Elyse and I have spent the last week in Chiang Mai participating in the week-long Songkran new year festival. We arrived here early saturday from Bangkok, and are slowly acclimating to the craziness. It’s basically a 7 day waterfight centered on the moat around the old city. An infusion of chinese made squirt guns in the last few years has transformed the traditional Buddhist commemoration of the new year into a no-holds-barred assault on dryness. No matter who you are, what you’re doing, or where you’re going, there is some grinning little Thai kid sniping you long range from the back of a passing pick-up.
If you go anywhere near the canals you’re toast. Thats where throngs of young Thais hang out with oil drums of canal water and ice to hurl at anyone passing by. It’s pretty entertaining to watch a moped go by (with 4 passengers armed with squirt guns) and get blasted from both sides of the street.

We can’t walk 10 feet from our guest house without some little old lady sneaking up behind and pouring a bucket of icewater over our heads. Our daily routine basically consists of being wet until 2 or 3 in the afternoon, then taking showers and venturing out again once the mayhem has subsided a bit. At night the streets are closed to cars and have been turned into night markets for food and handicrafts. The food is great, but I have no idea what any of it is. Elyse wasn’t up for trying grub or grasshopper, but my offer is still on the table (I said I’d try one if she did).

Our time in Chiang Mai has gone fast, our days and nights have been packed with revelry. Tomorrow we’re off on a 2 day journey by bus and boat to Luang Prabang in Laos. I’ve been told it’s comparable to a Chiang Mai of 60 years ago, so I doubt I’ll have internet access until Hanoi.

-Jeff

(more…)

We’ve survived the trip here (17 1/2 hours in the air) and our first full day in Bangkok (100F, smog, insane traffic…). We got in very late last night, but everything goes late here, it’s the only time you can move about without sweating profusely. We ended up in the backpacker mecca of Kaosan Rd by default because we were intending on getting out of here ASAP. After making travel arrangements today, however, it looks like we’ll be here till friday. That’s ok, Bangkok grew on us today. We explored by foot and tuk-tuk, were befriended by natives, and saw some pretty unique sights.

Some highlights:
-Praying to Buddha at the ‘Lucky Buddha’ Wat (temple).
-Checking out some martial arts displays that were part of a series of Thai cultural demonstrations that coincide with the holidays.
-A tuk-tuk tour of some lesser known Wats.
-Excellent street food. 50cent pad thai…

Next on the agenda is a bus ride north to Chiang Mai where we’ll celebrate the Thai New Year. We’ll be there for almost a week before heading east into Laos, taking a 2 day boat ride down the Mekong river to Luang Prabang.

I’ll try and update again after a few days in Chiang Mai. Hope everyone is well!

-Jeff
(more…)

Elyse and I are out of here Monday morning. We’re flying to Bangkok via Narita (Tokyo), and from there will be following a clock-wise route through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and back to Thailand. This is the plan at the moment, but things change. Visas, transportation, and unforseen opportunities will undoubtedly steer us in other directions.

I’ll attempt to post a photo or two here on occasion, but local bandwidth and software issues may conspire against me. At the very least I’ll post brief updates on our whereabouts and evolving plans. Goodbye everyone!

-Jeff