As my plane descended over the green hills,  a slow grin spread across my face.  I knew I’d like it here.  I mean, a place called “The Land of Smiles” would be hard not to like, right?  I started my Thailand tour in the northern part of the country, Chiang Mai.  It was Sunday afternoon when I made my way to the old city and found my little hotel.  The old city is surrounded by a moat which I found magical – built in 1296, the King squared off 1.5 km and walled in his “new city” but the moat is the only original remaining structure.  There are about 30 temples within the old city walls,  including a school for the monks who are all too happy to hang out and chat.  Walking the streets feels very intimate and non-touristy.  There are loads of food carts, local Thai people doing their crafts, and just living their day-to-day. Every Sunday night is the Sunday Market, and I was all too happy to sample the foods, check out the crafts being offered for sale, and drop in on a couple of great bands playing at the open-air bars.

Sunday Market, Chiang Mai

Sunday Market, Chiang Mai

Sunday Market, Chiang Mai

Enoki mushrooms and bacon.  Mmmmm.

Buddha in a small temple in Chiang Mai, old city.

Thai band, Sunday Market

The next morning I ventured out to start touring some temples.  Grabbed a quick breakfast at the corner restaurant, and then headed half a block to the first on the list.  Twenty minutes later, I was running back to my room hoping to get my head over the toilet rather than the street.  Can’t complain though, I mean I can, but I won’t.  Getting sick only twice during all of this traveling is pretty damn lucky. I haven’t even had a cold or cough this whole time!  Watch me jinx myself.

The following day I met a couple of friends for lunch – Gary and Emily, both from Cali but traveling solo – and had my first Pad Thai in Thailand!!  I LOVE Pad Thai, and it was dee-fuckin-licious!!!  After lunch I took a 6 hour stroll through the shops, through another market, through the temples I had missed the prior day, and just loved everything.  I found this one shop that sells crafts and fabric items, like pillows & bed covers, made by the Karen tribe up in the mountains of northern Thailand – beautiful hand work.  Found a gallery that had these whimsical nudes done by a Burmese artist that I think I may have posed for.  They also have an oil painting that I am dying for…big birthday coming up….ahhhhhh….should I splurge?  Still thinking about it. Wait, this whole trip is a splurge.  I have no right spending another dime!!!  Sigh… I then hit the market just outside the old city walls and got high from the offerings of fabrics and food there…and that just fueled me to keep going.  The temples are unreal here – very different from Bali.  They are GOLD and ornately decorated, and the Buddhas are…well they’re EVERYWHERE!! Big, small, standing, sitting, sleeping…click, click, click!!  It’s like jewelry on display – such intricate work, sparkle and shine.   I know I’m posting a ton of pics here, but it’s my blog and I’ll post if I want to, post if I want to, post if I want to.

My first authentic Pad Thai!

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Food, Glorious Food!

Market outside old city

Eat!

How do you pick just one??

Fabrics, Sarongs,

All this can be yours…

Wat Phra Singh

What Phra Singh

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309 steps up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

Top of the steps, Wat Phra Doi Suthep

Golden spire, Wat Phra Doi Suthep

Crystal Buddah, Wat Phra Doi Suthep

More buddhas…

And more…

I think that’s enough for now…

OK, so I know I said I wouldn’t go visit any zoos, and I didn’t, but I did visit Tiger Kingdom.  I’m not proud of it, and I’m not sure what’s going on there with the animals, but I couldn’t get my questions answered satisfactorily either on the web or when I was there.  The original tigers are said to be rescued, but they breed these tigers so now all of them have been born and raised in captivity.  As a result, the people who work at Tiger Kingdom say, the tigers are used to being around people.  They are obviously fed very well, and I did confirm on the internet (cause, you know, the internet doesn’t lie) that tigers sleep 18-20 hours a day which is how “they explain” why they’re mostly sleeping – “they say” they are NOT drugged.  Jury’s still out on that one.  They don’t allow the tigers to be near people once they turn 3 years old because they are unpredictable.   Bottom line, I don’t really know how to say this other than literally – I laid down on a bunch of tigers and played with the cubs.  Selfish, I know.  But….ok, no buts.

NOT a stuffed tiger.

I know this is crazy.

Who doesn’t love a belly rub?

What big PAWS you have!!

Pure love

He had wrapped his paw around my hand – a snuggler in the making!

Wow right?

Dumb…but I just had to.

Needs a blowout

Meowww.

I visited an Orchid Farm…

I really wanted to see more of Northern Thailand so I took a day tour – a very LONG day tour (13 hours) – up to Chiang Rai, and to the borders of Laos and Myanmar.  The tour van was packed full – I think 14 people – and luckily I ended up next to the sweetest, prettiest girl – Angelique, 25, from Canada – and we chatted for hours.  We visited The White Temple, aka Wat Rong Khun.  Bizarre!!  It was designed by Chalermchai Kositpipat in 1997 as an unconventional Buddhist temple devoted to art and thought.  From a distance, it looks like white icing on a very ornate gingerbread house glistening in the sun. But upon closer inspection….what the f..???? It’s more like Revenge of the Living Dead!  Hands by the hundreds reach out of the ground, some holding skulls,  ALL provoking thoughts of sin, or hell.  There are ghoulish heads hanging from trees and monster-like creatures buried waist deep in the dirt.  Stone guards beckon you over the bridge toward the temple….toward redemption?  I think it’s toward the Gates of Heaven, guarded by the Angel of Death. The bridge rises up and away from the brew of hellish figures beneath it, but once inside the temple you are bombarded with fresh painted murals of the world’s current atrocities, and pop culture icons. I suppose it’s an apocalyptic end of world with our current demons and heroes – begs the question of who will save us…The twin towers are depicted with a plane crashing into it, George Bush (let me be clear – atrocity), Michael Jackson, The Matrix, Avatar, even Spiderman. It’s CRAY-ZEE!! No pictures were allowed to be taken inside the temple – believe me, I would have, but didn’t want to end up in the mural. Oh, one last thing – the only part of this entire mass of buildings that is NOT white is the GOLDEN TOILETS – only the outside is gold, the interior is more like a really bad port-o-potty/hole in the ground/watch-where-you-step experience.

The White Temple with the reflecting lake in front

Ascending the bridge, The White Temple

Pit of Hell at entrance to bridge

Ummm…they don’t actually groan, but it looks like they might…

Tree decor

Monster lawn ornaments

Another view with gardens

The GOLD bathrooms – the inside was so gross I almost puked.

Next we made our way up to the Golden Triangle where Thailand borders both Myanmar and Laos.  We took a boat on the Mekong River across to Laos – just to a shitty tourist market with “real designer bags”  – and another crazy touristy market at the Myanmar border but we couldn’t cross over that one.

Welcome to Laos!

Northern-most tip of Thailand, at Myanmar Border

Welcome to Myanmar!

We then went up to visit the Long-necked Karen and Akha Tribes.  About 150 years ago, these tribal people  migrated from China down to Thailand, Burma, Laos, and Vietnam. This particular tribe is originally from Burma but fled during the civil war and sought refuge in the northern hills of Thailand.  The Thai gov’t allows them to stay on this piece of land and farm it, but they are not allowed to leave it and have no rights as Thai citizens.  They live in villages way up in the hills where they farm and weave fabrics and make scarves and hats and crafts to sell to tourists.  But the most interesting thing about them is that the women wear these solid brass rings around their necks, an old custom that was created to prevent tigers from killing them.  They begin at age 5 and add one per year until they have 37 rings.  Then they are considered to have the perfect amount of rings. They never take them off, except once a year when they are being added to. They die wearing them and are buried with them.  These rings are HEAVY.  At least 10-15 lbs.  It appears that the rings lengthens their necks, but it’s the weight of these rings that presses down on their shoulders so that their clavicles appear to be part of their necks.  The threat of tigers doesn’t exist anymore, but the culture and traditions do.  And tourism probably drives this as well.

Long Neck Karen Tribe

Long Neck Karen tribe

Long Neck Karen Tribe, young girl

Long Neck Karen Tribe, Mom and daughter

The Karen Tribe Village

The tribes of northern Thailand may not be around forever.  Their customs prevent them from integrating into more modern societies and many of the members are beginning to give up these customs and traditions, showing their desire to integrate and stating that the customs are what is keeping them “jailed” in their current situations as refugees.  I found them to be fascinating,  wonderfully talented craftspeople,  and highly persistent salespeople.