It was chilly that night on October 31st. 2010 when my plane left Spokane, Wa. for the beautiful, exotic country of Thailand. After a connecting flight in Taiwan and having moved 14 hours ahead of Pacific time, the plane arrived in Chiang Mai,Thailand on November 2nd.!
Stepping out of the plane into the open air terminal, the warm humid air was quick to wrap itself around me nudging me towards a smooth interaction at the customs desk, and then my first overseas adventure became a reality.
My long time friend Steve met me at the airport and took me, by "regular taxi" to a lovely hotel that was just down the street from his sister-in-law's home where he was to stay for my first night in Thailand.Stepping out of the plane into the open air terminal, the warm humid air was quick to wrap itself around me nudging me towards a smooth interaction at the customs desk, and then my first overseas adventure became a reality.
My hotel room was beautiful! Large and airy with bamboo furniture and an air conditioner, much to my relief! It was also my first encounter with the incredibly shiny large tile floors that are used in many homes and businesses in Thailand. These shiny 10x10" tile remain cool to the touch. So much so that Steve’s wife Daao explained that she would actually sleep directly on her tile floors during some of the “hottest” days of the year where temps can exceed 100 and the humidity isn’t too far behind!
After freshening up in my room Steve met me back at the hotel and took me on a quick trip around the main part of Chiang Mai city.
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| This shows the rear end of a Song Tao, or "Red Bus". Also notice how the woman on the motor scooter is sitting side-saddle and she is not holding on!! |
Steve "waved" down one of the “hundreds” of Song Toas, or "Red Buses" for us. It is impolite to point at anyone in Thailand so you just hold your hand up and bend your wrist down like you are waving goodbye to someone, and in no time at all we were on our way.
How the Red Bus works is that you tell the driver where you are heading and if he is going to that particular area of the city you step up into the back, have a seat, and off you go in a whirl of city aromas and exhaust!
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| One of the ancient walls at Tha Phae Gate |
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| The moat surrounding the Old City |
The moat and walls were built in 1296. The brick enclosure measures almost one square mile. The brick walls of the moat are still visible at each of the four corners but the main walls are gone now except for the “gates” that lead into the city.
My return visit before my flight home found me staying at a "Guest House" near “Tha Phae Gate" and the Gate was my visual aid when walking along all the store fronts, the meandering streets, the Wats, cafes, and food markets that seemed to go on forever. But I digress, Steve was helping me to set visual identification points for my return visit.....so...
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| Tha Phae Gate |
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| Most of the rice produced here is harvested by hand. |
This was my first authentic Thai meal and it blew me away!
Hello Thai Cuisine!! Words cannot even begin to describe how delicious the food is in Thailand and therefore torturous descriptions of every meal will not be included. But one thing that was out of this world was how fresh and light the rice was. Rice harvest was happening at the same time of my visit, so every meal had the very best of Thailand’s rice crop.
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| This is a photo of one of the many meals I had at Steve and Daao's. There were always at least 4-5 different items to eat at each meal! Not including the the rice! |
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| Oops! I should have taken this picture before we started eating! The brazier below the fish kept it nice and hot and didn't dry it out at all! Yummy! |
So now back to my adventure.. Chiang Mai is not where Steve lives. His home is in Chiang Rai, about three hours away to the north. Steve's wife Daao needed to use their vehicle the day of my arrival so he took a bus down to Chiang Mai and had made reservations for our return trip the following day. The next day we had plenty of time to go sightseeing before the bus left so Steve rented a motorcycle and took me up to a nearby mountain, “Mt. Suthep” where the Wat (temple) Pratat sits. This was just one of the many Wats that I visited and each one is unique unto itself. Some are almost gaudy with all the glitz of using cut mirror pieces and colored glass to accent all the different angles and the gold painted buildings and statues really make things “pop” as some might say! Really though, they are very peaceful and very beautiful, and to see a monk sitting perfectly still inside is amazing.
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| These are the 300 steps that lead up to Wat Pratat. It was quite a hike, but the beauty and serenity at the top was well worth the effort. |
The following pictures are an assortment of my Wat tours.
The gold buildings that are found at some of the Wats are said to hold a "relic" of the Buddha.
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| This was construction or perhaps repair work to one it the "gold" buildings. Notice the bamboo scaffolding! |
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| The White Wat in Chiang Rai, Thailand |
It is not unusual to see people inside the Wats. It is similar to how people here find solace or peace by spending time at their favorite place of worship.
Some people come to the Wats for a personal blessing from the monks. They will donate either money, dry goods or food in return for a blessings. The feeling in these Wats when other people were there was one of joy and love, after all the Buddha was able to escape all earthly bonds and enter into eternal nirvana...sounds good, eh?!
Below and to the right is of Daao bowing in front of one of the "Cave Buddhas" . This limestone cave was also in Chiang Rai. There was a very serene "resident cat" living there amongst all the offerings at this site.
After visiting Wat Pratat Steve and I rode back down the twisty road to Chiang Mai and boarded the bus, and after the 3 hour bus ride to Steve’s town of Bandu in Chaing Rai I settled nicely into the guest room.
Steve’s wife, Daao and her 12 year old son Pum are lovely people and although Daao doesn’t speak “English” she does understand a little. Pum takes an English class and speaks English very well and it was nice to be able to speak through him when talking to Daao.
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| This is their beautiful tiled car port. |
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| The bamboo furniture is so pretty! This couch became my reading area during the heat of the day! |
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| A bowl of passion fruit. Behind it is the fruit itself. It is ripe when it falls to the ground! Daao puts a little sugar, salt and dried hot pepper flakes in hers. I tried it! It was really good that way! |
This is a row of 
Steve's pineapple! The fruit grows out from the base of the fronds, which I didn't know and although his weren't producing while I was there the pineapples I tasted from Daao's parent's garden were so sweet! I'm sure his will be too! (I miss that taste!!)
Steve's pineapple! The fruit grows out from the base of the fronds, which I didn't know and although his weren't producing while I was there the pineapples I tasted from Daao's parent's garden were so sweet! I'm sure his will be too! (I miss that taste!!)
It was fun to help him out and to share gardening tips! His farm is adjacent to a rice field which during my month there turned from a bright green to a tawny brown and ready for harvest.
On day 6 of my adventure while returning home from working in the garden the front tire on Steve's motorcycles blew out... Now let me digress for a bit...
Everyone rides scooters or small motorcycles there! Little toddlers ride in front of their moms while holding onto the handle bars with their tiny little hands! Young women and older ladies ride behind the driver sitting side-saddle and not holding on!! There were times we witnessed four people all riding on one bike! and seeing three people on a bike was also very common. Many people ride their bikes to jobs or school or are just doing their daily business on motorcycles; carrying baskets of food, laundry, rice or spices for roadside restaurants or homes. It was really something to see! This is how this culture gets around. Everything they need is always close to their homes and the motorcycle is a very efficient way to get from point A to point B.
So on this day 6 of my adventure we were heading home from the garden when the front tire blew out (due to a faulty valve stem) and we hit the pavement pretty hard…and slid.. Steve did all he could to keep the bike upright, but gravity is hard thing to fight sometimes...
So, my month long visit to Thailand had the benefit of being long enough to allow me to recover a bit from my injuries without losing precious vacation and touring time...
On the next adventure we visited Daao's family who are “Hill Tribe” people known as “Akha” and the road up to see them was incredibly twisty! Imagine Highway 101 squashed down to a ¼ of its original size! That is what it seemed as we climbed about 1,500 feet to their home.
It was interesting to me that although we had climbed about 1,500 feet in elevation that it was no cooler than it was in the flat lands! (Jeez, It gets cooler in Washington State the higher you climb!)
The higher altitude did bring some different plants though. A big surprise for me was seeing Poinsettias growing wild! Big bushes of red Poinsettias, some were 7-8 feet tall! Beautiful!
Daao's parents are very hard working people. They grow rice organically and have their own garden as well. Steve explained to me that Daao and her parents speak a different dialect, a Hill Tribe dialect of the Thai language, one that Steve hasn't mastered... YET! (Hi Steve! For those of you who do not know Steve well, he is very adept at learning languages and is fluent in quite few of them! It was awesome to hear him converse so easily and casually with Thai people.
While Daao and her sister Oye, who also stayed with us for 2 weeks, visited with their parents Steve and I settled onto a nearby couch to read. After a short time Daao's father came over and handed me hot tea in a bamboo cup. He had roasted the tea in a wok, added water, brought it to a boil and poured it into these cups made from the limb-joint of bamboo branch! It was very good tea, and a very nice visit.
We also visited a "Tea Plantation" up in the hills as well. It was a self guided tour to see the manicured "tea hedges", but when we entered the building we were given a tea sampling. The sampling was hosted by a Katoey or "Lady Boy". Thais are very tolerant of their people who have different sexual identities, and it was delightful to witness these Katoeys doing their work or at their jobs and not being harassed or made to feel inadequate. In fact the "hostess" on our VIP Bus trip from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai was a Katoey and did her job quite nicely indeed.
Markets are everywhere in Thailand and this Hill Tribe area was no exception. The advantage of shopping here for clothing, spices, vegetables, fruit, rice, nuts and much, much more is that you are actually putting the money directly back into the community, and putting it into the pocket of the person that grew, harvested, sewed, or made the item.
Below are some pictures from the various markets that I visited.
Steve lived about 3 blocks from the "Bandu Market" where many different items are sold. At the Bandu market there was fresh fruit, bulk spices, precooked food "to go", live fish that would be prepared right there for you, deep fried and barbecued chicken, rice raw and cooked, pork, and fresh vegetables. These markets run everyday, which ensures that what you eat is freshly picked, cooked, or made.
On day 6 of my adventure while returning home from working in the garden the front tire on Steve's motorcycles blew out... Now let me digress for a bit...
Everyone rides scooters or small motorcycles there! Little toddlers ride in front of their moms while holding onto the handle bars with their tiny little hands! Young women and older ladies ride behind the driver sitting side-saddle and not holding on!! There were times we witnessed four people all riding on one bike! and seeing three people on a bike was also very common. Many people ride their bikes to jobs or school or are just doing their daily business on motorcycles; carrying baskets of food, laundry, rice or spices for roadside restaurants or homes. It was really something to see! This is how this culture gets around. Everything they need is always close to their homes and the motorcycle is a very efficient way to get from point A to point B.
So on this day 6 of my adventure we were heading home from the garden when the front tire blew out (due to a faulty valve stem) and we hit the pavement pretty hard…and slid.. Steve did all he could to keep the bike upright, but gravity is hard thing to fight sometimes...
So, my month long visit to Thailand had the benefit of being long enough to allow me to recover a bit from my injuries without losing precious vacation and touring time...
On the next adventure we visited Daao's family who are “Hill Tribe” people known as “Akha” and the road up to see them was incredibly twisty! Imagine Highway 101 squashed down to a ¼ of its original size! That is what it seemed as we climbed about 1,500 feet to their home.
It was interesting to me that although we had climbed about 1,500 feet in elevation that it was no cooler than it was in the flat lands! (Jeez, It gets cooler in Washington State the higher you climb!)
The higher altitude did bring some different plants though. A big surprise for me was seeing Poinsettias growing wild! Big bushes of red Poinsettias, some were 7-8 feet tall! Beautiful!
Daao's parents are very hard working people. They grow rice organically and have their own garden as well. Steve explained to me that Daao and her parents speak a different dialect, a Hill Tribe dialect of the Thai language, one that Steve hasn't mastered... YET! (Hi Steve! For those of you who do not know Steve well, he is very adept at learning languages and is fluent in quite few of them! It was awesome to hear him converse so easily and casually with Thai people.
While Daao and her sister Oye, who also stayed with us for 2 weeks, visited with their parents Steve and I settled onto a nearby couch to read. After a short time Daao's father came over and handed me hot tea in a bamboo cup. He had roasted the tea in a wok, added water, brought it to a boil and poured it into these cups made from the limb-joint of bamboo branch! It was very good tea, and a very nice visit.
We also visited a "Tea Plantation" up in the hills as well. It was a self guided tour to see the manicured "tea hedges", but when we entered the building we were given a tea sampling. The sampling was hosted by a Katoey or "Lady Boy". Thais are very tolerant of their people who have different sexual identities, and it was delightful to witness these Katoeys doing their work or at their jobs and not being harassed or made to feel inadequate. In fact the "hostess" on our VIP Bus trip from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai was a Katoey and did her job quite nicely indeed.
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| I truly had no idea how tea is grown or harvested! |
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| Not sure what the tea plantation was trying to get across, but none of us wanted to try it! |
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| These Hill Tribe women are hand sifting the tea to remove any stems or un-wanted objects. Notice the baby? She is wearing a traditional Akha hat. |
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| Hill Tribe women working hard at their job. Notice how they are dressed? In layers?! It is the beginning of their cold season in November as well as ours in the U.S. It was about 78 degrees that day and for me a tank top, loose skirt and sandals were almost too much! |
Markets are everywhere in Thailand and this Hill Tribe area was no exception. The advantage of shopping here for clothing, spices, vegetables, fruit, rice, nuts and much, much more is that you are actually putting the money directly back into the community, and putting it into the pocket of the person that grew, harvested, sewed, or made the item.
Below are some pictures from the various markets that I visited.
Steve lived about 3 blocks from the "Bandu Market" where many different items are sold. At the Bandu market there was fresh fruit, bulk spices, precooked food "to go", live fish that would be prepared right there for you, deep fried and barbecued chicken, rice raw and cooked, pork, and fresh vegetables. These markets run everyday, which ensures that what you eat is freshly picked, cooked, or made.
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| This lady was selling jujubes, and sweet potatoes. The jujubes look like a small green apple and have a sweet taste with a crisp texture. Unlike an apple they have a hard pit inside. |
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| How about a little hot pepper for your food!! |
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| One very happy "market cat". |
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| This artist is letting children become artists as they joyfully paint him! This pic was taken at the weekly Saturday Market. |
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| These are barbecued eggs! I meant to try them before I left! Steve said they are quite good. |
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| These are talapia, encrusted in delicious sea salt, cooking fresh for you at the market. |
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| A happy Thai woman with her young son selling fruit at the market. |
At home my Thai language lesson had me memorizing the numbers 1-10 and how they change when you reach larger denominations, but hearing the amount said out-loud threw me for a loop! At the markets many sellers use calculators in order to show you how many “Baht” (the Thai dollar) you owed. That helped me a lot!
It took me a while to get used to being addressed as "Madam"!! It was pronounced beautifully! What a treat to be called Madam instead of Miss, or Mrs...or hey you!
Markets are a huge mainstay of the Thai people and all of the markets seemed to have this fun and festive air about them. Not only are there families that wander the markets, sampling food, looking at all the different items for sale and buying their young children colorful balloons and icy fruit drinks, but it is also a social event for many of the Thais, especially the young teenagers doing what young people do, and being behaved and courteous while doing it.
One of the best markets I’ve ever been to, and so wish there were one like it here in the States, was the “Saturday Market” held in downtown Chiang Rai. It is huge!! It stretches about 8 big city blocks and that isn’t counting the “Food Court” that is set up next to it. The food court is amazing too! So many different types of food there, from whole goats roasting over a pit to raw squid, shrimp, fish, chicken or pork that is cooked right there for you, or curries,and soup bowls, Pad Thai, stir-fried veggies, sushi, decadent crepe type roll ups called Roe Ti that are topped with sweetened condensed milk! Also there is fresh fruit smoothies and fruit juices, sweetened rice wrapped in banana leaves. And another local favorite are fried grasshoppers, and yes they did taste like chicken, really! Just like crispy chicken skin! There were so many different and amazing foods to see and to try!
There is also entertainment at the food court which can consist of karaoke type singing, dancing, and even children performing something like gymnastics combined with dancing, very cute.
The markets are a mass of humanity, with thousands of goods, vibrant colors and intoxicating smells.
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| The Long Boat to take us up the Kok River to the Elephant Camp. |
The best adventure? That had to be the elephant ride and the trip we took to get there. A “long boat” took us up the Kok River to the “Elephant” camp. It was a twenty minute ride up the river and the scenery on the water was fantastic. The boat took us through an almost solid jungle of trees, bamboo and vines during the ride. There were a few modern homes, but mostly jungle, thick and verdant!
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| There were a couple of very nice homes along the Kok River. |
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| My understanding is that this is a rescue and rehabilitation camp for these amazing animals. |
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| I love this picture! She was the one that I got to ride! Next adventure, The Golden Triangle |
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| Daao and I at the The Golden Triangle |
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| Looking over the Mekong River at Laos The large building is a Casino! |
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| This is looking towards Burma, now called Myanmar |
The Golden Triangle is essentially tourist based. Lots of outdoor markets, and shops. And the obligatory "Golden Triangle" marker. Although the opium trade has been irradicated (or moved on to another country) it used to be a huge trafficing area here. The Mekong River played a big part in transportation of the narcotic. The scenery here was very impressive, and won't be soon forgotten.
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| The trees alongside the waterfall were so majestic, reminded me of our Redwoods and Sequoias. |
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This is a hot springs down the road from Steve's. Not sure what the dinosaurs have to do with it (they greeted me at the entrance) but there were individual rooms with sunken tile tubs that you could "rent", and there was the outdoor pool. So relaxing.
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| That is steam coming out of the top of the fountain. I think it was an overflow valve for the thermal vent that the hot spring water was coming from. |
My last big adventure was the yearly celebration of the Thai people called "Loy Krathong". This celebration is as old as Thai heritage and represents the close bond between Thai culture and water. Participants ask water spirits to sail away their troubles in their "Krathongs" (small rafts and Loy means to float). Krathongs are small floats made of woven leaves and fronds, with colorful flowers on top. Nowadays most krathongs are built with bread underneath so that it will float and upon disintegration will help feed the fishes. Small candles and incense are placed on the top among the flowers. Both are lit and then placed into the river to float downstream.
Steve, Daao, Pum and I happened to go to the celebration on November 20th, Vic's Birthday, so my "Krathong" was in honor not only of Vicki but in honor of all of my family.
Earlier that same day found me walking in a beautiful "Formal Garden". During my walk I came upon an Asian Calendar water fountain. There was a sign there that prompted you to find your Asian Zodiac sign and locate it on the pillar at the center of the fountain. Knowing it was Vic's birthday I set off around the fountain to locate "The year of the Rat" and just as I found it a red bodied dragonfly found me! The dragonfly then perched on the edge of the fountain and seemed to take quite a liking to me! I was able to take many pictures of it and spent about 10 minutes admiring it. My thought on this was that Vic wanted to see Thailand too! It was a very moving moment for me.
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| Hi Vic! Thanks for coming to see me in Thailand! |
The other part of the Loy Krathong Celebration that is so pretty is another Loy, a Kom Loy. This one is a Lanna style paper lantern that has a platform built into the bottom, the open part, and when it is lit the warm air will make this lovely lantern float up, up, and up. The material used for lighting it burns for a very long time without burning the paper part of the lantern..so you are able to watch it travel up into the sky for quite a while...simply beautiful.
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| Steve, Daao and Pum holding on until it is "just right"! |
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| In more densly populated areas there can be hundreds of people celebrating along the river banks with many, many lanterns being lit and sent aloft! What a sight that would be! |
So what follows now are some pictures of people and animals too that I met while in Thailand. Thank you for reading this and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed putting it together...!
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| This beautiful woman lives at the "Guest House" where I stayed on my return trip to Chiang Mai. Her daughters doted on her. They would wheel her out into the courtyard every morning, and help her to eat her breakfast. The Guest House served a very nice breakfast for very little money so I ate there almost everyday, and when I would see "Grandmother" I would give her the traditional "Wai" which is putting your hands in a prayer position and slightly bowing your head. The higher the hands the more respect being paid, and then would say "Sawa dee kah", and she would return the greeting in kind. I fell in love with her! |
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| One of the many busy street scenes. |
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| This young boy jumped at the chance to be in this picture, and he heartily approved of it when he saw it! |
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| This was our server at the "home restuarant" where we enjoy that delicious fish on top of the brazier. |
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| This generous lady ran one of a hundred or so gem shops in Mae Sai which sits right on the border of Thailand and Burma. She saw my interest in gems and minerals and "gifted" me a few to take home. She told us that she could not read or write very well and had grown up digging for gems with her parents. |
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| There was a parade (not sure why?) my first day back in Chiang Mai. Isn't she beautiful? |
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| These young men followed the ladies in the parade. Look at the tip of their shoes! It's very "The King and I" don't you think! |
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| The young girls proceeded the young women. They all wore these fan type wings, simply charming! |
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| Not sure how this old dog made it to the top of this fence! But he seems pretty content being there! |
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| I had to take a close up of these "guardians" outside of a Wat |
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| I saw so many interesting interesting things on my adventure! |
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| The "Momma" water buffalo is behind her calf from the previous "season". She is letting him sniff her (very new) new born! |
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| This puppy knew where he lived but would happily trot after you for a bit when you passed his owner's business, hoping for some play time or a "cookie"! |
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| I made a lot of friends there! I love this picture! |
So many orchids there! If only they smelled as good as they looked, but the ever present Plumaria trees help to fill that aroma slot!  |
| I think this is called an "Antler Fern"? This beauty was just over the railing where we sat at a restaurant. |
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| This "trumpet" type flower smelled so delicous. |
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| This young boy was playing with "bubbles" and actually had one balanced on top of the bottle. I asked if I could take a picture of him blowing bubbles! He was a very willing subject! (his picture is above, oops, way above!) |
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| The size of this Buddha is amazing! Look at the difference in size with the sitting Monk! |
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| The bananas were growing over the wall of another Wat I visited. |
