Thailand: Chiang Mai Part 1… Be still my beating Heart !
A history lesson :Tha Phae Gate, probably the most famous landmark icon of Chaing Mai the old city is surrounded by moats and a giant wall with 4 gates. this was done over 700years ago to keep the marauding boogie men out and part of the wall with this gate still stand today. the Moats remain in place and add an interesting navigational challenge for the Farang on Scooters
The Canals/Moats around the old city centre are still there 700 years after they were made. today they are picturesque reminders of a troubled past and modern-day traffic diversions
Well hello Meanderthal’s I have arrived in Chaing Mai and instantly I became a happy nomad. I’m here for a good solid week of shenanigans so will endeavour to give you the low down of Chaing Mai over several blogs.
Arrival: The flight from Bangers was a little over 1hr and only cost about $125AUD for 20kg of checked baggage and a seat in cattle class. I flew Bangkok airways, it’s probably the equivalent of our Virgin Blue. This middle of the road airline has an amazing inflight service. despite it being cheap, we also got a real meal. The Australian Airlines could certainly take a lesson from these guys.
Even ugly Devils need friends at the Wat Lok Molee Temple
Arriving at Chaing Mai Airport the first thing I noticed was the rolling green mountains off in the distance, the air was clean and clear. It was still hot and humid, but I guess that’s to be expected at the end of the rainy season. A taxi ride into our guesthouse was painless and cost us $150 Baht ($6.15 AUD) for a 20-minute ride into the city. The city has a population of 1.2 million people, but you know what, it doesn’t feel that densely populated. It’s spread out a little and straddles the Ping River which is a decent river that starts around the Myanmar/Burma border. The streets are clean and not as densely packed, traffic jams whilst present at peak hours do not seem to be the painful grind that Bangers endure daily. The city has the old and new sections going on and there are a lot of canals that can make orientation a little tricky, but it only takes a couple of days to get used to it.
My friend was a very interesting topic at my local coffee shop, there was much debate if it was a dragon, a snake, a lion and or a devil. in the end after much googling by the owner, the shop attendant, the Gardner and a random we all agreed it was a devil
November is the Latten festival in Northern Thailand they’re very colorful and make for great pictures at Wat Lok Molee Temple
One thing I noticed immediately about “changas “(my made-up name) is the people. They are super friendly, polite and always willing to help you. I mean its polar opposites to Bangers and any city in Australia for that matter. You just need to look a little lost and someone will come to your aid with a smile, and they won’t hassle you for anything. It is almost like they want you there and appreciate your existence. Given the devastating effect of COVID on tourism and the aftermath this city has suffered from the loss of trade from tourists, expats and digital nomads. It appears The Farang (European tourists- round eyes and white skin types) are making a comeback and so is the economy of the region but I suspect it still has a long way to go. In fact, I was surprised at the demographics of the Farang here, I was expecting a lot of older tourists, but the new trendy Digital Nomads seem to be the lion’s share of Farang.
Wat Lok Molee Temple in the heart of Old Chiang Mai is a great place to come and explore.
Scooters may not look cool, but they open up a whole world of adventure for the traveller, out exploring and these little bad boys hauled us up a mountain, 16km out of town to the Koi Suthrep Temple all on an impromptu whim.
Our accommodation was right in the centre of town, we booked it with Air BnB and were staying at Ban Kong Rao Guesthouse, 7 days/ nights there cost me $121AUD (yep not a typo). Just try and avoid the top floors as there are no lifts and lugging a 20kg suitcase up 4 floors was a real bitch. But that’s my only complaint really. It was clean, centrally located, has Wifi, TV, maid service and sweet, beautiful Aircon, ooh how I love you. The beds were the typical rock-hard type, but I was becoming used to that and you really can’t complain at that price.
This is my big friend at the Koi Surthrep temple. No doubt about this one he’s a serpent
The Smaller Bells of the Koi Suthrep Temple
After checking in, the first thing we did was go and explore. The area we were staying in was a little away from the old city where a lot of the Farang hang out and the bulk of the bars and restaurants. Not that mattered to me because every turn of the corner in Changas there is a bar, restaurant or coffee shop Our area was certainly central, but such is the city that you really do need a transport. Now there are a couple of ways to get around in every city in Thailand but one of the freest feeling and liberating is hiring a scooter. Changas is a city that’s well suited to this mode of travel. It’s not so busy that you ink yourself every time you get on the bike but it’s fun, yes, it is a little scary and you have to have your head on a swivel, but if you are smart about it and go at a Sabai Sabai (relaxed, comfortable, happy pace) its immensely rewarding. Scooters are everywhere and so are the scooter hire places. In fact, your motel will organise one for you and they deliver it in around 30 minutes. Cost is around 1700 Baht (69AUD for a larger 125cc scooter (suitable for fat boys like me)
whilst the Bells can be loud it seems some of our American friends have been raising the bar a little, so much so they made a sign for them to tone it down.
for 7 days hire (yes no typo there either) with security deposits between 1000-3000 baht. You generally get that back unless you like falling off mountains. More about that later but I certainly wouldn’t put it on your bucket list.
The alternative for the less adventurous or if you are going out to have a few drinks and get messy is to utilise the ‘Grab’ app. Download that bad boy and your whole world will change. No one told me about this for the first week in Thailand but once I found out about it, it truly became a game changer. Think Asian version of UBER. There’s various modes you can travel, you can get a scooter to dink you or an airconditioned car to your destination. The average cost of my adventures was around 100 baht ($4.10 AUD) for the air-conditioned car. Just be careful when using the app as it defaults to your last destination drop off, so if you are on a pub crawl or walking around town it can make it difficult for the driver to find you. Several times I got caught out but learned quickly to take a picture of where I was and send it to the driver who always found us in time. Ooh and if you get the late-night munchies, they’ll deliver too but I’m yet to engage in that millennial trait, personally I prefer the atmosphere of a local restaurant or the cheerful street vendor that knows you’re pissed as a parrot and is laughing with your clumsiness at what you are ordering.
Koi Suthrep Temple Chiang Mai
Anyway, our Scooters have just been delivered so we were off zooming around and exploring the beauty of Chaing Mai Temples and surrounds, until next blog. Stay safe peeps.
