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Bangkok & Chiang Mai, Thailand Review
After departing the high-tech metropolitan city of Hong Kong, without my partner, Dakota, I flew into the mega city of Bangkok. It was not my first visit and after a few days, I noticed that the only things that had changed since my 2003 visit was the level of smog and a major increase of street traffic. Not my thing, for sure, as I am more of a tent on a secluded beach kind of guy, but airports seem to be more available in cities, so I would make the best of it. It was, after all, a very entertaining and exciting city and I was quite sure I could keep myself busy for at least a week before my departure for Chiang Mai in the north. The lines at the airport immigration were quick and hailing a taxi I was soon being transported through immense traffic into the very heart of the city. Having stayed at the Baiyoke Sky hotel on my previous visit it would again be my first choice. The hotel is famed for being the tallest hotel in this part of the world and towering 88 stories it would offer excellent views if not for the thick smog. Checking in, I headed to my JR suite on the 57th floor and indulged myself with a long shower before heading out to the crowded streets below. In this mega-city it is near impossible to walk 5 feet without utilizing the utmost diligence in manipulating one's way around several hundred people, tourists and locals, along with countless vendors, as well as more traffic than most major cities in the world combined. My goal was just to sit down at a sidewalk cafe and satisfy my hunger, but noodles and rice was not going to do it and so my long venture to find some western food began. Two hours and 5 kilometers of buzzing in and out of the crowds I finally found a cafe serving an English breakfast of steak, eggs and potatoes and along with some hot tea I was ready for most anything...especially a great full body Thai massage, where sex ( happy ending) is always an option for a few extra Baht, (local currency) Ahhh...free at last...free at last. Life without all the western cultures stifling rules and so-called morale venues. A land where the people live and let live and simply do not seek to control every aspect of a person's life. A place you could enjoy walking down the street with a beer and a cigarette and a 20 year old girl on your arm without bearing scorn or arrested by the local police. Being a globe trotter I really detest the controlling restrictions of living in the USA and the UK. Their citizens really should get out more and see what true freedom is all about. It's definitely not about control and waging global wars in stealing the world's resources and imposing their self-righteous beliefs on countries that enjoy more freedoms than all the western societies. I wandered the streets of Bangkok for 7 days and in spite of the traffic, hectic crowds and lung destroying pollution I entertained myself with long strolls, wild Tuk-Tuk rides, (Thai taxis) a few quite enjoyable massages and some shopping, mostly clothes and a few trinkets. On the evening of Nov. 18th, 2006, I boarded a 60 year old bouncing, squeaking and moaning train for my journey north to Chiang Mai. It would be my first visit, but hearing good things about the valley city I was anxious to check it out. Being pre-informed that even though the trip was only 700 kilometers it would take a full 12 hours, I decided to book a sleeper. What I didn't know, however, was that I was to share the cramped sleeper room with a pleasant, but loudly snoring gent from N. Zealand and two of his British beer guzzling friends. After an hour or so of trying fruitlessly to blank out their endless soccer chit-chat I headed to the train's bar and cafe area. Plowing my way through 20 cars lined with side beds, bags and people hanging in and out of every inch of the train I eventually found the bar-car, grabbed a table and commenced smoking a much needed cigarette while a sipping a cold bottle of coke. It was a bizarre scene with numerous tourists speaking a multitude of languages, 2 policemen hanging around drinking beer, several flirtatious female staff drinking beer with a few male customers. There was a silent TV tuned to MTV flashing Thai dance videos and a radio blaring out some good ole American rock & roll. The surreal scene was odd, but encompassing. With all the windows down, three fans at full speed and the passing shadows from the outside terrain darting against the interior the time spent in the bar was quiet rewarding and definitely the highlight of my time so far spent in Thailand. Though the train was a world war 2 relic I wouldn't have changed a thing about it or the trip. As soon as the morning light pierced the sleepers windows I was up and with my cigarettes and camera headed for the back of the train. I didn't have far to walk as during the night they dropped off all the cars behind ours. Opening the back door I stood smoking my first cigarette and snapping photos of the passing jungle, mountains, small villages and numerous locals riding bikes and walking along and across the tracks. It wasn't long before I was joined with several back-packers all wanting to do smoke the day's first cigarette. I definitely enjoy my gypsy life. The train was late and pulled into the station at Chiang Mai around 9 Am, grabbing my over-sized suite case, massive camera bag, my day bag and my stiff body I debarked along with everyone else. It was the last stop and with everyone disembarking I headed to the station to hop a taxi to my prebooked hotel. Riding in the open air taxi I had the feeling I would enjoy my stay here. At this time I had no idea of how how long I would end up staying. A brief ride across the center town square I arrived at the entrance of the fairly large and well positioned hotel, which was only a short stroll from the centuries old canals and the most interesting part of the town...bars, cafes and lots of local ladies. What else does a man need? Well, all that and an internet cafe. Like anywhere and always...I take everything one day at a time and fully appreciate my job and fascinating life!
In my business internet is crucial, but not always
available, as many of the world's hotels
are still years behind in providing the service and such was the case
After a few days of checking in and out of hotels I contacted a very nice Thai real estate lady
whom immediately found me an excellent condo on the 12th floor of a concrete building only
5 blocks from my favorite cafe. The unit was safe, private and with a large living room, full kitchen, a big bathroom and a separate bedroom, as well as an open deck overlooking the town...it
would be my home for the duration of my stay, which ended up being almost 3 months. For me to stay anywhere for 3 months you can be assured
I am either really exhausted from my global travel or it's a good place. To get
the condo ready for me to move in the real estate lady drove me around getting me hooked up for cable TV and internet.
The unit was fully furnished and included a DVD player, a large TV and good
furniture. She even bought me some dishes, silverware and pots. I was definitely in my groove. And to add pudding to my new found cake in my first few days in the city I met several festive and attractive Thai ladies for those self indulging times and
as that they even had a car...we definitely hit it off. They, especially their car, were a most rewarding asset
as the three of us ventured around the countryside exploring ancient temples and
northern waterfalls close to the Miramar border. We even went water-rafting and rode elephants from an elephant farm into the jungles. We sipped tea and enjoyed Thai delicacies at small precariously pieced together bamboo cafes built directly above the waterfalls, laughed and played on lake shores, wandered around pitch black Buddhist's caves in the mountains and shot
(Pic. Wat Chiang Man) I must, however, inform travelers looking for endless wild nights, hundreds of bar girls and beaches... you won't find them in Chiang Mai. In fact the city has no water and is hundreds of miles from any beach. You will, however, find adventurous tours, endless available excursions, friendliness, peace, great food and a serenity not found in most any regions of the world. There is plenty of good nightlife and available girls, lots of bars, guest houses and hotels, but don't expect to compare it to towns in the south, such as Bangkok, Phuket, Patong where there are thousands of starving bar-girls willing to chase you down the street offering their services; nor will you find aggressive boy-girls (homosexuals) endlessly pursuing you at every turn and you also won't find the high prices and crowds of deviant tourists ruining it for everyone else.
Chiang Mai is a medium sized city with small town amenities
On the 3rd of Feb. 2007 I will leave my home away from home and after spending a couple of days in another great city, Chiang Rai, somewhat a sister city to Chiang Mai, I will venture to the Golden Triangle, where the river borders of Thailand, Laos and the military controlled Communist country of Miramar all join together. It will most likely be a wild, but exciting adventure, as I continue on into Laos and Vietnam. I will then venture into Cambodia and the killing fields of the still present Khmer Rouge and their insane guerilla leader nick named Pol Pot. The madness began in April 1975 in the country's capital Phnom Penh. It only ended after the then liberated Vietnam Peoples Republic sent their quite capable army into the jungles of Cambodia and wiped out this murderous regime. Visiting the graves, museums and territory of the Khmer Rouge would be at the most entailing and at the least...despairing, but it would be absolutely compelling, at least for me, as a believer of self rights and respect for our world. Revised; March 13, 2008. After leaving Chiang Mai and Thailand, and after touring extensively throughout SE Asia, Hong Kong, again, Beijing, Japan and Taiwan, I returned to Chiang Mai in Oct of 2007. I rented a condo and then moved after 2 months to yet a different condo, where I stayed until March the 15th 2008. I am sadden to say that the city has changed, a lot, and not for the better. Traveling around the area from Chiang Mai to the Golden Triangle and into Myanmar I was sickened at the high level of smoke, smog and toxins in the air. Especially in Chiang Mai, where the lack of enforcement has created a city where the air is disgustingly thick in smog. It's not from any factory...it's all from the local, poorly, maintained cars, motorcycles and most definitely from the taxis and Tuk Tuks. This small centralized city has 1000's of these motorcycle converted taxis that spit out enormous amounts of black smoke and carbons and the police, as well as the country and local policy makers simply ignore! Another source of the pollutants come from farmers burning their land and from 1000's of locals burning trash, leaves and other foliage on a daily basis. The locally run English newspapers seldom make any mention to these important issues and never post any articles in condemning these ridiculous practices. They have, however, called for local legislation to ban smoking in all public areas...Nuts! With our world rapidly being covered in smog I can't help but wonder why banning smoking is so pursued while cowardly lawmakers lack the forthright or courage to go after the real polluters destroying our planet??? Auto makers, factories, farmers, cattle and sheep ranchers, industries driving our degenerate and wasteful lifestyle. Millions of gas guzzling SUVs flood the streets, new malls are going up every few days and we continue to encroach into the very nature that gives life and meaning to our dull and boring existence. The world's people are constantly induced into by profit orientated societies to spend the Earth's resources in self procurement and as a result continue to dump millions of tons of waste and pollutants into our waterways and atmosphere. We slash and burn our life giving forests and murder our wildlife at an ever accelerating pace and I assume that since these practices generate large sums of money they are either tolerated or ignored... or both! In our ignorance we actually believe that smoking a cigarette is the leading cause of health problems!!! Sadly we retain the ludicrous belief that only we, as humans, are intelligent and therefore are the self appointed keepers of our planet. Most people are as dumb as a rock and seek nothing but self gratification and as an accumulative result our planet is being murdered. Then there's the billions believing that God will save them. To put it simply...if there was a God he'd fly down and give the planet a giant shot of penicillin to get rid of us!!! In addition, Chiang Mai is rapidly turning into yet another carbon copy of western style cities with shopping malls, over priced goods and ever increasing price of food and other necessary commodities. Yet another issue that makes the area a bad choice for English speakers, as well as all non Thai, that even with a huge number of English transplanted residents, property and business owners, etc. almost no local people speak or understands even a few simple words of English, which is, to say the least, very frustrating. The city's once cherished culture has also vanished and now the police are beginning to crack down on everything that once made this city a great place to live for people wanting freedom from the overbearing regulations of western societies. Again western influence has won over and with the increase of crime, the immense air pollution, ridiculous laws and inflation...I can no longer recommend Chiang Mai or any other locale in Thailand as a good place to retire. After all, the reasons people retire is to be able to enjoy an affordable and healthy lifestyle, and personally I like to breath clean air and live in a livable environment. Logic and decency, as well as being able to live in peace and safety have been replaced by micro management, crime and most definitely...consumerism! Click here for more pics & info on Chiang Mai! Click here for Chiang Mai Nightlife!
Click here for my Phuket Review! Click here to Read my "USA-Vietnam War Remembered" Article! (6 parts) Click here for Feedback or Inquiries! Review written March 13, 2008 by touring editor; Michael Smith. This editorial in its entirety is the sole property of Travelers Digest and may not be distributed, sold or copied without prior written permission of Travelers Digest and/or its licensed representatives. |
Travelers Digest Navigation Chiang Mai Southeast Asia
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with my
booked hotel. They had advertised having internet service, but after checking in I
discovered quick quickly that it was not available. The non English speaking
girls at the desk were at a complete loss in understanding my complaints, but
hell, they were so cute, it was most difficult in being rude, so I went for a
walk and stopped at a nice cafe along the canal...a German owned bar-cafe called
The Bier Stube. The food
selection was varied and palatable and this small open front cafe would become a part of my
daily ritual of making acquaintances, sipping banana shakes and filling my
stomach. I later strolled around and ended up renting a scooter. It was the prime method of getting
around and did, I must admit, require lots of nerve, some skill and a hell of a
lot of luck to weave in and out of thousands of
wild people on scooters, bikes, cars, trucks and wandering vendors pushing their
cars down the middle of the streets. In this section of the world there are no
enforceable traffic laws and every inch of payment is utilized. In a what
would normally be a single lane there would be 6 scooters, a car and a taxi all
fighting to pass each other. But, being a nutcase myself, I was right at home
and within a few minutes I was bobbing and weaving with the best of
them...yahoo!
(Pic. Wat Phra That Doi Suthep)
hundreds of pictures of everything, including each other. Those two crazy girls will
not soon be forgotten and my time with them added immensely to my memories of Chiang Mai.
where you will find a lingering trace of Thai culture.
Its a place where the locals are polite, always welcoming and actually pretend
to enjoy your presence.
(Pic. Country home on pond)
