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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 was 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 this would 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 took a long shower before heading out to the crowded streets below. It is near impossible to walk 5 feet in this city without the utmost diligence in manipulating one's way around several hundred people, both tourists and locals and countless vendors, as well as more traffic than most major cities in the world combined. My goal was to sit down at a sidewalk cafe and satisfy my hunger, but noodles and rice was not going to do it, 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 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 values. A land where people, nor police, seek to control every aspect of a person's life. A place you could enjoy walking downing the street with a beer and a cigarette and a 20 year old girl on your arm without bearing scorn or arrest by the local authoritarian 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 to steal the world's resources, while imposing their self-righteous beliefs on countries that enjoy more freedoms than any and all of the western civilizations. 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) fantasy fulfilling massages, shopping for mostly clothes and a few trinkets and some good food. 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 took a full 12 hours I booked a sleeper. What I didn't know was that I was to share the cramped sleeper room with a pleasant, but 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 and 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 with a few male customers, a silent TV tuned to MTV flashing Thai dance videos all combined with 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 I spent in the bar was most rewarding and definitely the highlights of my time so far spent in Thailand. Even 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 doing the same. I love my gypsy life. The train was late and we finally 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, as it was the last stop, and headed to the station in finding a taxi to my prebooked hotel. Looking around, I had the feeling I would enjoy my stay here, but had no idea just how much or how long I would end up staying. Like anywhere and always...I take everything one day at a time. I have a great job and a fascinating life...for sure! A brief ride in a Tuk-Tuk across the center square of the town brought me to the entrance of my fairly large and well positioned hotel, only a short stroll from the centuries old canals and the most interesting part of the town...bars, cafes and girls. What else does a man need? Well, that an internet cafe.
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 and she immediately found me a excellent condo on the 12th floor of a concrete building only three 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 a open deck overlooking the town...I found 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 that it's a great place, for sure. The real estate lady drove me around getting me hooked up for cable TV and fast internet, and as that the unit was completely furnished, including a DVD player and a large TV; all that and 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 romantic times and even befriended 2 girls with a car. They and especially their car was a most rewarding asset as we all ventured around the countryside exploring ancient temples and waterfalls in the north close to the Miramar border, 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 crowded beaches...you won't find that in Chiang Mai. You will find adventurous tours, endless available excursions, friendliness, peace, great food, a lot less pollution & smog and a serenity not found in most any region 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 or areas 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, but 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
If interested in buying or renting a house or Condo in the Chiang Mai area contact the very helpful female proprietor; Daeng: www.chiangmailiving.com
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Click here for Feedback, or just Inquiries! Review written 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.
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Travelers Digest Navigation Chiang Mai Southeast Asia
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with my
booked hotel. They had advertised the 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...The German owned, Bier Stube. The food
selection was varied and palatable and this small cafe would become apart of my
daily ritual of making acquaintances, sipping banana shakes and filling my
stomach. Afterwards I proceed to rent a scooter, the prime method of getting
around; if you had the skill and nerve of weaving 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
real enforceable laws or rules 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!
hundreds of pictures of everything, including each other. Those two crazy girls I will never forget and my time with them added immensely to my memories of Chiang Mai.
where you will find a lingering trace of real Thai heritage and culture; where the locals are polite, always welcoming and actually enjoy your presence.
(Pic. Country home on pond) 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, Vhaing 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 eventually 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 absolutely compelling, at least for me, as a
believer of self rights and respect for all living things.
