Although Mae Hong Son lacks many of the conveniences of a major city, the relaxed pace of life (not including our itinerary) and fresh mountain air will be much missed in coming days. Still, it’s time to return to the hustle and bustle of modern Thailand. Continue reading »
Today I buy my favorite green tea. And eat Yunnan-style fresh “bacon” with fermented greens. In a village of Chinese refugees given Thai citizenship in exchange for turning over their weapons. One kilometer from the border with Burma. Can you get any more Thai than that? Continue reading »
One reason to visit Mae Hong Son is its ready access to the wilderness. From scenic rivers to more temperate jungles, you need only step off the main road to experience nature. With tiny subsistence farms mixed in. Just remember your insect repellent. Continue reading »
Misty turned to cool and then cold as we lay in our unheated wooden bungalows at the Fern Resort. Still, having grown up in the Bay Area, the combination of sunny days and chilly nights feels very survivable. I’m not breaking out the long underwear just yet. On the contrary, with several temples to visit, I’m wearing sandals to town. Continue reading »
Our brief taste of nature in Mae Sa Valley is coming to an end, but we are moving further into the wild. Not only will our next resort not have 3G data service; it won’t have any cell phone service at all. So there will be no excuse for failing to look up from the screen and notice nature, the Thai people, and of course the food all around us. Let’s go. Continue reading »
Today we were challenged to learn about Hmong culture by visiting their village and experiencing their ceremonies, intoxicating beverages, musical instruments, songs, and dances. In exchange, we supported the village economy with a few purchases, and put on a little show of traditional American songs. We definitely got back more than we put in. Continue reading »
It is time to leave Thailand’s central plain and head for the hills which mark the beginning of Northern Thailand. We have more temples to see, more noodles to eat, and more shopping to do. Sukhothai was affected in several ways by the flooding this past Spring, but one particular change that touches our schedule is that the morning market has been moved to temporary quarters. We will visit the old market site for a traditional breakfast of wide rice noodles with roast duck, buy bags of fiery chillies, and then head over to the alternate location. Continue reading »
After a quick breakfast of rice porridge with various toppings, we headed West to view the famous ruins of Wat Mahathat and other temples. Once it became too warm to wander in the sun, we pointed our vans North toward Si Satchanalai to dive into the local culture. Continue reading »
After breakfast, we would tour more temples and then hit the road North. The owner at Pae Krung Kao insisted that Kasma bring our group back this morning for breakfast, so we set aside our hotel buffet coupons and loaded back into the vans. We would feast on numerous bowls of congee (rice porridge). Continue reading »
It’s time to break out of Bangkok and head North to see UNESCO World Heritage sites, visit hill tribe villages, taste a wide variety of local specialties, and of course, go shopping. Tonight we’ll be staying in the hot and humid central plain, where temple etiquette demanding long pants promises to make ice water one of my favorite foods. Continue reading »
I know better than to just lie down and close my eyes “for a minute.” I awoke at midnight hot, thirsty, and wearing even more wrinkled clothes. All too soon the alarm was buzzing; it was time for a quick shower and the first of many market walks. Continue reading »
I arrived about 12 hours ahead of the group and settled in at the Hotel Rex. The New Years revelers across the street just could not stop the music. I struggled to stay asleep, waking at 3:30 and finally around 6:50. Perhaps this will help with my adjustment? Checking e-mail over wi-fi brought potentially disappointing news: due to flight schedules, we might not make it to A. Mallika, the traditional and delicious first lunch stop. I crossed my fingers and prepared for the day. Continue reading »
I suppose I should have a better reason for returning to Thailand a sixth time than chilly Bay Area nights and wanting to stock up on delicately fragrant green tea. Of course, the food is excellent, the temples are beautiful, and the occasional unpredictable chaos teaches a lesson in patience. Call it a rut, call it a mid-life crisis, call it an attempt to find meaning: when traveling, there is a better chance I will look up from my many screens and really be in the moment. An opportunity maybe, just maybe, to answer the question: “Who should I be and what should I do when I grow up?” Continue reading »
Our drivers were well on their way to Bangkok by now, so we took the hotel’s dilapidated van to the airport — after a quick bite of congee and fried noodles from the hotel’s breakfast buffet. Security at Chiang Mai International didn’t require shoe or laptop removal, and no one cared about the weight of my backpack. Thus, the lines moved swiftly and we had plenty of time to watch (but we could not really hear) the telecast of the Golden Globe Awards, and to check out the local English-language paper. While our 747 was packed with passengers, the Thai Airways cabin crew was very efficient and dispatched a snack and hot and cold beverages with a smile. I’m fairly certain this was my first creamed spinach sandwich (if that’s what it was), and it wasn’t bad. I passed the time by reading Buddha, by Karen Armstrong. I’ll probably have a better chance of finishing it this week or on the less hectic Southern trip. Whether I personally will be any more enlightened seems doubtful: extinguishing the ego sounds like hard work.
We departed at 8:00am for our visit to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, located at the top of a nearby mountain where, legend has it, a white elephant chose the spot for the temple. It is said that if you didn’t visit this temple, you didn’t visit Chiang Mai. Despite the hyperbole, it’s an unusually cool temple. And there are some really good restaurants nearby.