A few weeks ago I decided it was time for another trip
out of Pattaya. I decided on Chiang Mai as I haven’t been there for over
10 years. My mother and father were visiting from England so they decided
to come as well. I only had 4 days so we didn’t want to lose too much
time travelling.
Mum,
is that a smile?
I decided on the overnight sleeper train from Bangkok,
which meant I could sleep at night and not waste one of my precious days
travelling.
I was pleasantly surprised with the accommodation. I
had been a little dubious as I was only able to get second-class with no
air-con and my mother and father are really not into ‘roughing it’.
The train left at 10 p.m. and by 11.20 p.m. I was ready
for sleep. The seats were easily converted into beds by the steward. I
recommend the lower bunk, as they are slightly wider. After a reasonably
good sleep I woke to coffee and breakfast being served which was a very
pleasant surprise.
We arrived in Chiang Mai at 12.30 p.m. and took a taxi
to the Lanna Thai Guest House where I had previously booked a room by
telephone. It was centrally located, room en-suite, no TV, but very clean
and reasonably priced at 380 baht for air con or 280 baht for a fan room.
The
famous bus
My mother and father went to the Diamond Riverside
which was a little more up-market at 950 baht a night. This price included
a room en-suite, TV, air conditioning and a nice view.
After we unpacked we wandered round the famous night
market where there were some very good buys, especially the clothes.
In the evening we went to visit an old school friend of
mine who has a restaurant on Tarpei Road called ‘Rattners Kitchen’. It
has very nice, cheap food. But Chiang Mai has loads of restaurants to
choose from including very cheap seafood restaurants, which I thought
rather strange for a town so far inland from the sea.
My main reason for choosing Chiang Mai as a destination
was because I wanted to see the Long Neck tribe. I found a travel agent in
the lobby of the Diamond River Hotel (the old part). They offered a trip
for 1,500 baht - ‘a bargain’ - everything I wanted; trekking, rafting
and the Long Necks.
Lam
Jai and children
It sounded too good to be true but the guy assured me
this was the deal, so I paid and said I would see him in the morning at 7
a.m.
We strolled back to the guesthouse doing some
window-shopping on the way. There are some amazingly cheap gift shops. My
wall hangings that I bought in Pattaya for 300 baht were only 80 baht in
Chiang Mai!
When we reached the hotel the assistant from the travel
agent was waiting with a Thai man. She explained to me that I couldn’t
do the trip with the tour company but her friend could take me.
I was upset and mad, as I had no other day that I could
do the trip. It was 11 p.m. and the travel agents were closed.
Oh
no not more!
In the usual Thai manner she just sat and smiled at me
but I was not desperate enough to give the ‘friend’ the money to hire
a car as was suggested. I went to bed despondent.
I was awakened at 6.45 a.m. by my friend who told me he
had booked the trip downstairs in reception. At 8 a.m. the mini bus
arrived to pick us up with two other couples and I settled down in my seat
grateful and happy that I was going on my trip.
After driving through the town for about 10 minutes we
stopped and were asked to get out. All looking slightly confused we
obliged and were then bundled into an old mini bus that must have been at
least 20 years old.
The seats were less than perfect and the roof lining
was holding itself up by willpower alone. Worst of all was the fact that
there was no air conditioning. What I found quite strange is the fact not
one of us made any comment - including myself! We just settled down for
the 3-hour journey to the Chiang Rai border. The scenery was breathtaking,
nearly enough to take my mind off the ‘gale’ force wind blowing
through the open windows.
You
need your walking boots
The first stop was the Dow caves. What can one say? To
me a cave is a cave whatever country you’re in, dark, damp and bats. The
food-stop was next and this was okay. There were plenty of children plying
their wares from the hill tribes.
When we arrived at the Long Neck village we couldn’t
get the minibus down the track so we had to walk. We were provided with
long walking sticks to assist us. At this point I was glad that my mother
and father had decided not to come, as it was very uneven and quite steep.
At the bottom it was completely shaded with trees and
there were a few shacks with stalls in front and women or children from
the tribe were making gifts and selling them. I wanted some photos and
they were happy to oblige, but getting the children to smile was a work of
art, although I can understand why.
I bought a gift from each of the stalls and one of the
ladies asked me to sit with her. Her name was Lam Jai. She was very sweet.
The rings around her neck weighed 5.5 kg so when she stood up her spine
was bent from the weight.
Very proudly she told me about her 1-year-old son and
showed me photos. Then she went to get him. It broke my heart to see her
with her baby; she couldn’t look down at him.
Lam Jai told me that she was so relieved that she had
given birth to a boy because it meant he could go to school; girls
didn’t go to school. I asked when they started to put rings on the girls
and was told 3 years old. As you can see from the photo by 10 years old
they have a considerable number already. It was difficult to be
comfortable within an aura of such sadness. I said to her ‘why’? Her
answer was one word, “Tradition.”
I said goodbye with sadness in my heart and the
knowledge that I would never visit them again. As we climbed the track I
appreciated my freedom more than I can say.
The village at the top housed a different tribe and I
was watching 3 old ladies smoking wooden pipes. One of them called me over
and I asked if I could take a photo. This she allowed and then put her
very dirty hand out. I quite innocently took her hand and shook it. This
brought forth a stream of abuse and my friend informed me it was money she
wanted. I thought of course, how stupid. I decided to purchase some of her
wooden pipes to appease her. When she offered me the filling for the pipe
I declined after looking into her glazed expression.
On to the last village. This was a Mon tribe from
Myanmar. This was a large village inhabited it seemed mostly by very dirty
children. I was embarrassed to step over the filth and rubbish looking at
the way these people were living but they seemed totally unconcerned.
When we arrived at the pigsty it was a different sight
altogether. They were housed in style, and spotless. Our guide told me
these people have no ID cards so cannot work; they just produce children.
We arrived home in time to eat and have a trip to the
bowling alley, when we asked the taxi driver how much and he said 50 baht.
I began to become suspicious when I realized we passed the centre water
feature of the town three times.
We arrived 10 minutes later at the bowling alley to be
told it was 150 baht. I argued to no avail and gave him 100 baht.
Interesting to note that the homeward journey took 2 minutes and cost 50
baht! We went to the Porn Ping disco to see the show, which was nice, and
then back to the hotel.
My mother didn’t want a top bunk on the way home on
the train so I kindly decided to change with her. To my dismay this meant
I was in a carriage full of young Thai’s that partied all the way to
Bangkok. I eventually fell asleep at dawn only to be awakened 30 minutes
later by several policemen as they arrested a Thai man. He apparently
travels the line, robbing people as they sleep and carries some sort of
weapon that delivers an electric charge.
Epilogue. When you visit Chiang Mai book your trips
with reputable travel agents. If you go by train I would suggest a lower
bunk and hang on to your belongings. Be careful when you get in a taxi!
Cheesy
sausage and say cheese
A
cheesy grin
Dr
Iain interviews Pattaya Sports Club President, Carl Engel for the Pattaya
Mail TV at last year’s Jesters Children’s Fair held at the Siam
Bayshore Resort
