Chiang Mai sanuk mak mak jao...

The trip to Chiang Mai was tons of fun! There was so much to see, so much to do, so much to soak in...

DAY 1: February 4, 2004

Upon arrival at Don Muang Train Station, Priya, P'Ying, P'Poh and I went off in search of nourishment MSG-laden junk food. Mmmm. As we sat waiting for the train to arrive, P'Poh started to PO a little black-and-white puppy by smacking it around on its butt. We yelled and hollered at him to quit it and leave the poor thing alone, but he ignored us. Just as he was about to give it another whack on the behind, the dog suddenly turned around and started going berserk and literally chased P'Poh around the train platform. The dog snapped at him and tore a big hole in his shirt, scratched him on the back, and whacked him back in the leg with his tiny paw, all of which summoned forth a loud cry of "som num na" (serves you right) from us girls. P'Poh then ran to seek refuge behind P'Ying, and so the dog, accidentally mistaking her for P'Poh the moronic idiot, bit P'Ying on the finger. Sigh. We insisted she get a Rabies shot (just in case) upon arriving in Chiang Mai, but she said she'd do it later back in BKK.


Just when we all thought we were going to be ravished alive by a rabid canine, the train finally arrived. We gratefully boarded and plopped down onto our seats. It was going to be a long ride - approximately 13 hours - and so I'd packed some light, chick-lit books to read along the way. Do not, I repeat, do not ever read Sophie Kinsella's "Can You Keep a Secret" in public! I don't think I've ever giggled and sniggered so much over a book before. P'Ying, another Sophie Kinsella-aholic, read "Shopaholic Ties the Knot" and giggled just as much (if not more). It helped to pass the time, and before we knew it, it was quickly nearing midnight.



Leaving Bangkok as we pass by Don Muang International Airport.

Our train car in particular was extra abundant in farang backpackers who hailed from all over the US, Europe, and Australia. These complete strangers immediately became friends by sharing Thailand horror stories and observations about quirky Thai social behavior, and sat around drinking good ol' Singha until the early hours of the morning. I zonked out at about 1 AM with the sound of clanking beer bottles tinkling away in the background.


~*~

DAY 2: February 5, 2004

Rise and shine! As we proceeded north, the temperatures began dipping into the low sixties and fifties, and so I was awakened in the middle of the night by the frigid cold. I hadn't been expecting such chilly weather, and so I'd only packed one measly cardigan. I couldn't fall back asleep, and so I woke up at around 5 AM and waited for the sun to rise.




There was some lovely scenery along the way - plenty of rolling hills and fields that seemed to stretch on forever.

We were delayed a bit, and so the entire trip took 15 hours instead of the usual 13. As we groggily stumbled off the train and headed towards the parking lot in search of a song taew to take us into town, we were badgered by a plethora of tour guides, souvenir vendors, hotel reps, tuk-tuk drivers, and song taew drivers. We hopped onto the first song taew we saw and set off for our hotel.


(For the non-Thais out there, "rot song taew" literally means "double-rowed vehicle".)

Apparently there was going to be a Flower Festival taking place from the 6th-8th, and so there were plenty of preparations going on in various parts of the city. Chiang Mai, like Bangkok, is a city of eclectic blends between old world Lanna charm and modern, tourist-catered buildings and establishments. However, unlike Bangkok, there was nothing but wonderfully pristine air! For the first time in a while, there wasn't any exhaust or Carbon Monoxide fogging up my brain.





Luckily, we'd made reservations at our hotel (the Chiang Mai Phucome Hotel) beforehand. However, we were only able to reserve rooms for our first night there, and would have to find a new place to crash at the following night since Phucome was packed due to the flower festival. Whatever the case, we wanted to get to our rooms ASAP and shower because we were all feeling rather grimy and grubby from our train ride.



After our much needed showers, we finally hailed down a song taew and headed to the Chiang Mai Orchid Hotel where the ASIATOX convention was being held. There were more lectures, seminars, symposiums, blah, blah, blah, indecipherable technical terms, blah, blah, potentiation by ceramide an apoptotic rheostat of COX-2 induction via JNK-AP-1-mediated activation of C/EBP Beta, blah, blah, blaaaaaaah. Obviously, we grew a tad bit bored after a while.



I vaguely remember one of the lecturers mentioning that Curuma Longa is some sort of herb, but upon hearing it, P'Ying pointed out that it sort of rhymes with Hakuna Matata. Since we're big fans of the Lion King, we nearly burst into song. ("Hakuna matata, it means don't worry for the rest of your daaaaays!")


Hey, but it's not like we were the only ones not paying attention - I swear I saw a hefty number of graying scientists unabashedly nod off in the middle of the lectures, and during one French dude's lecture, a large number of them suddenly disappeared in search of some much needed coffee.


The inviting view of the pool outside taunted us relentlessly.

In the evening, Ajahn Tassanee offered to take us to Chiang Mai University - where she did her undergrad studies before continuing her Masters and PhD in Australia - and give us the grand tour. Some other professors (old friends of hers from her university days) joined us and so we all piled into a song taew, and along the way, befriended some CMU students.


Chiang Mai University, located at the foot of Doi Suthep mountain, is flanked on all sides by busy shopping streets and Chiang Mai Zoo. The main campus lies sprawled across 725 acres and is centered around Ang Kaew Reservoir, a beautifully idyllic and tranquil spot for CMU students to kick back and socialize at. Oh, and the weather was absolutely wonderful! Seeing all those mountains in the near distance made me think of my kiddie days in Los Altos where the hills were never too far away. Honestly speaking, smog-infested Bangkok seemed worlds away.


Coincidentally, HM Queen Sirikit was set to visit the university the following night to preside over a royal ceremony, and so there were some mad preparations going on. There were authentic Lanna decorations everywhere and the overall atmosphere was absolutely lovely.




Traditional Lanna lanterns decorating the courtyard area.


There were some beautifully hand-painted umbrellas dotting the courtyard area. Some were small and delicate, and others were these massive pieces of art.


Entrance into the ceremonial area (left).
Portrait of HM Queen Sirikit (right).


Chang noy na rak sam thua, hehe.

We later had some local Chiang Mai cuisine, and even though I don't know the names of half the dishes we devoured that night, I can assure you that they were all fan-freakin-tastic. Afterwards, we decided to head back to the hotel a little earlier than planned because we were pooped from the train ride and busy, busy, busy day.


~*~

DAY 3: February 6, 2004

After some much needed sleep and breakfast, we checked out of the hotel, piled into a song taew, and headed into town in search of accommodation for that night. After a few stops at various hotels, we finally found some vacant rooms at the Chiang Mai Gate Hotel. Even though the prices were surprisingly low, the rooms and overall atmosphere was wonderful.


I spotted this sign by the elevator.
I have no idea why, but it made me laugh.
(That's a durian in the sign on the right, by the way.)

As a hotel obviously catered towards foreign tourists, there was nothing but foreign channels on TV - German, French, Taiwanese, Korean, Dutch - and so it took an awful lot of channel surfing before I was able to find a Thai or English-speaking channel. I used to think that only Thai TV was corny, but as I watched two Taiwanese guys hop around on stage like rabbits, I was able to surmise that Taiwanese TV is just as corny, if not cornier, hehe.



After settling in, we finally trudged off to the Chiang Mai Orchid Hotel for the last day of the ASIATOX conference. Basically, we spent the entire day listening once again to more lectures as all the brilliant scientist folk discussed various scientific theories. Since we were the only undergrad students there, we felt awfully sa-thoo-pid trying to keep up with what they were all arguing and debating about. Upon viewing our poster presentations and learning that we were undergrad students, many of them said, "Good job, good job! You have good English, good poster, good job, good job!" in a manner that was frighteningly similar to a kindergarten teacher lauding praise on his/her student's recklessly scribbled-in, Crayola-periwinkle-colored butterfly masterpiece. Kidding aside, I'm grateful I was given the opportunity to attend the ASIATOX conference and gain invaluable experience.


We later hopped next door to Central Sang Kaew Department Store and us girls went a little insane with shopping. I bought some lovely shirts (hey, they were on sale), some cute trinkets for my cousins (hey, I knew Nong Golf would love the Nemo keychain), a pair of sandals (hey, the formal shoes I'd brought with me for the conference were killing me), and some books (hey, I'm a bookaholic). Us girls promised ourselves that we wouldn't buy anything go too crazy at the Night Bazaar later that night, but P'Poh didn't believe us.


Interacting with the locals was fun; I loved listening to the Northern dialect. Instead of adding ka to the end of their sentences, the ladies would instead say jao. Oh, and instead of saying yi-sib baht (twenty baht), they would instead say sao baht. Cool, huh?


Priya had a horrible cold, and upon feeling her forehead, I surmised that she had a fever. We decided to head back to the hotel so she could take a little nap before heading to the Night Bazaar in town. We lounged around, nibbled on basil-flavored Lay's, giggled at the spitting French and German anchormen on the French and German TV channels, and gawked at the thousands of Thai people lineed up at Sanam Luang for free chicken in an anti-bird flu campaign led by PM Thaksin Shinawatra on Channel 3. We finally left for the Night Bazaar at around 9:30 PM and hailed a - yup, you guessed it - song taew into town.


Chiang Mai's Night Bazaar is a hive of activity and even if you aren't intent on buying anything, it's still a great place to soak up all the late night hustle and bustle.




Herbal tea? Carved soap? Overpriced ethnic Karen tribe trinkets? 100% Thai silk wallets? 100% Thai silk handkerchiefs? Funky, psychedelic lanterns? They had it all. (left).
A "jao tee" shrine, or spirit house. (right).


Rock climbing, anyone?


Check out the jing-jok (gecko)! P'Ying bought some cute mirrors - one of the moon and another of the sun.

Later, we headed underground where there were oodles of artists hard at work. We saw pencil sketchings, oil paintings, silk-screen art, and intricate sculptures carved out of teak wood. P'Poh bought a gorgeous painting for a great price, and even though the rest of us didn't buy any artwork, we still spent about two hours down there strolling around, browsing, and marveling at the sheer brilliance and skill of some of the artists.



Do any of you recognize the lady in this sketch? It's the famous Afghan lady from the cover of National Geographic.


So beautiful...


Upon seeing this particular sketch of J.Lo, P'Ying and I launched into a conversation that went a little something like this:

Me: Ooh, look, it's J.Lo.
P'Ying: I bet she would sue 'em big bucks if she saw this.
Me: Hmm, well, they could always stick a big mole on her cheek and then claim it wasn't her.
P'Ying: They could say it was Cindy Crawford... Cindy Lo!
Me: Or Enrique! Or, er, pre-surgical-removal-of-mole Enrique...




We later came across a "dog pound". After much contemplation, P'Ying and P'Poh finally settled on two very cute dogs whereas I opted for a panda figurine instead.



So he's slightly exotropic (his eyes turn outward), but that's okay, I love him anyway!

We later came across a beautiful shop full of wooden teak carvings of figures from Ramakien, a famous piece of Thai classical literature adapted from the Indian Ramayana. There were carvings of mermaids with ample bosoms, elephants caught in the middle of some, uh, explicitly graphic acts (they were having full-fledged orgies!), and as P'Ying observed, "guys with pert nipples - they must be cold...". In front of all of these carvings and figurines were little signs that screamed haam jub!! (don't touch) in Thai and ne pas toucher!! in French. We immediately assumed that the French must be a pretty horny bunch since, besides Thai, there weren't any signs in any other languages.


We came up from the underground area and found dirt-cheap pirated CDs everywhere. The music whore in me demanded I buy some, and so I shamefully walked away with five CDs. Gee, what can I say? I'm Thai... Anyways, we bought some medicine for poor Priya, who looked like she was in some desperate need of rest, and headed back to the hotel at around midnight.


~*~


DAY 4: February 7, 2004

Whee! No more stuffy conferences! We were free to cavort and gallivant through town! We could act like tourists for the day and visit all the touristy spots without thinking twice about anything Toxicology/toxischmology-related! Hoorah!


So after breakfast, we found a song taew driver who was willing to take us all around town, anywhere and everywhere our hearts desired, for the dirt-cheap price of 800 baht ($20). Not too shabby, eh? So, we hopped in, and Khun Loong (uncle, in Thai), whisked us away. As we headed out of town, we got stuck in people/tuk-tuk traffic since everyone was out on the streets for Chiang Mai's 28th Annual Flower Festival. The flowers that decorated the streets were in full bloom and the gorgeous floral displays were absolutely lovely.


Once we got through all the traffic and finally reached the city's outskirts, we began to wish we'd chosen another song taew driver. Of course, that's not to say that Khun Loong wasn't a nice guy, because he was! However, he was absolutely INSANE when it came to driving! I slipped off my seat at least a dozen times and P'Ying and Priya went sliding back and forth so many times, you'd think they had butter slathered across their butts.


Bull *cough* shit *cough*...

At first, all the slipping and sliding was a little fun. Ho, ho, slippity slip we slide! Hah, hah, slippity slide we slip! But then, as we began the 14 kilometer climb to the top of Doi Suthep mountain, things suddenly weren't so funny anymore. Indeed, all previous giggling quickly disappeared after the song taew nearly tipped over after Khun Loong took a super swift and sharp turn at one of the bends in the road. The road was incredibly curvy and there was this one super steep slope towards the top that nearly sent our song taew careening over the edge! Eeek! Of course, things wouldn't have been half as bad if the driver hadn't been driving so gosh darn fast!


We later reverted to calling Khun Loong "Ai Loong Bah" (crazy uncle) instead.

As if having Ai Loong Bah as our driver wasn't horrible enough, turns out all the other song taew drivers were just as insane! Holy crap! Here comes a bus and a song taew - ON OUR SIDE OF THE ROAD! Forget the yellow line painted down the middle of the road, we're gonna get shoved off the edge of the mountain and will end up on the front page of Thai Rath tomorrow morning! Oh, woe is me, we're gonna die! Doom, doom, DOOM!


So we tried to ignore what appeared to be imminent death, and instead tried desperately to enjoy the beautiful scenery that was dotted with waterfalls, awesome mountain vistas, and flowering trees. Needless to say, when we finally reached the top, we practically jumped out and very nearly kissed the wonderfully, beautifully solid ground.


After the frightful song taew ride, the view of the 290 steps we had to take to the top of Doi Suthep mountain proved to be a wee bit daunting. After all, our knees were still clattering with fright.


Wat Phra That Doi Suthep was waiting for us 290 steps away (pink arrow). Oy.

Lucky for me and P'Ying, we were wearing our new comfy shoes that we'd purchased the day before at Central.


P'Ying's shoes were these adorable moccasin-like slip-ons that formed the image of a butterfly when you put your feet together (left).
My sandals were as comfy as could be (right).


O *pant* kay. 200 more steps to go.


Along the way, I noticed that there were some thought-provoking Buddhist idioms posted on the trees.


Hoorah! We finally reached the top!

The scenes that greeted us at the top of the mountain were absolutely breathtaking. All the decorations and embellishments at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep are incredibly ornate and are done in painstaking detail, and so the overall effect is amazing.


Various scenes of the important stages of Buddha's life.


Lovely, lovely, lovely...


The gentle tinkling of the numerous bells was incredibly soothing.




Each Buddha statue represents a day of the week. Since I was born on a Friday, I donated some money to the Friday Buddha statue. (left)
Pouring oil over the flames. (Again, each statue represents a day of the week.) (right)


Even though, technically speaking, I'm not Buddhist, I still bought a lotus flower, candle, and incense to pray. My mother's Buddhist, so I was always exposed to Buddhist ways and preachings.


Beautiful Buddha statues were everywhere.


Some people Vien Tien-ing, a ritual whereby you make three rounds around the main chedi of the temple and chant Buddhist prayers.


Priya, me, and P'Ying in front of the main chedi at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.


Ring the bells for good luck!


Some whimsical figurines of characters from classical Thai literature.


I believe this is King Narai upon his elephant... or is it King Mengrai? Anyone know for sure?


Incredibly intricate temple doors.


There was a huge terrace area where you could view the city from above. Unfortunately it was a little foggy that morning, and so it was rather difficult to see the city in great detail. (left)
Some young nehns (novice monks) smiling as the head monk takes a group photo of them.


There were gorgeous flowerbeds everywhere. You don't get to see so many flowers in Bangkok, and so they were a nice change of scenery.


Then this cocker spaniel went parading through the flowerbeds and trampled all over them. Tsk, tsk, bad doggy!


The story behind the white elephant...


The long walk down.


But that's okay because good food awaited us at the base of the stairs.


As did the lovely souvenirs and beautiful artwork.

We finally climbed back into Ai Loong Bah's song taew and drove down a few kilometers before stopping at a reststop to take some pics of the city. It wasn't as foggy as it had been above at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, and so we were able to see the city.


View of Chiang Mai City. You can see Chiang Mai University's Ang Kaew Reservoir in the lower right-hand corner. (left)
Amongst some other love proclamations, I noticed that this was etched into the railing - apparently Joe does not love Tong anymore. Hmmm, I wonder why...?

We wanted to see Doi Inthanon and the Royal Family's Winter Palace, but had to cross them out of our agenda since we were running out of time and really wanted to see the pandas. Plus, we couldn't visit the Winter Palace anyway since HM Queen Sirikit was in town, and so the palace was closed off to tourists. So, we instead headed for Chiang Mai Zoo at the foot of Doi Suthep mountain. The 14 kilometer drive down wasn't as nerve-racking as it had been on the way up - thank God.



Lin Hui and Chuang Chuang, the pair of pandas that are on "loan" from China, truly are Chiang Mai's darlings. Almost reaching celebrity status, there are signs, stuffed pandas, and pictures of them all over the city. Anyways, upon entering the zoo, you have to pay a 30 baht entrance fee, and later, a 50 baht fee to enter the panda exhibition.



I believe that wall is supposed to be the Great Wall of China.
Check out the dark rings around his eyes. (It's like looking into a mirror for me.)

After walking through an antiseptic area (we had to sterilize our shoes), and waiting around for a short while, they finally let us in.


Lin Hui

And yes, they were unbelievably adorable! Lin Hui, in particular, was rather playful. She would come up close to the visitors, stare at them in wonder, and roll around, much to our delight.


Chuang Chuang just sort of loafed around on his back and kicked his feet up every now and then. I guess male pandas are just as indolent as male humans... (J/P)

There was a guard who would flash this sign anytime anyone made the slightest peep. At one point, a little toddler started crying because Lin Hui suddenly came up rather close to where she was standing, and startled her. It was so funny because the guard suddenly raced over to where she was standing, and started to frantically wave this sign in her face while whispering, "Quiet, ngieb! Quiet, ngieb!". Gee, like a frightened 3-year old could care less about your sign.


Is it just me, or does the panda look a little traumatized by us?


Haven't you heard? Lin Hui and Chuang Chuang have had babies!
Indeed - here are Lynn Chuang and Ying Hui.
(Those sure are some butt ugly panda cubs!)

We went to see a few more exhibitions, but had to hurry since we had to catch our train at around 4:45 that afternoon. We made sure to see the apes and chanees, or as P'Ying said, "P'Poh's relatives."


'Ey! Whatchu lookin' at???


We were running a little late, and so we grabbed some quick food and drinks before heading back to the hotel to grab our things. We raced to the train station and boarded just in the nick of time.

Yummm - green tea with grass jelly...



View of the train platform from my seat.


La kon na, Chiang Mai. Byeeee...!

I finished reading Sophie Kinsella's "Can You Keep a Secret?", and re-read Helen Fielding's "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason". That book never ceases to tickle me silly. I fortunately did not have to sit next to a Mr. Synthetic Fabric Fart Machine, but Bridget's caught-with-drugs-in-Thailand episode made me laugh, as always.


I don't know if there was some sort of religious sabbatical going on that weekend, but it was kind of odd because there were five Buddhist nuns, two Buddhist monks, three Catholic nuns, and one Catholic priest in the same car us. At one point, as I was walking back to my seat after washing my hands, I crossed paths with one of the monks, and since Buddhist monks are forbidden to come into any physical contact with females, I had to back up all the way to the bathrooms so that he could pass. The Catholic nuns then smiled at me, and upon seeing the cross at my neck, one of them said, "Bless you child." I believe they were Filipino. The Buddhist nuns were all smiles, too. We had an interesting conversation with them and they were incredibly gracious.



I had a wonderful time in Chiang Mai. It truly is worlds away from smoggy Bangkok, and I'm definitely going back again! I gotta go study for finals now, though. Dangit.



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