Chiang Mai Pt. 3

Waking up the morning after our crazy scooter ride, Tommy and I both looked at each other as if we had both shared the same nightmare; wondering if our unanticipated adventure had been some sort of figment of our imaginations. Realizing that it was all very real, we packed our day packs once again, this time full of everything we might need to spend the night in the wilderness and headed back out to see the wonders of Chiang Mai.

Determined to spend the night out in the hills of Chiang Mai, this time more prepared, we were resolute about finding the perfect place to camp for the night. We were thinking somewhere near a waterfall or maybe a river, or possibly just deep in the forest, away from any sort of civilization. Our first stop was at an incredible waterfall that Tommy and I hiked to the top of. Once up there, we decided that this place was a bit too touristy for us and might be a bit hard to camp at with so much going on around us. After spending a good amount of time exploring the area, we decided to move onto the next waterfall.

We had heard this next one was a bit hard to find, and as we began winding through various small villages we soon realized that this might be way more difficult to find than we thought. Learning from our mistakes the night before, we said that we would only go as far as half a tank would get us so that wherever we ended up, we would unquestionably be able to get back to a gas station or at least a village that could help us. So, as we continued on, winding through dirt roads, playing charades with the locals, trying to communicate to try and find the waterfall, we soon found ourselves going up very steep hills, pushing our motorbikes to the limits as we ascended up into the high hills of Chiang Mai.

Coming to a plateau on the top of one of the local Chiang Mai mountains, we found an open area, perfect for a small campsite if we couldn’t find this waterfall within the next half hour or so. Pressing on a bit further, we headed downhill determined to find this hidden gem of a waterfall. Coming to a river crossing where we thought that we could for sure continue upstream to find the falls, with the sunlight rapidly diminishing, Tommy and I continued on, hopes high on finding our watery haven to camp at. Unfortunately however, we came to a dead end where it was impossible to go any further. A bit dejected, we turned around in the mere dusk that barely lingered, lighting our path just enough to make out the boulders, rocks, fallen trees and streams that we came across in the road. Ascending once again, up to the top of the mountain, we barely made it back in time to set up our parachute hammocks from tree to tree and get a fire going. While setting up the rest of camp, we realized that we had a perfect view of all Chiang Mai down in the valley. The lights from the different hotels and streets signs were perfectly distinguishable from our perch, high above the city. Seeing Chiang Mai in this new light, or dark per say, was beautiful as we soon realized how big the city really was.

Sitting next to our campfire, Tommy and I were excited to have a bit of wind blow through the hills, clearing out the smoke from the burning crop fields and forests. For the first time, we were able to see the brilliant Thai stars, glowing brightly in the night sky. It was so peaceful up on that hill, so contrary to the busy city below. It really made us appreciate the unanticipated campsite we finally settled on and even more so appreciate being prepared this time for the Thai wilderness.

As it began to get a bit late, Tommy and I decided to douse our fire and retire for the night, being that we had a busy day of travel to a much anticipated town called Pai, to visit my good friend that I trekked to Mount Everest Base camp with.

Hopping in our hammocks, throwing our mosquito nets over the top of us, we enjoyed the tranquil sounds of the rustling trees, blowing in the wind. And as Tommy and I were just about to fall asleep, we all the sudden heard a loud, high pitched “UH OH” sound coming from the forest. A bit groggy, I asked Tommy if something was wrong. He then said, “I was just about to ask you the same, didn’t you just say uh oh?” With my heart rate instantly increasing, I peered out over the sides of my hammock, into the pitch black forest. As soon as I did, it happened again, “UH OH”. Something or someone was out there. It was some sort of wail or possibly some sort of call. “Was it human?” thinking to myself that there was some sort of indigenous tribe out here in the Thai hills, doing some sort of tribal call to one another to signal intruders. With my heart about to jump out of my chest, I told Tommy to grab his flashlight and shine it out into the woods. With a shaky hand, the beam of light scribbled across the shrubs and trees, yielding no sign of life anywhere. I almost half expected some sort of alien creature to come out of the brush and make that queer uh, oh sound again, but after a few minutes the sound seemed to cease and Tommy and I began to relax a bit, thinking that whatever it was, it had moved on.

Waking up the next morning, we watched an incredible sunrise stretch across the Chiang Mai valley, lighting up the hills and forest all around us. The crisp air was refreshing as we hopped back on our motorbikes and headed back into town. Still a bit perturbed at what that sound was the night before, we told our guesthouse owner what had happened in the middle of the night to hopefully be enlightened on what could have possibly made such an eerie sound. With a slight chuckle he didn’t really know what we were talking about and said we must have just been hearing things, but Tommy and both knew that there was something out there and that it wasn’t small.

Booking our bus that day to Pai, we packed up all of our things and hopped in a minibus up to this so called “hippie town”. As we stopped by guesthouse after guesthouse, our minibus soon turned into a clown-car as it soon became packed to the ceiling with luggage and bodies. As we started up the famous road of a thousand turns, with Tommy and I crammed in the very back of the minibus, we both laughed at yet another awkward travel experience and wondered what adventures this next town might bring.  

Crazy Scooter - Chiang Mai Pt. 2

Ascending back up a very large mountain in a direction we were unfamiliar with, Tommy and I began to worry as the sun was now a reddish color among the grey, smoky sky, meaning we had about thirty minutes of sunlight left. Believe it or not, riding a motorcycle in a foreign country at night was not the biggest worry on our mind; what we were now worried about was if we were going to be able to make it to a gas station in time. With both of us on empty, we finally reached the summit and were forced to shut our engines off and coast down the winding road. Cruising down the mountain, we would often hit straight a ways where we were forced to come out of our streamline crouched position to then begin running alongside our bikes to reach the next descending corner. This carried on for about an hour, down further and further until we finally reached a village where we looked at the map one last time before we lost all sunlight. Unfortunately this village did not have a gas station, but after a bit more charades and hand motions with the locals, we figured it was about fifteen kilometers further and we might have hope on finding one in an actual town.

 On we went, sparing as little gas as we could on now a pitch black forest road, praying that we would reach a gas station in time. Riding on fumes, we barely putted our way into a small town. Never to have been more happy to see a gas station, we pulled in and filled up our tanks with smiles on our faces, knowing that we had about three hours more of riding time before we had to even begin worrying about filling up again. More than enough gas to get us the rest of the way home, we both thought. Unfortunately that thought was far beyond optimistic and became borderline comical mixed with a bit of anger when we found out how lost we actually were.

We couldn’t have gone a worse direction. Not only were we twice as far away as we originally were, we now had locals telling us that we wouldn’t be able to make it back that night due to the unregulated fires that burn throughout the forest. In total dismay, Tommy and I looked at each other and began contemplating our two pitiful options: We could stay in this Podunk town and wait till morning to figure out getting back to Chiang Mai (most reasonable option); or we could chance getting even more lost by trying to retrace our steps in a dark national forest, which just happens to be on fire (most terrible option).

Well, of course we went with the second option and boy did we regret it. Heading back up the winding roads, which we soon found out was an express way at night time for local transporters. Now if you’re optimistic, you’d think, “Well at least there are people around”, but if you’re a realist, you would realize that when you’re on a little scooter with giant, overloaded trucks barreling down a one lane road, in the middle of the night, that this situation might actually be slightly less than great. Getting back to the ranger station that originally pointed us in the wrong direction, we refrained from confronting the guy about the issue and continued on our way in what we thought was the right direction.

Arriving at a crossroad, and the first street light we had seen in half an hour, we pulled out the map to see where we were. After deciding that this squiggly line would take us to that squiggly line and then onto that thicker line, we turned down the road with the street light and began heading through the hillsides. Now, we could tell they were hillsides for two very odd reasons. The first was because of the large flames that were scattered about, hundreds of feet above us and below us. Luckily the closest we got to any danger of the fires was a smoldering tree by the road, or a small dry bush that was fizzling out.

The second, and probably the only good thing that came out of this night ride through Doi Inthanon national park, was seeing the amazing night agriculture that took place along the hillsides that weren’t burning to the ground. Rows and rows and rows of these tube-like structures covered the produce and were lit up with bright white lights. It looked like something right out of a Sci-Fi movie. This went on for kilometers and kilometers as we pressed on through the night, up and down roads that were bumpy and jagged and demanded caution around every turn. With the lit up tubes now long gone, and even the forest fires nowhere to be seen, we knew we were way out there, somewhere in the hills of Northern Thailand. As the blackness continued to grow, we almost hoped for another burning bush or even another large, reckless truck to swerve around the corner. We just wanted to see something, anything that was familiar to us out here in the middle of nowhere.

Luckily we had each other for support, because that was literally all we had until finally spotting a sign in the distance. Excited to see what it read, I raced ahead to get a glimpse of what it might say or where it might take us. To my utter disappointment, the sign was in Thai. Of course it was. What tourist would have wondered off this far? What need was there to put a sign in English when you’re hundreds of kilometers away from anywhere an English speaker should be? It’s alright, the sign probably read, “Ya, you’re really lost” anyways.

To make matters worse, looking back I could see that Tommy was struggling on his bike as he approached. A bit angry that I had raced ahead, he showed me that he had a flat tire. This night just got a whole lot worse: A flat tire, less than half a tank of gas, in the middle of the night, in a forest that we couldn’t be more lost in and happens to be on fire. With Tommy hugging his handlebars, trying to put as little weight on his back, flat tire as possible, we putted down what little road there was to drive on in a direction we didn’t even know was correct. Stopping at yet another crossroad, there stood the ominous single road light that beaconed the chance at becoming even more lost in this gloomy forest. With no street sign to have us even begin to try and decipher the squiggly Thai lines, we simply pointed one way and continued on. Hours went by with nothing more than a few unreadable signs until we finally reached a small village that happened to have a hospital. Thank God neither of us were injured, and actually needed medical assistance. Even more luckily, there happened to be someone that spoke decent enough English to communicate where we were and how much further we needed to go. Continuing on, we got maybe twenty minutes out of town, when all of the sudden flashing red and blue lights came barreling towards us. Pulling as far over as we could, the car raced by us, only to come to a screeching halt as it began reversing towards us quickly. Perfect, now we probably violated some Thai law and got reported and were about to get arrested. As the car came closer, we realized that it wasn’t a car at all. It was a police truck. A bit confused and scared, Tommy and I took a step closer to one another readying ourselves for what was about to happen next.

Two “officers” approached us wearing somewhat of a uniform and shouted “Hey, you lost American yah?” in a tone that clearly eluded to how we were the only ones dense enough to get into a situation this bad. “Uh, yah that would be us” I said with a bit of skepticism. What better opportunity to take advantage of us then right now in this moment, dressed up like cops driving a flatbed truck, just waiting for us to hand them the keys to our bikes to take us back to their “police station”.  The “officers” then proceeded to tell us that they had gotten a phone call from a hospital saying that there were two American guys out on the road with a flat tire.

With this first sign of legitimacy, we asked them a few more questions before finally letting them load up only Tommy’s bike onto the truck. Following behind them back to the police station, it seemed as though Tommy and I were more so chasing after them, going well over eighty kilometers an hour trying to keep up. Finally arriving back into an actual city though, we began to see street signs in English and eventually we found ourselves at the police station as promised.

It was well after two in the morning, as the police began to question why we as far out into the forest as we were. We really didn’t have a good answer, and I think they let us go without too much more questioning out of pity. Leaving Tommy’s scooter at the police station for the motorbike company to pick up in the morning, Tommy and I hopped on my tiny scooter, strapped on our helmets like scene straight out of a “Dumb and Dumber” movie, and headed back to our guesthouse.  As we began heading down the now slightly empty road, we couldn’t help but break out in laughter and relief thinking we did it. We had just created our first crazy lifelong memory in Thailand.

Chiang Mai Pt. 1

Excited to leave Bangkok, Tommy and I took and overnight sleeper train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai where I luckily didn’t have to chase down this train or become a stow-away, running from ticket collectors and ducking in and out of bathrooms (http://bobby-thisisindia.blogspot.com/2011/11/crazy-train_26.html ).  This train was nice, and air-conditioned and had friendly people on it. Arriving the next morning to a smoky Chiang Mai, where the “dry season” was really quite apparent, we headed out towards our guesthouse passing a few farms where left over crops were being burned off, leaving a blanket of gray in the sky. At first we thought it all just looked kind of dingy outside, but we optimistically found the beauty that lied in the amazing red sunsets that filled the skies with all sorts of oranges and pinks, similar to that in Chitwan, Nepal during their summer. Being that it was noon, and had a half day to explore this new town, we walked around town to try and get a feel for the city. As we strolled the busy streets of Chiang Mai, we met up with some other travelers and were able to see a few temples and get some good street food. Later that night we went to the busy night market, exploring the little knick-knack filled street carts that lined the sidewalks for over a mile on each side.   Weaving our way through all sorts of underground shops, stumbling upon an outdoor stage performance with Thai dancers performing cultural dance, we couldn’t turn a corner without finding some new interesting area to experience. With it getting late, and thinking that we could easily spend all night at this market, we decided to escape at a decent hour to get a good night sleep for the next day.

Knowing that you get an overall better sight-seeing experience by not following the crowd, Tommy and I decided to rent scooters the next day and do our own little tour, away from the packed out, scheduled tour busses. Getting everything mapped out, we would plan on visiting a few waterfalls and temples, the king and queen’s Pagodas, as well as the tallest mountain in Thailand standing at about 2100m. All of this could be found in the beautifully enormous Doi Inthanon national park and all was suppose to take a full day to see. Or so we thought.

Heading south, down hwy 108, we quickly had to get used to riding the scooters among hundreds of other motorcycles, scooter carts, tuk tuks, busses, semi-trucks and just about anything else that had wheels and an engine. And to make it all more interesting, there are no lanes. If the drive to Doi Inthanon wasn’t fun enough, the drive through the national park definitely was as we twisted and turned through small mountain roads, trying to keep our eyes focused on the street as beautiful forests, rivers and Thai culture was around every turn. Arriving at the first waterfall we saw a river community of people, whose homes, shops and living areas were literally right on the river shore, and also sticking over the water on bamboo stilts. Making our own path, hiking through the forest and right up through the river, we were soon refreshed by the cool water that misted down on us as hundreds of thousands of gallons flowed off of the cliff down onto the slippery rocks around us. Looking back down the valley, we could see the how much life thrived around this nurturing water. Soaking it all in, Tommy and I sat up by the waterfall for a bit, before heading back down river to our scooters.

 Driving up steep hills and coasting down into valleys, we soon came to the next waterfall, where we amazed at the vast size of this colossal waterfall. Hopping over the unpatrolled railing we balanced our way out onto an ancient slippery log that protruded towards the falls. We were able to get an amazing view of this cascade of water as we tilted our heads back, almost falling over, trying and see the top of this water source that was soaking us from head to toe from the mist alone. Exploring every facet of the waterfall, we followed the water down river a bit only to find a few smaller waterfalls and pools that had a more tranquil, calming fundamental nature to them as the greenery shaded the slowed water.

Arriving at the next waterfall, we were a bit discontented at the fact that you had to view this amazing flow of water from a distance, up on a platform, hundreds of meters away. While the view was still spectacular, we thought we would go ahead and blaze a trail down from the platform and up to the waterfall. Sliding down the steep slopes of the jungle, we finally made it to the base of the waterfall where we were then determined to scale this watery beast. Free climbing up the rocky sides of the falls, Tommy and I carefully maneuvered from one stronghold to the next until we reached a point where we could go no further. Three quarters of the way up the waterfall, we stood beside thousands of gallons of water, free falling down onto the rocks below.  Looking out into the dense green jungle, seeing all of the way out to the silhouetted mountains in the distance, we both knew this climb was well worth the view.

With the sun beginning to drop in the sky, Tommy and I decided that we would see one last monument and then begin our journey back to Chiang Mai. The king and queen’s pagoda sits at the tallest point in all of Thailand, in the Doi Inthanon national park. These stunning structures were amazing to peruse as we not only walked around the pagoda’s well manicured gardens, but also got a glimpse of the dramatic interior, furnished with the most extravagant artwork I’ve seen in all of Thailand thus far.

Looking down into the valley, the smoke of the burning forests and crop fields created a mysterious tinge to everything the fading light touched. Wanting to get a little bit of sunlight on our travel home, Tommy and I coasted down the mountain, back to the ranger station, or national park checkpoint to get advice on the quickest way home. After a little bit of charades and enough hand motions to make a mime dizzy, Tommy and I headed out to what we thought was the right direction back to Chiang Mai. Little did we know that this was about to be one of the longest, brutal journeys of our lives…

The Busyness of Bangkok

After two days of traveling in and out of airports, I had finally arrived in Bangkok where I was to meet up with my cousin Traci and her husband Blake and also meet up with my lifelong friend Tommy the next day. After walking around the airport a bit, trying to figure out the best means of getting myself to Traci and Blake’s hotel, I ended up finagling a free ride from the shuttle bus of their hotel.

Stepping outside of the air-conditioned airport, I was struck by the humid out-door temperatures of Bangkok, sending me into an instant sweat and immediate yearning for water.  Quickly getting into the air-conditioned shuttle, we headed out for the hotel. Looking out the window of the bus at the enormous city that was before me, my mind began to wander, race, and imagine everything and anything this large city alone might bring me. Bangkok was immensely larger than I had previously imagined. Skyscraper after skyscraper, building after building, and enough people on the road to make a bee hive nervous, this city was more than busy; it was in a frenzy of commotion and somewhat controlled chaos. Neon signs, food carts, and people selling just about anything, lined the streets as we sped by among the other hustling scooters, busses and foreign vehicles on the road.

Passing neatly manicured lawns and foliage, the bus pulled up the driveway where I was met by Traci and Blake. Overwhelmed at finally getting the chance to spend time with family, my exhaustion of traveling the past two days was forgotten as we immediately headed out to the infamous Khao San Road.

After at thirty minute taxi ride, we paid the driver around ten bucks and began wandering down this tourist filled street. I was in a dumbfounded, sensory overload as we walked down the street with all sorts of Thai cooking filling our nostrils, music of all kinds playing in our ears, and enough blinking lights and neon signs to give you a seizure. Thousands of people were shopping, eating, dancing on this one street. Street vendors were constantly trying to hand us brochures and trying to get us into their shops to buy their merchandise, which was all so cheap that it was hard to say no.

We finally decided that it would be best to sit down, relax and observe this fanatical scene before us over some of Thailand’s finest beer, “Chang”. So the beer might not have been the finest, but it did the trick as we people watched, observed and tried to figure out this ongoing commotion. As a Thai guitarist serenaded us to the familiar sounds of the Beatles, we looked out at this foreign scene before us with interesting street vendors selling crickets, slugs, spiders and scorpions to eat; intoxicated tourists stumbling around until finally falling into one of the many Thai message chairs, leaving their airline stiffness to the strong hands of the five foot tall masseuse that laughed and chatted among her entourage of stress relieving, hard working comrades. Cars, scooters and mobile vendor carts squeezed by all of the ruckus, unfazed by any of the chaos taking place. This was an everyday occurrence to them, yet an incredible muddle of confusion to me.

After doing a bit more wandering and catching up, the three of us decided that we would head back to the hotel due to our early departure back to the airport; for them to head back to the U.S., but for me, to pick up Tommy and begin the first week of this nine-week long epic journey throughout Thailand.

Seeing Tommy’s face on the “Jumbo-Tron” arrival screen at Bangkok international airport the next days was one of the best feelings I’ve had since the Jet-boat ride in New Zealand. Running down the airport arrivals corridor with a giant smile on my face, weaving in and out of drowsy, jetlagged tourists, I saw Tommy in the distance and rushed up to give him a big hug, where we immediately picked up where we had left off over six months ago. Heading straight back to Khao San Rd. from the airport, weaving in and out of traffic in our bright blue colored taxi, I soon showed Tommy the interesting street life that takes place there. He almost immediately shared the same dumbfounded expressions I had the day before when I had seen Bangkok for the first time. Arriving on Khao San Rd. we quickly found a guesthouse to put our stuff down and stay at for the night and then immediately headed out to the street to grab some delicious Thai street food that costs only a dollar. Walking around, catching up and planning out our next destination, we experienced the busy streets of Bangkok together, taking in every new encounter and already having an amazing time.

The next couple days consisted of seeing various temples around Bangkok such as the enormous Wat Po, “Reclining Buddha” to the Giant Standing Gold Buddha to the Emerald Buddha along with the Golden Mount, Temple of Dawn along with a few others. Each temple was intricate and unique in its own way. The amount of detail and complexity to each temple’s design was so mesmerizing and compelling that we would spend hours analyzing every detailed facet with our squinted faces, inches away, looking at the finest elaborations of artistic design we had ever experienced. Colossal mythical creatures, covered in silver and gold, lined with dazzling gems, and just about anything else that could try to portray their divinity to their outright devout followers, stood before us. And with every elaborate exterior held an even more multi-faceted interior with detailed, ornate paintings, portraying ancient stories of man and the gods. As tranquil and quite as a summer, Himalayan sunrise, the insides of these temples all had the same spiritual calmness as you entered the discerningly red carpeted, dimly lit, high ceilinged structures. And at the far side of the building always sat, stood or laid a gold Buddha.

Aesthetically over stimulated, Tommy and I were loving every bit of this cultural experience. With the sun setting, we grabbed a tuk tuk (small three-wheeled buggy) back to Khao San Rd. where we mustered up enough courage to try some of the local insect cuisine. Choosing a colorful beetle to chew on, I reluctantly crunched down bite after bite, immediately regretting this outrageous decision. Tommy slurped down a slug that ended up getting stuck in his throat, sending him into a coughing fit that made quite the comedic scene on the street. Needless to say, I don’t think we’ll be eating bugs again anytime soon; but who knows, this is Thailand after all.

After four days in Bangkok, we decided that we would head up north to Chiang Mai, where we could experience a little bit more calmness and outdoor adventure in this beautiful country. What would happen next was anything but calm, but most definitely outdoors…Way outdoors.

Bangkok's "China Town"

Water taxi rides.. best way to get around!

Picture of the river from atop the Temple of Dawn

Reclining Buddha & sweaty me

Do not support this.. very sad

Giant Gold, Standing Buddha

Reclining Buddha Temple

Aww, Bob & Tom in Bangkok

GONG

Khao San Road

Houses along the canal

About to choke on bugs

Tommy hoppin on the bongo drums on Khao San Rd. 

Teaching

Kids in class with a monk

Lined Golden Buddhas

Temple of Dawn

Temple of Dawn