Thailand #2: Chang Mai

...and we were off to Chang Mai on my first real train-ride. I think the closet I've ever been to riding a real train was at Dollywood (as in Dolly Parton) theme park in Tennessee (yes, it does exist unfortunately). Luckily, no tomahawk wielding 'injuns' raided our cozy over/under sleeper cab. Our only company was a teenage couple from Denmark who had seats across the isle from us. They were traveling SE Asia on a gap year before university. After trading stories etc., we pulled down our bunks and went to sleep. Sleeping on a train (in a bed) is one of the best sleeps you can have. You are lulled to sleep by the rocking of the cab and the rhythmic harmony of the wheels on the tracks. I loved it.

We got into Chang Mai at around 9am, and caught a tuk-tuk to the hostile we hoped to stay at. A tuk-tuk is essentially a high powered, 3-wheeled golf-cart. They dominate Thailand, and depending on where you are and how far you're going, they are more convenient and less expensive than taxis. We arrived at Julie's Place hostel which gets great reviews from almost every source. Apparently other people had read those sources. It was filled up for 2 nights, and it was only 9:30am. The lobby/lounge/restaurant area was packed, so we decided to come back for the social life later. They suggested the hostel nextdoor, which was empty when we got there. It was a great little place (I'll find the name later), and for some reason there were no guests. Everyone wanted to stay at Julie's. The rooms at ours had great beds, big bathrooms, and balconies...for $6/person. There were even two great porches for relaxing. I guess that's marketing for you. Nobody knew to look there.

The only problem with the location we'd chosen was that it was tucked away in a nice little neighborhood alley-maze. During the course of our 3 day and 2 night stay in Chang Mai, we never once made it home without having to ask for directions (...to Julie's, lol). We also tend to not pay attention when we go walking. The first day we walked around the entire perimeter of downtown Chang Mai. It's bordered by crumbling fortress walls, and a much newer, rectangular canal. We looked at quite a few wats, ate some good Thai Curry, and sampled it's famous coffee. The coffee lived up to its standards. It took about 20m to get an iced mocha, but it was one of the most potent mochas I've ever had. They make them thick. That night we went to a reggae bar, and met the spitting image of Bob Marley. He was the owner, and spoke English well enough to make conversation. The drinks were nothing special, but he loaded us up with bar snacks and played the entire "Magical Mystery Tour" album, which kept us around. After an hour or so he recommended another bar around the corner at which we could meet more people our own age. Having been at the open air bar for about 20m, I went to order a 2nd beer, and low and behold an elephant walked in. It sounds like a joke, "...so an elephant walks into a bar right...," but it wasn't. It was a baby elephant, so about the size of a VW Beetle, but it was right there wanting pretzels and bananas. The owner was walking it around the bar scene letting people feed it for $0.75 a banana. Petting and picture taking was free. Of course we obliged.

The next morning, I realized my passport was missing. I needed it for renting a motorbike, and it was nowhere to be found. After an hour and a half of "oh shit" frustration/panic, we arrived at the train station to see if it had somehow made it to their lost and found. When the woman behind the window asked my name, I said "Benjamin Carrier"...and the smile on her face was priceless. It was half "haha, dumbass tourist" and half genuine happiness. She pulled it out of her cash registrar and said it had been found on the train. After a good bit of thanks, I brought her back a giant cafe mocha. It was a very neat exchange. I'm sure she rarely sees much appreciation from tourists.

We rented a 125cc Honda scooter (er...motorbike), and after 20m of deciding I was semi-comfortable with a passenger on the back, off we went. We drove about 20k outside of town to a lake/park that locals escape to. It was virtually empty, and very pretty. We didn't go swimming, but some general relaxing was quite nice. I even taught Christy how to ride the motorbike...and for some reason was brave enough to ride on the back for a ways :) She did really well for her first time, but was frustrated that I wouldn't let her drive in traffic. Not with me on the back...and definitely not in Thai traffic. I still hold that it would have been a recipe for disaster...she still calls me a "worry-wort". We'll never know..but I'm still alive. We also drove out to a neat waterfall on the opposite side of the city. It was the first that we saw in Thailand.

The next day we decided to risk being "too touristy", and signed up for a 1 day "jungle-trek". It included a bullshit stop at a butterfly garden (it really was pretty pitiful), a 1hr elephant ride, a 1hr hike to a waterfall/swimming area, a 1hr whitewater rafting adventure, and a 30m bamboo rafting experience. These packaged tours are sold everywhere, and it's best to shop around for the best price...just make sure to use a licensed guide service. Hostels are a good place to book from. We spent about $30 for the day (lunch included). To our surprise, it was worth it for just the van ride. It provided a great view of the country side. Elephant riding was a blast. The elephants in Thailand are considered sacred, and traditionally only kings could ride them. Nowadays they are tourist attractions, but well cared for nonetheless. Christy and I got an elephant that was a bit of a glutton. It slacked to the back of the pack, and wonder off into the fields to munch away on the vegetation. We sat on a bench seat strapped to its back, but Christy was allowed to ride straddle on its neck for a good ways. The elephant could hardly feel us. They are so incredibly powerful. Just feeding one and feeling its trunk lets you know that they simply allowing you to be in charge. The hike to the waterfall was scenic. We walked through a farm, and I attempted to pet a water buffalo (essentially just a cow). The damn thing dropped its head and tried to gore me. Thankfully it was on a rope. Christine, apparently oblivious to my encounter, walked over to pet it as well. Rather than present its horns, its proceeded to lick her hand profusely...go figure. The waterfall itself was cold and refreshing. We have several pictures of me trying to pull Christine in. Eventually I got her. Rafting was fun despite the low water. We played pinball with some giant boulders, and had water wars with other rafts. Bamboo rafting was fun, but mostly just a good photo opportunity.

We returned to Chang Mai that night, and hopped a train bound for Kanchanabury via Bangkok. No sleeper cars available this time. It was an uncomfortable night.