hillside instead of the stairs. No way was that happening. I wanted to make the pilgrimage like a Buddhist would! We walk very slowly down the stairs to meet up with Peter again. There is a jade museum nearby that Peter explains actually does have real jade and other gems unlike most of the sellers in Chiang Mai markets that have. There is Nephrite Jade and Jadeite jade. Jadeite is harder than nephrite. There are also many colours, like white, royal jade (dark green), blue jade and black jade which when you shine a torch through it will light up an amazing emerald green colour.
Oh I forgot to mention my massive fail before entering the jade museum! The stairs down again were terracotta, only really old and slippery due to the water and moss. I make it nearly all the way down the 2nd last step and I slip. Luckily my monkey left toe bends enough out of my thong to catch the lip of the next step. It is so painful but I don’t let arse touch ground. I even popped out a plug from my thong! There are a few locals nearby that hoot in astonishment, and then when they see I am laughing also laugh aloud. That is what I also like about Thai culture; it’s all about ‘saving face’ no raised voices in anger and no moping about due to bad luck. Make a joke, laugh and move on with life.
We purchase two elephants. One with a trunk up which represents good luck and/or victory and one with the trunk down which means welcome and/or thank you, (kob khun kaa/krab). This was after a 5 minute presentation on jade and how it is made into jewellery. We even get the back of house tour to see a guy carving the jade with rotary tools. It was a great little experience I am glad we didn’t miss it.
So down the mountain we go. We stop half way for some happy snaps, the view is pretty decent considering the rain and cloud we had at the time.
Peter takes us all the way back through Chiang Mai. This is a city that is made up of two sections. Think of it this way – The inner city or old Chiang Mai is surrounded by a circle brick wall. The wall has 4 gates, (from memory...lol), and within the ruins of the wall is old Chiang Mai. The king at the time build the wall around Chiang Mai as a way to protect his people and sort out who enters the kingdom. Later on a prince and princess marry and this union of kingdoms brings down the walls. Nice. So we are weaving through some tight back streets in old Chiang Mai and Peter pulls up in front of this hole-in-the-wall shopfront, (if you could call it that). The store is as genuine as the Thai people. Warm and friendly. Nothing is in English, Peter explains that the ‘restaurant’ is a family business handed down through each generation. The only choice we really make is do we take chicken or beef. Oh yeah, “take”. That is funny.
The broken English of a lot of Thai locals uses the word “take” instead of “have” it’s funny. Like “Don’t you take breakfast?” or “Beer, no I don’t take many” I like it anyway...
So I “take” the beef and Vicky takes the chicken. Peter takes beef and chicken and away we go. This place specialises in Khao Soi, (Chiang Mai noodle for you noobs). It is either chicken or beef with a yellow currybase, fish sauce, palm sugar, and coconut milk plus noodles. As a side you get Kimchi, (pickled cabbage), ground fried chillies in oil, lime and little purple shallots. Peter showed us how to put it all together.
“Furrss you take gimchee and put in, then you put the onions, then you take chilli. How spicy you take you add little or less. Okay. Then you skwizz the lime. If you take it sweet you put the sugar. Then you stir.”
 |
| This is Khao Soi, home made sold from the street. Sooo gooooooood! |
We follow the directions and we take a mouth full. It is fucking great. Hot, sour, sweet and good! I may have overdone the chilli oil but it was still brilliant. To round it off I order a salad. It’s cold vegies covered in a sweet peanut dressing. It is just as awesome as the Khao Soi. No more French dressing for me! Peter motions to pay for the meals. We decided to cover the tab as he was such a great guide. Get this, the dish total was 4 Kaho Soi and one salad-thing. 150bht. That is $4.60AUD!!! For a full lunch for three!! Nomnomnomnom.
Satisfied we shoot off to see some temples. Peter said he would take us to the best one he knows of in Chiang Mai. There are literally hundreds of the freaking things within Chiang Mai so for him to show us the best or favourite was a bonus. Wat Chedi Luang.
This place has a huge old chedi and a few pagodas. Here is the history for Wat Chedi Luang. 600 years old, the chedi was started by king Saen Muang Ma during the 14th century. 10 years of building it still was not finished, the king died and his widow finished it. To the Thai people at the time this was a really bad thing and would bring bad luck. When it was finished the chedi stood 82m high and a base diameter of 54m. It was the largest building in all of Lanna at the time. (Lanna is basically what is now northern Thailand, it was the name of the kingdom that contained Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai...citation neededJ ).
 |
| Wat Chedi Luang - The Buddha statue is in the little hole at the top of the stairs |
 |
| Imagine if the top 30m didn't break off!! |
In 1468 an emerald Buddha was installed. Here comes the bad luck part, an earthquake collapsed the upper 30m or so of structure in 1545 and then they moved the Buddha to Bangkok in 1551.
The chedi is huge. You can see where the original emerald Buddha sat, now replaced with a black jade Buddha to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Lanna. Inside the temple it is about 40m high and there are giant teak poles from floor to roof. At the front stage there are huge gold Buddhas and statues of monks that had passed away. There is also a coffin to the left of the centre stage which held the remains of a 90 year old monk that has only just died. Peter said they keep the body there for 100 days before cremation.
 |
| The main temple at Wat Chedi Luang. Huge! |
 |
| They are real teak support beams. Masive and thick. |
 |
| Worship here. Damn tourist bombing my photo!! |
Onto another of the many pagodas in the main grounds. Inside we find a glass case housing a wax monk. He is very real looking. The pagoda is kind of like a house to keep the relics of the monk after cremation and is also like his final shrine and resting place. There is a second shrine with another wax monk and relics. We don’t take any photos as Peter explains these structures are the homes of the monk after life. It was quiet and peaceful. Off to the ruined city!
We can’t take a boat up the river to where the city is located. Instead Peter drives directly to where you can hire a guide to show you around. Peter says in his 20 years of being a guide he has only ever been asked twice to see the ruins. Peter personally loves them and the village built around them but as it is in the poorer area where there is a lot of flooding people don’t go there. Bonus because it was empty. 2nd bonus we get a horse drawn carriage to see the place!
Wiang Kum Kam is an ancient walled city 30km south of Chiang Mai. It was built by king Mangrai in the late 13th century. It was a new capital established by the king after defeating the kingdom of Hariphunchai. It all went well and happy right through to the 16th century. The city was lost in two parts, when the Burmese conquered Chiang Mai in 1558 and because of flooding around this time when it was finally abandoned. 200 years later the people were moved back to form a new community. In 1984 the Department of Fine Arts Unit 4 discovered part of the ruins and have been excavating them since.
Our carriage is comfy and the guide looks like a Thai gangster, tattoos and a pink shirt with a logo that states he is a Berretta owner. Yep, nice touch!
 |
| He was a nice guy, Pink shirt and loves guns! |
 |
| The dogs are pretty laid back...we wanted to pat them..but did not |
 |
| A smaller chedi, it was buried up to where the yellow ribbon is tied. |
 |
| wat Chedi Liam. It was big, old and amazing! |
And that was it. We take the long route home and part ways outside of the Mercure Chiang Mai. Peter let us have a photo and we took his card. If you need a guide Peter is your man! Don’t book through your travel agent email Peter direct and he will save you a few thousand baht and treat you right. Mr Pairat Vasuthapaisarn (Peter) pairatpeter_num@hotmail.com
 |
| Our Chariot! Air conditioned, tannned leather comfort! |
 |
| Peter. Great guide. He will hook you up in Chiang Mai! |
Shit what a big day, what a lot of words! I can’t leave out the fun part though, we hitched a tuk-tuk to the Night Bazaar, streets filled with stalls and vendors and a big internal food court. Peter warned us to ensure we bartered for goods as he considered the prices to be high. Anything they chucked at us we came back with half and met somewhere in between. It was fun. Then onto the food. The food court is large and confusing. None of the vendors accept cash. You go to a booth and buy coupons which you exchange for value with the vendors. Confusion over!
 |
| Nice meal, dirt cheap, no sick!! |
 |
| Random! The things you see in Thailand leave you scratching your head. No real road safety laws... |
Tomorrow is our Thai cooking experience!
I’m Off - Chris
No comments:
Post a Comment