We arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand a
few days prior to the Festival of Lights. We had planned our trip
around the festival after hearing that it is one of the most
spectacular events in Asia. In the days before the festival started,
we wandered from Wat to Wat (temple to temple.) There are over 300
temples in Chaing Mai, and its impossible to keep them straight. The
oldest of the temples dates back to the 13th century.
Sunday night we went to the night market and sampled some local
dishes. Our favorite dish quickly became Kho Soi, or Chang Mai Curry.
Different than most curries, Kho Soi is seasoned like a thai curry
with coconut milk, chicken, and egg noodles. A night bazaar is open
every day and we checked out the scene for dinner a few times.
Feeling a little drained in the temple
scene, we decided to visit the Number #2 attraction on Trip Advisor
for Chaing Mai: Catmosphere. The spectacle is a cat filled cafe of
friendly kitties and picture snapping Asian tourists. Catmosphere
claims to be the first “space cat cafe.” Wow. People really think
of everything. Before the woman will open the front door, you are
required to sanitize your hands and remove your shoes. Inside the
cafe, the coffees are served in huge mason jars and cats run around
playing and being cute employees. It's a happening place. We played
with kitties until Lauren's allergies caught up.
Our little guesthouse had two white
fluffy dogs, Tiger and Mitzy. Both of these lucky pups have their
poofy curls meticulously blow dried by the owner of our guesthouse.
Another culture shock.
Our Asian massage addiction continues
in Chaing Mai, Thailand! Brian had a Traditional Thai Massage that
involved a lot of crazy stretching and strange positions to work out
the kinks. Lauren had a more relaxing oil massage. Afterwards, we had
a delicious cup of pandanus tea. We tried some pandanus tea in Bali
and didn't really like it, but this tea was fantastic and we even
purchased some on the way out. Two days later... same massages,
different massage spa. There are much worse things to be addicted
to... Unfortunately, I think we are going to have some sticker shock
when we return to the States.
The Festival of Lights was a memorable
three days of lanterns floating into the heavens, and candle lit
floats illuminating the river. The residents of Chiang Mai do a
wonderful job illuminating their city with hanging lanterns and
candles. A parade of traditionally dressed young people on floats
marches through the city every evening of the festival. We went to
the water and launched a krathong down the river. Krathong are made
from artistically designed floating organic materials ranging from
banana plants to bread. Launching of a krathong is supposed to
represent letting go of negative thoughts and dismissing bad luck.
Khom loy are sky lanterns that are released in the temples to
celebrate Yi Peng and the full moon. The spectacle is beautiful and
all around the city people light lanterns and float them off into the
sky. We each released a fish into the river to give us good fishing
fortune for next year.
After a few hours a night the hustle of
the festival had us seeking a calmer atmosphere. We found the perfect
retreat to be our balcony at the guesthouse. It became our routine
to pick up a few beers at the 711 down the street and sit on the
balcony watching the hundreds of lanterns float in the sky. The khom
loi reach incredible heights and sometimes cause troubles for
aircraft in the area.
After the festival, we hopped a minivan
north. Pai is a little town nestled into the hills of Northern
Thailand. We found a clean and simple bungalow a short walk outside
of the city, complete with a nice porch and hammock. The mosquitoes
in Pai look like dragons and are gigantic. Strange bird calls and
crickets made afternoons reading in the hammock not just relaxing,
but fun. Daily visits to the Art of Chai were an excellent way to
start the day.
We rented a motorbike for two days to
explore the area's temples, waterfalls, and countryside. The hills
and good roads make for a nice drive. In the evenings we walked into
town for the local night market that had food and handicraft stands.
Pai was a nice relaxing stop after the excitement of Chiang Mai.
After a day of night bus, train combo
travel we made it to the peninsula of Thailand and the town of
Prachuap Khiri Khan. Seeing the peninsula was top of our list when we
arrived in Thailand, but unfortunately the past two months have been
the rainy season and the area gets slammed with rain. At the tail end
of the rainy season we had perfect weather for scooting, checking out
beaches, and pool time. Saving this area for the end of the trip
worked out well, but we wish there was more time since there are so
many nice beaches and coastal communities. Prachuap Khiri Khan is
where the Japanese invaded Thailand in 1941 and the best beach is on
the Thai Royal Air Force Base. We smiled at security and scooted
right through the checkpoint. Tall rocky islands off the coast rise
high up out of the turquoise water. Our hotel near the beach had a
nice pool, which was perfect for afternoon reading and a beer. The
recognizable scent of the salty breeze was rejuvenating for both of
us.
The monkeys in Prachuap Khiri Khan are
seriously intimidating, but seem to stick to the wooded areas around
the temples. No signs of monkeys at our hotel, but plenty of
warnings warnings for us not to mess around if we bumped into them around town. We
saw one monkey enjoying a (most likely stolen) lunch on the beach. We
approached to take a picture, but couldn't help notice his huge
fangs. Brian tried to visit Wat Thammikaram on top of a hill that has
great views of the bay, but was deterred by monkeys that outnumbered
him 500/1.
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