My Chiang Mai - 16th to 18th November

The carrot driving us north through Thailand was always the prospect of reaching the city of Chiang Mai. It is generally a cool place, in both it's temperature and temperament, and is probably best compared to New Zealand's famous Lake Taupo for the amount of activities on offer. It is the base camp for a wide variety of treks into the surrounding hills, mountain biking, rock climbing, abseiling, elephant back riding, white-water rafting, caving, etc., and also offers introductory courses in the Holy Trinity of traditional Thai skills - cooking, massage techniques, & Muay Thai kickboxing. Draw your own conclusions as to the degree of threat that someone who had completed these courses could pose - depending on which ones they picked up with ease, and those which they failed at, could potentially result in a formidable destroyer of stomachs, backs, and boxes.

Chiang Mai is comprised of two distinct areas: the Old City, a square shaped heart surrounded by moats and remnants of a wall raised 700 years ago to protect against Burmese invaders; and the new city, a web of major roads and the river that protects the Old City from the surrounding countryside. Following the advice of our bible, the Lonely Plant, we are staying at a comfortable guesthouse called 'Your House'. It is located a short walk from Th Moon Muang, which could aptly be described as the central point for people of our travelling disposition. We were lucky enough to arrive at Chiang Mai in the midst of their 'Yee Peng' festival, and join in with their celebrations. I am unsure whether one aspect of this is exclusive to Thailand, but it has been one of the most breathtaking sights I have experienced since arriving here. Anyone who has seen the film 'The Beach' may remember a scene where the three newcomers to the island releashed hot air balloon lanterns into the night sky.

The amazing thing about these 'Kom Loy' is that they are released from all around the area during this festival. The sky appears as though hundreds of stars are floating up from their confines on Earth to break through the atmosphere and take their places in the heavens. For miles around, in every direction you look, you can see this event happening for each and every evening between the 11th & 17th November. It is an event that would be solely worth visiting Thailand for at this time of the year and one which will be carved into my memory for many years.

According to perhaps the greatest philosopher of the 20th century, Mr. Miyagi, you must have balance in all areas of your life, so our next venture would once again break away from traditional culture and get a taste of something western. He also taught the importance of breathing which proved fundamental in the game of golf we enjoyed at a resort to the north of the city. Anyone who has played golf will know that, for the majority it is an extremely infuriating past-time, but the satisfaction is provided by a single perfect strike of the ball. This ratio has been proven time and time again whilst playing on courses in England, but for some reason the "I HATE GOLF!!" utterance occurred far less frequently whilst in the beautiful landscape of north Thailand.

Our next day would make far better use of the limited time we intended to stay in Chiang Mai by ticking off three activities in one day. The first was a ride through the jungle courtesy of some local elephants. I have always been fond of elephants and never before seen one up close, so was in a perpetual state of disbelief when I found myself sitting astride the neck of one and manning the driving controls.

The next event was a short trek to a waterfall which although may appear impressive to many of it's visitors, looked like one that we wouldn't have looked twice at when in Nepal. An obvious example of relativity.


The final event for the day would be an introduction to white-water rafting. I was assembled with a crack team of professionals with all minds set on the dangers ahead and the preparations vital to our survival (see picture above). Our trusty organisers must have felt very confident in our abilities as they neglected to provide more than 10 seconds of pre-water training. In retrospect, this may have also been attributed to the lack of 'white' water we would actually encounter for the majority of the trip. Still, it was all good fun and a taster for what we may expect when we get to New Zealand.