Chiang Mai, November 2012

I was deeply attracted to the Yi Peng Festival held in Thailand and my attention to this event was first triggered by an image online. It was a photo of what looks like hundreds of floating lanterns rising upwards into the dark sky. It was like lighting up the sky with tiny little orange jewels. It was b e a u t i f u l and I thought to myself - THIS is what I have to experience once in my life time. 

The "Floating Lantern Festival" is not exactly new because people (Buddhists in particular) across the globe celebrates this festival. Lanterns will be released into the air during a certain period in the calendar and bring your wishes and hopes up to the Creator. This event is banned in several countries due safety because the authorities claimed that the floating lanterns will obstruct the sky-way's traffic and most dangerously, wind could carry the lighted lanterns towards other objects and set them on fire. 

So, re-phrase: beautifully dangerous.

I am an advocate of certain beliefs (I refused to visit the Karen Village despite my strong interest in it and I totally will not visit the elephant camp) but I really can't resist this one, seriously. Then again, you can hardly miss it anyways- especially if you are in Chiang Mai during that month.

I tailored my trip around this event and trust me if I say I had a hell of a time trying to figure out when will Yi Peng falls on. I can't exactly get a tentative date even from the TAT. Googling gave me some idea as to which week to go but not an exact date. It's a 'either-this-week-or-next kind of thing'. I was like, "Gosh, I will definitely miss the lantern release event!!" 

However, little did I know that Yi Peng is such a huge festival in Chiang Mai itself that the town celebrates it for almost a week (for the sake of tourism, I supposed) and we were lucky that it wasn't raining on the night we went and there were 2 sites where the majority are releasing the lanterns. One was at one of the bridges by the Ping River (I don't know which because we were cruising around and rode towards the lanterns when we saw the release. It could be either Nawarat Bridge or Nakom Ping Bridge) and the other was at Wat Pan Tao (which is next to Wat Chedi Luang). We were not bothered for the paid event which we learnt that it was catered more for the journalists and people who could pay for it (USD$100). So happened was that Wat Pan Tao has a lantern release event of its own on 28th November 2012 and for that, we rushed from the river to the temple the moment we were done with photo taking. It was a sight not to be missed and traveling with someone who knows how to ride a motorbike is an advantage really!

These are the sights at Wat Pan Tao:

Initially I wanted to reserve for our nights at Early Bird Chiang Mai but it was such a hot cakes that all rooms were fully-booked. It was right opposite 3 Sis B&B (one of our choices but due to its price, we thought better) in the old quarter. Finally we decided to stay in Seven Senses, which is located nearby the old fort. It's not like very far - only a good 5 minutes walk (or less) and you would have reached the Hua Lin corner of Chiang Mai old quarter. The location saved you from the hustle bustle of the cars hogging the narrow lanes of the old quarter:)  The problem we faced was to find a place to rent a motorbike though. Our first night was on feet and public transport (jeepney-type) while our second was planned to be on motorbike since we will be visiting Doi Suthep. 

That was a pain as well because the nearer shop which we approached is renting at 250 baht for half a day and bargaining was of no use. So, we walked off and found one who is renting at 250 baht for an entire day. This shop is located along the stretch of shops near Changpuak Gate. It was a peak season and due to that, even this second shop has rented most of its motorbikes out. We had to wait till midday before the next bike comes back. There was another rental shop on Sri Donchai Road but that was too far for our taste.   

On Day 1, we took a cab to Seven Senses (YMCA Rd.) and took a relaxing day touring the old quarter on foot. A good 2 hours for circling the entire old quarter and I was already feeling sooooooooooooooo tired. I know that is a sign of aging but anyways - that's not the point. Ehem. We walked for the entire day so, dinner was really rewarding at Whole Earth restaurant (link to menu). Take note, it serves both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes (Cheers!!!) and it tastes so much better than Cabbage & Condom at all level of culinary. This is the place if you are looking for vegetarian dishes with variety and a quiet environment for a romantic setting. 

Green curry at Whole Earth

My favourite salad at Whole Earth

These are some of the street food....erm...not very appetizing to me. I don't see visitors buying these off the dusty road. So, you get me. If our stomach are not localized, I suspect it will upset us tremendously....

The above collage was made from the collection of photo taken in Seven Senses. I highly recommended them as I really enjoyed my stay there. The food was wonderful and I really love their cook, Neng. He didn't talk much but he would come out to check on you if you have finished your food. HAHA...don't get freaked - his intentions are good because if you did not finish them, he would ask you for feedbacks so that he can improve better. Now, that is professionalism. Well, he doesn't need to ask us because I LOVE his cooking.

This guesthouse is really worth your every cents (breakfast included) and it comes with a personal touch. The owner knew that we had an early flight and due to that, wouldn't be able to take breakfast. So, she had purposely packed egg sandwiches for us and it is no normal egg sandwich (with only 1 thin layer of egg mayo like what you get in the 24-hours mart) - it is a very delicious and healthy, warm egg sandwich! Aww....my growling stomach was so thankful of both her and the chef.

What's more, she had also prepared some lanterns for us to release. Though I insisted that I shouldn't do that because who knows, these lanterns might hurt someone or set something on fire if they flew to a bad direction. Anyways, I obediently took her lanterns in the end...she was really persistent. We refused the lanterns on the first day but she took out the lanterns again on the second day saying it's for good luck and we should feel the culture.

I love my stay even more when I discovered that there's a spa house located just at the junction of the road outside Seven senses. Cheeva Spa has a good variety of choices and what is much more relaxing than a good spa in the end of your tiring walk around? I had a body massage and then a milk bath (I have ever wanted to try one ever since I've got the influence from Sizuka in Doraemon. She is a fan of milk bath and in one of the cartoon series where everyone turned small like a doll, she made herself a milk bath jacuzzi. I watched that and since then, it was etched in my brain - I am to try that! So..okay...now tried and even had my mango sticky rice in the tub...erm...haha...I guess the purpose was just to fulfill a childhood desire) 

Day 2 saw us at much more places since we have a motorbike by then. We went up to Doi Suthep and cruised around . The old quarters is an all time tourist spot but now they have brought up another side of the town to cater to the tourists. There are plenty of cafes and eateries that have popped up along Nimmanhemin Road, from Starbucks to other western restaurants. We had lunch nearby this street - there was a wat nearby and there are some vegetarian restaurants there and the noodles soup is pretty good (in the old quarters itself, we only found one veg restaurant along the road where the 3 kings statue was).  

After lunch, I went for my pedicure and we loitered until night to catch my long-awaited event by the river.

On the staircase up to Doi Suthep and a foreign tourist commented that we should pay for our photo. I am now having this dilemma, should I pay for my photo next time? I love street photography...so if I am to take so many hawkers and peddlers...how much do I need to fork out? Alright...jokes aside...I guess I should buy something from her for taking her photo.....a mental note to do it next time..

Wat Chedi Luang is my favourite of all during my trip in Thailand

Ahh..the bread ice cream we had during primary school session...here with topping

The eerie resemblance of the statue to a real monk...

Land of tuk-tuks...was riding on it on our last day - and to the airport

Bread in the shape of fish (bottom pic) and that is what I call environmental friendly. At least it is decomposes

Interesting handmade lanterns

The lanterns to be released at the river

Spot the floating lanterns?

Many families gathered to celebrate the festival

I love this cute lil' girl

We have covered much of Chiang Mai on our two nights there and so, on our Day 3, we did some final walkaround and shopping. I supposed that 3 nights' stay are more than sufficient to cover most of Chiang Mai - given that you are like us; we didn't go for the outdoor activities. I guess jungle trekking is also good to be included into the itinerary but we just wanted to have a relaxing trip of walking around and exploring the town. 

And that, marked an end to our brief Journey to Bangkok

Chiang Rai, Thailand (Nov 2012)

After leaving footsteps in Bangkok, we moved north towards Chiang Rai. I was thinking of traveling on the overnight train but we took a flight instead due to convenience. We landed at the Chiang Rai airport after approximately one hour of flight. It seemed that there was only one cab operator at the airport and we don’t think there were other services around to take us to our guesthouse. So, we opted for the cab at 100 baht and it took us a 20 minutes waiting time.

Chiang Rai is a small little town famous for its Wat Rong Khun and it was the main reason of our stop-over. We chose to stay at Baan Norn Plearn after reading so much of good reviews and we were not disappointed at all! This guesthouse is approximately 20 minutes drive away from the airport (we are not sure if there are other transportation available, so we took a cab at 100 baht - faced a waiting period of more than 15 minutes due to the lack of car) and located in the heart of the town - very near to all other temples and shops.

We requested for an attached bathroom and we simply love the guesthouse for its cleanliness and quiet location. We spent most of our travel staying in boutique guesthouse and we found that this one offers an experience most similar to a home! We prepared our breakfast in the morning (raw ingredients are spread out in the kitchen every morning for your cooking pleasure - yup, you'll need to prepare your own and wash the dishes please :)) ) and every morning, the owner would prepare different local dessert for the guests. My favourite was the taro sticky rice. Awesome..really!

Baan Norn Plearn (room #7)

The cleanest bathroom throughout my entire journey in Thailand..LOL

WIFI and bicycles are available free of charge while motorbike is on rent for 250 baht a day (the owner will be able to arrange that for you). A bike is good enough to explore the entire place - all the way to Wat Rong Khun and Central Plaza (don't trust the locals if they tell you that these are very far..HAHA..you can even take a bicycle there if you are fit...30-40 minutes drive..so probably an hour to cycle?). It is quite easy to get to the temple actually and don’t believe it if the locals tell you otherwise…HAHA...we were shocked by a shopkeeper when he told us that the temple is approximately an hour away from town. We were like,”Seriously?!” We actually rented a bike and we thought that we could take the motorcycle and cruise our way there but he told us that it will be quite dangerous to ride on the highway for the non-locals. My impression of highways is those 3-lanes road where cars go at 110km/h.  So we parked and took a bus at the Bus Station for 20 baht. We were not too sure which to go on with but we met with a nice French couple who told us that we could take the 20 baht bus – not anything higher than that price. The journey took 20 minutes on a 2-lanes road which is safe for motorbikes (not that they have a dedicated lane but it is neither a difficult nor dangerous to cruise on that road) and the temple is visible from the roadside.  

Wat Rong Khun is a really astounding temple which takes you on a day ride to Hell. From a far view, it looks like a white temple that reflects purity and radiance but at a closer look, it shows you the other side of the coin, anger and hollowness of the underworld. Buddhists believe that each realm is guarded by a Buddha and it is the same for Hell. This architecture gives me a lasting impression of 地裝王 (Di Zhuang Hwang)overlooking the wandering souls. 

The ticket lady on the Bus to Wat Rong Khun

The magnificent Wat..it's really gleaming under the sun...very beautiful

Would you like to have this head in your backyard?

Looking at it made me feels like if the hands are going to pull me down...deep down..any time...it's so real...

We are not allowed to take any photoin the temple...so, I guess we just have to respect that

We took the jeepney back to the bus station...remember to press the bell and not miss your destination (20 baht per person)

Going back to the town proves a little tough without your own transport though. We were told that there are buses/cars going back to the town every minute and we should wait by the main road. We waited…and waited…under the shed of a seemingly abandoned building for…say..30 minutes before a jeepney stopped by. It is the jeepney which goes to town! YAY! At 20 baht, we hopped onto it and after we took our bike, we went on to Central Mall. I was hoping to look for some cute T-shirts but there is none there. It is a modern mall with really cheap food in the food court. I had a large bowl of soup noodles with a generous portion of add-on (vegetable) for 450 baht. We went for our coffee break at Starbucks and we were happy that they are having a buy-one-get-one free promotion for fly-in guests. If I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get that Christmas edition ceramic mug elsewhere, I would have bought it at that time…although, it is quite pricey for my taste (850 baht…justtttt because it carries a Starbucks logo…bleh...but now...  T___T  i want THAT one...).

Our night at Baan Norn Plearn was splendid! It used to be a kindergarten and it was later converted into a boutique guesthouse. It has a homely feel to it and the best part was the attached bathroom (upon request). I sound like some hygiene freak but I really enjoy a clean shower place with good water pressure and hot water after a day of moving around doing my sight-seeing. I will probably end up with a sore feet by the end of the day and hence, a welcoming massage or good shower is seriously a wonderful way of ending a day.

In Chiang Rai, I was looking forward to dine in Cabbage and Condom due to the photo posted by friends on FB. I guess it was over-rated and the experience there was at most a normal. My favourite was the seafood souffle and besides this dish, others are OK. The restaurant aside, we had quite a funny moment when we were looking for the place. We went on bicycle on our first day and we went past C&C quite a number of times, so we thought that it'd be easy to go there again at night for our dinner. Well, it turned out that we cycled and cycled and never found the place. HAHA. We were smarter on the second day and went there on a motorcycle. 

Food-wise, if you have a vegetarian on-board, it's not quite easy to get vegetarian lunch in Chiang Rai. We spotted one somewhere opposite Wat Doi Tung and that's the only one we saw in town - unless you travel to Central Plaza (also, one stall spotted in the food court). Not many varieties as at that time of visit, they only serve two types of noodles but again - it's delicious. However, Thais are very accommodating and you may ask them to prepare veg for you:)

After two nights, we are ready for Chiang Mai. We bought the bus ticket (Green Bus) one day before at the same station. Time-table (below) is correct at the time of visit - which is in November 2012 :)

It took 3 hours to reach Chiang Mai on a smooth road (well-paved with no animals crossing) across the countryside. It was a pleasant trip with cooling weather and I was watching the TV on-board until I finally doze off...

Next up: Chiang Mai (Yi Peng Festival)