Thailand: Life, Beer & day trips in Chaing Mai

We all know Beer and Ice go together(it does in Thailand), add a few zesty bar snacks(crickets and silk worms) and a sprinkle of imagination. Add more Beer and allow to simmer … hey presto a meanderthal adventure is born.

Living your dream can be hard at times , sometimes life can get in the way. It can be a big contract at work that will net your company millions and the pressures build or it can be something as simple as family commitments that soak up your time and resources. There are a multitude of reasons why people put their dream on the backburner because they need to just get this done first, and then there’s always the next time and of course something else comes up and gets in the way and we push it back further and before long it’s a distant memory that seems unobtainable. 

Not exactly a heaving waterfall but how many waterfalls can you walk up ??

Well, what if I told you life waits for nobody and that life is not infinite and one day there won’t be a tomorrow because we’ve run out of tomorrows.. Some may scoff at this; others may reflect and act on it.

Yes well a picture paints a thousand words. what concerned me more was that its warranted a sign, this sure made me watch my surrounds.

Case in hand, a good friend of mine has an insanely busy life (all single mothers do). In her younger years she travelled around free as a bird and really racked up the experiences, going to exotic places, meeting people from all over the world and having really cool adventures.
Along came life and well like all of us priorities changed, and we lose track of the things that really made us sing. Meanderthal traits get put into hibernation and life goes on.

cool and inviting even for us and our wriggly friends.

After many beers one night (you may recall the insect eating video) we analysed why life does this to us and what prevents us from doing what we really makes one’s souls sing. Along came the plan to rekindle the meanderthal spirit with a simple day trip. Now my friend hasn’t ridden a scooter in years but recently bought one for non meanderthal life reasons and when it arrived from Bangkok I got the phone call, the scooter is here I’m taking a TOIL afternoon lets ride….. never one to turn down an adventure I set off on the GG at a lively pace to her place in the concrete jungles of Mae Rim.

The top of the waterfall before it trickles over the edge. with plenty of limestone rock pools for a place to chill on a hot day.

Arriving at my friend’s place I found her beaming with pride and joy at her grey Yamaha Grand Filano 125. Off we set at a blistering pace to Bua Tong waterfall located about 50km outside of Chaing Mai. Now when I say blistering pace I mean blistering- so fast that if you were walking barefoot on bitumen then your feet would blister for sure. So fast that time stood still, (you get the picture) and here instantly her Meanderthal nickname was born – Introducing “Snail” on her trusty steed aptly named the grey snail.

The locals having a laugh at my expense thanks to the snail. but you know what, when you are pushed to speak a foreign language, you really do learn. So, no harm no fowl.

Bua Tong waterfall is unlike a lot of waterfalls you experience, it’s pretty cool really. You arrive at the top of the waterfall that spills over a rather steep decline to the forest floor below.  The source of the waterfall is from a natural spring is Nam Phu Chet Si (7 coloured spring) that bubbles up from the mountain and is a short walk away and worth the stroll.  Be sure to read the mythical dreamtime story Thailand style.  Now the cool part of this waterfall is that you can actually climb down it (or up it)  using the ropes supplied. It’s not a huge torrent of water but is refreshing none the less and would make for the perfect place to cool off during a hot summer day. Unfortunately it’s pretty well known and isn’t hard to find so it does attract its fair share of tourists but it is big enough that they shouldn’t overtly worry you. Having said that we arrived just before closing time (5pm) so didn’t have a lot of time there so I can’t vouch for the middle of the day but I’m sure you could claim a picnic spot easily enough. It’s not quite Bondi beach yet but definitely worth a paddle so bring your swimmers.

Local markets have a tendency to show case all sorts of weird and wonderfully tasty morsels. Frogs anyone ??

The trip home was just as relaxed and on the way we opted for some local street food at the markets. It’s here that Snail (a Thai teacher in her past) pushed me to engage the local vendors in my terrible Thai for all kinds of tasty morsels as we strolled aimlessly along the rows and rows of produce. I learned quite a bit of Thai here from using the phrase “an nii paa saa Thai kww a-rai ?” (what is this thing in Thai).  Snail would word up the vendor that I was a Muppet in Thai and everyone would have a great old laugh at my shit Thai. I guess revenge can be sweet as I’d been winding her up all afternoon about her snail like ways.

Definitely not vegan friendly, pig face, ears and trotters anyone ?? But, hey at least there’s no wastage.

It was a great half day trip, it recharged the batteries, got the meanderthal juices flowing and the busy life that Snail lives was momentarily forgotten. Moreover, we both lived the dream through a shared simple adventure, and it just goes to show that you don’t have to have a grandiose plan - you just have to make a little time for yourself. Until next adventure get out there and live your dream my meanderthal friends –Blah Blah Blah i know. - Incidentally Blah which means fish in Thai.  I guess i will never forget it through association. Thanks Snail

Blah (fish in Thai) Blah Blah - I bet you’ll never forget the word for fish in Thai now.