So after nearly missing our flight due to the constant Saldanhian need to straighten ones hair, we hopped an AirAsia flight up to Chiang Mai. The hostel we had planned to stay at was booked to capacity, so we hopped a songthaew (or as it is called in Chiang Mai, a "bus") to Thapae gate, on the other side of the old city. A songthaew is basically a pickup truck with some open-air seats in the back. We checked into the MD Guesthouse near Thapae Gate, and headed to a recommended French restaurant, Chez Marco, nearby. Although I tried to put on a smile at dinner, the food really was not very good, and for $15US, I was rather disappointed.
We had been planning to go out on the town the last two nights in Bangkok, so we decided to make up for our failure to do so by going out our first night in Chiang Mai. Unfortunately, all the bars seemed to be dead, to our dismay, and we were tired enough that further exploration would be too tedious. We retired for the night.
Tuesday morning, we met up with Chiang Mai native (and Scrabble player) Mameow. She took us to Chiang Mai University to walk around and have lunch at one of the cafterias. Man, if UCSD served food like this place...I would've had a freshman 150. I had noodle soup and a japanese crepe, as well as a thai tea and thai green tea. yum yum yum.
After lunch, we walked through the campus some more, and then headed through town to the Chiang Mai zoo. At the zoo, I got to have 4 birds perch on me (one decided my finger was potentially a delectable morsel), I got to feed elephants, and got to see some lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) Apparently Dion is violently afraid of birds. We also saw an ostrich do its business. You should research how it works in ostriches. Very...weird.
From the zoo, we hopped a songthaew up the mountain to Doisuthep Temple. I got very carsick. We arrived near dusk, and climbed the 300 steps to the temple. From the outside, you get a panoramic view of the city of Chiang Mai (just gorgeous). From the inside, there is a stunning gold pagoda that glistens so brightly. We got blessings from a Buddhist monk (even though all four of us range from agnostic-Christian to Catholic), and walked around the temple for a bit. On the ride back down, my carsickness increased manyfold, and I had to sit down on the street when we got off the bus.
We tried to convince Mameow to come clubbing with us that night, but we finally agreed to meet up to do so on Thursday. Mameow bid farewell from a night market (not the main one - Dielle and Dion are there right now, and I chose not to go because shopping really isn't my thing), and the three of us walked around, trying all sorts of foods - crepes, deep friend corn fritters, shiu mai, fruits, sausages, dumplings, pastries, until we finally made it back to the main street. From there, we songthaewed over to a Burmese restaurant. My beef noodle soup was more like a curry, but it was delicious - always nice to try a new cuisine.
We went home, and vowed to find some nightlife. We started at Cafe Riva, where we had Tigers and played cards. Then we discovered there was a Jenga set, and whilst quite buzzed, managed to have an amazingly epic game of Jenga. Then, the two other bargoers next to us decided to join in for the next round. The game went so long, that Dielle actually lost on a turn where there were no possible moves that could end successfully. There are pictures to show just how epic the game truly was.
Once the bar shut down, we wandered over to a place with our new friends called Spirit. We were informed that it was known for being a frequent stop for hookers, as well as prone to the occasional fight. No matter, it had music and cheap drinks. Well, as soon as I walked in, a hooker tried to grab my leg. Uhhhh...no thanks. But we sat down and ordered drinks anyway. It was probably 1 AM. And then all of a sudden the club was hopping. And then many drinks and dances and songs and stories later...it was 5 AM and the club was closing.
We somehow ended up at McDonald's, and I regretably had fries. Aarrghh, BK and McD in the same week - what have I done?! I ended up falling asleep sometime after 6. What a fun day!
Today we weren't really capable of functioning until about 2. We literally stumbled over to a local restaurant that had all sorts of hangover cures - deep-fried spring rolls, pad thai, basil fried chicken. Delicious. And then we stumbled back to the hotel, really just wanting to sleep more. But we decided to not write off the whole day, and signed up last minute for a khantoke dinner.
Khantoke is a Thai dinner theater where you are served northern Thai dishes accompanied with music/dancing/performances by the hill tribes of the area. There was everything from fire twirling and knife twirling to candlelit dances. The food was great - and they kept refilling it! What's not to like? After the dinner show, we were treated to some more performances from tribespeople outside in a small ampitheater. There were some pretty unique performances, including some kids who would perfectly step through large bamboo sticks being pounded together (i.e., miss a step, and your foot is gonna feel some painnnn.
We picked up our laundry when we got back (a coin laundry place, and the owners had all our clothes folded and ready when we showed up!), and Dion and Dielle headed to the well-known night bazaar after procrastinating for two years, and finally productively booking a night for the 4 of us at the hostel we wanted to stay at on Monday for tomorrow. As for me, I'm turning in for bed now, at about 12:30 AM because tomorrow is going to be a long day. Supposedly the agenda is to meet up with Mameow at 10:30 to rent motorbikes and go to the Tiger Kingdom outside of town. Mameow has made me aware of the fact that I can go xorbing nearby. I may insist that we do this, as I have always wanted to xorb. Later in the day we will go to the CMU Scrabble club, and then we will check out Nimmanhaemin road, and hopefully go dancing. This will be followed by an early morning flight to Bangkok en route to the next stop on my adventure. Where are we headed? You'll just have to wait and find out...
It's becoming clear to me that trying to add photos to these blogs is going to be tough, but I'll still try.
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