After meeting the rest of our tour group with Stray, we were on our way to the bus station to catch a bus to our first stop, Sukhothai. Six hours turned into eight, but it was a good chance to catch up on some sleep and see the countryside from a very comfortable and well air conditioned coach.
Our bed for the night was a guest house right by the entrance to the ruins - on a par with where we stayed in Bangkok but for less than half the price (350 Baht for a double room). After we had dropped our bags and enjoyed for a much needed beer and some food, we wandered off to explore the ruins by night. It puts Stonehenge to shame - you can walk all over them (just not on the buddhas…respect). At night the ruins are lit, but dimly. The sounds of insects, frogs & birds combined with the shadows make it all a little bit spooky. Rad though.
After another lengthy coach ride the following day, we arrived in Chiang Mai. A few of us decided to go up to Tiger Temple. Skeptical at first about what condition the tigers would be in, we were pleasantly surprised that they appear to be well looked after and in good shape. We chose to go in with the cubs - not the baby ones and definitely not the massive ones, but a few months old and still look like they could do some damage. Cute!
If you’re in Chiang Mai on a Sunday, the night markets by the East gate are well worth a look. After a wander through and a massage, we met up with our Stray guide at Rooftop Bar (would recommend!) overlooking the markets. He then took us to experience some of Chiang Mai’s very vibrant nightlife including a reggae bar with 10 piece Thai reggae band that were off the chain good. Amaze!
Yesterday we spent most of the day at a cookery school on a farm just out of Chiang Mai. After an 8:30am pick up from our guest house (rough), they took us on a tour of the markets and then to the train station to catch a train outside the city. We cycled to the farm, passed a nursery school (check out how cute those kids are), through the countryside and spent the day learning how to cook five or six classic Thai dishes of our own choosing. We’ve been trying to master Pad Thai for years and I think we cracked it. So good.
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Another must-do in Chiang Mai is the Muay Thai boxing. There are a few around and they generally hold fights most week nights. Our Stray guide rang ahead and got us some pretty sweet seats. There were six fights in total including a ‘special fight’ - six blind folded dudes with a ref that took a few shots himself and made the KO of the night.
Today we’re off to Chiang Khong - the gateway to Laos, before crossing (by boat) into Laos tomorrow.