Watch videos about Chiang Mai - TripAdvisor Source:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Chiang mai, beautiful city of the north, so pleased to have been there.
Rock up on the train after taking breakfast and viewing country side from about 5:30am when light from the new day came available. Lovely, varied with hilly culdesacs and micro environments, streams of various sizes, life being abundant, all very nice. A pleasing contrast to my Australian environs of largely arid landscapes.
A common feature are stilted homes with a pig tethered beneath the home and poultry, usually hens, some times ducks sheltering beneath the structure.
Vegetation wise many prized plants needing much attention in Adelaide are growing as weeds here presumably native to the area. Having worked with the Botanic Gardens in Adelaide and fostered love of horticulture this grabs my attention and is some thing i can readily relate to and appreciate.
A long journey, the train finally pulls in to Chiang mai railway station and i quickly alight eager to exercise my legs and stretch.
Wandering to a tourist information booth they see me comming and with out my speaking, direct me to a passage to the entry which i follow and am greeted by 3 gentlemen officially attired. They offer traditional Thai welcome which didnt mean much to me at that time and request i wait for 2 other passengers to join our merry throng.
All abourd a mini bus, We pass through the city seeing sights and hearing sounds which tell of the city's life.
We are taken to a place called Back packers Meeting Place, BMP, where i am encouraged to fill in an itinary for my stay there but am reluctant to do so as am wanting to remain as uncommitted as possible allowing opportunity to go with the flow and do what comes naturally. In retrospect their advice and guidance proved correct as a means to making the most of available time.
Should anyone reading this venture there, i can recomend BMP as a service provider, them assuming responsibility for your safety, welfare and comfort. You cant go wrong but, also, want to encourage taking out of health insurance as quite mad to treck without that. They may not assume responsibility for you without it anyway.
Quickly become aquainted with a trustworthy english speaking tuc tuc driver and enlist his services, him making himself available 24 / 7 though his daughter became ill on occasion and his attention was required for her care.
Mianmar, Burma.
An extra ordinary place, remarkable for all the wrong reasons, soil steeped in unhappy times which continue for some. The army and security services hunt the local population as vermin during the dry season leaving the task during the wet as is uncomfortable and inconvenient experiencing difficulty locating their prey. The quality of life being extremely poor as even using fire to cook would have smoke betraying their position. Difficult to imagine just how these people manage to survive.
Visited a villiage where goods were for sale and among the offerings was bottles of various sizes containing a small cobra biting it's own tail in a liquid of what was called snake whisky, said to be aphrodesiac. A spectaculer artifact but not permitted inside Australia so dont purchase. I expect if this were available on the shelf in an aussie pub if would be gone as quickly as it was placed there.
Sampled this and very palatable, quite the taste of mellow whisky, tasted local saki also. Did purchase other goods suitable for entry into Australia thinking to use for gifts. The proceeds from these transactions are taxed so heavily a meagre income is produced for the vendor. The snake whisky retails for aprox Aust. $3- for 750 ml but worth much more. Also scorpion crocadile and various other flavoured whiskies available for sample tasting and sale. The Burmeese army remained out of sight, our minders interfacing with them for the purpose of processing passports and beurocratic process.
In Mianmar i see the place where drug exchanges used to take place, and, on less frequent occasions continues to happen. It is a sandy island of, perhaps 50 meters with sparse vegetation as it is submerged over night. Two boats would meet at the island, each with well armed men, one with her-o-een (as the locals call it) and the other with gold which would be exchanged if all went well between the two traders and authority from one of the 3 countries who own this island didnt appear to upset proceedings. Thailand, Laos and Burma all have a say here.
Tourism-wise some shopping opportunities of very good value.
Also went on a treck riding elephant ascending very steep hills through lush undergrowth, the elephant often noticing tasty treats, most often a variety of bamboo which seemed to be very appealing. The elephant, a 16 yo male, seemed to know where he was placing each step with great manual dexterity. The hills were in exess of 45 degree ascent, quite amazing to experience. Two elephants from the herd were down from cobra strikes and convalessing, the bite not being fatal to an animal of so much body weight. The whole area seemed to be infested with cobras but was safe from them atop an elephant. Descend hills of 45 degrees also, that being trickier as i was riding on the elephants neck some of the way and needed to hang on so as not to slide over the ears to a 8 foot drop. Cross raging rivers being as secure as using a sturdy 4 wheel drive.
Use bamboo rafts to go down a white water river some 7 kn standing most of the way, ducking for low hanging branches and extra turbulent waters, all good, quite fun.
After this hike some 8 km to a waterfall, enroute traversing very hazardous stretches of steep cliffs beside the some times 6 inch wide track and, particularly where the track was wet slippery mud, not falling to doom made for a challenge to manual dexterity. I would not recomend this to one not having travel insurance and expect the guides would not assume responsability for such a person any way.
Reaching the water fall a time of respite ensues. Water cool to cold, refreshing, a picturesque place, most enjoyable, quite a garden of Eden leaving a lasting impression. Now one can understand the challenging trail to reach such a reclusive unspoilt place. Looking at the sand of the river i notice what appears to be gold and have it confirmed by local authority that it is actually what it appears, aluvial gold and much of it. Later i become aware of opportunity to prospect the rivers and other places with a view to prospecting for what gold and other precious metals and gems one can find for a price. I dont doubt it quite possible to leave making a wholesome profit covering the cost of trip and more.
Treck to a rendovous covering more hazardous terain to where a vehicle waits and visit villiages of refugee tribes from Nanning, China, they having migrated to the area some 400 years ago. Aso long neck people, refrugees from India some 40 years prior as i remember and many other reclusive villiages in the north Thailand area. Some villages were composed of peoples from Cambodia, Tibet or probably anywhere there has been conflict and confusion in the general area. These peoples are largely self sufficient my having noticed 1 solar panel for power and aside from that no electricity available. There were odd motor bikes in use, my presuming them to be for the collective's use rather than privately owned. A very simple uncomplicated life style. Often that would seem an ideal life style to me holding much appeal.
During the heroin wars life must have been very touch and go for these peoples as they would have been shot on sight as vermin as the north burmeese still are.
At my destination a vehicle waits and take a lift to a buffet early dinner partaking in what those i have met dont have available, a sumptuous feast of local treats and am then transported back to Chiang mai and am in "civilisation".
Watch videos about Chiang Mai - TripAdvisor Source:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Please find relavent snaps in Photos in Thailand album.
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QaR
November 2009 
Leo
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