Chiang Mai 2/23...not over yet!!!

Awesome day! We arose early to make the short but winding trip up to the local Wat Phra Doi Suthep, on top of Doi Suthep mountain. It is the highest peak in this area and gives beatiful views of the city of Chiang Mai from the top. Unfortunately for us, it was a little hazy at the bottom(pollution?) today and the view was not as clear as we would have liked. Beautiful, nevertheless. Roger managed to figure out the GPS and navigate us around perfectly, all day which is quite a feat considering these crazy ass no rules drivers around here...and don't forget driving on the left side of the road with the steering wheel on the right! We really like the new CRV we are driving and might look at one when we get back! We will have this vehicle for the next 5 days or so.

After driving to the temple and then climbing the 306 steps to the top, we were in for a treat! This temple, along with the vegetation around it and the views is spectacular. Definitely the hightlight of the Wats in this area. Even visiting monks had cameras! Afterwards we had a traditional Chiang Mai meal of Khao Soi (a chicken, curry, noodles dish) and then visited the summer home of the King and Queen, Bhuping Palace. Unfortunately, this is another country with a completely useless King and Queen that has nothing to do with government, however, this was entertaining and very pleasing to the eye. The grounds were immaculate and structures very ornate! This afternoon was reserved for shopping etc, which if we haven't mentioned already is fantastic here. Even Roger and Ted acknowledge this fact and they HATE shopping! Tonight, after dinner we are looking forward to a Muay Thai boxing match that we have tickets for!!!!! Should be fun! Tomorrow we head to the Chiang Rai and Phu Chi Fah areas. 2-3 days in Chiang Mai is not near enough!!! Would recommend 7 or 8 but we're thankful for what we have!

Sorry if these posts are becoming unorganized and brief but with so much to do, we don't want to spend but a brief period on the computer. Cya soon.

Roger and Seng

Chiang Mai, Thailand 2.22.09

Well, we made it out of Laos in one piece! On our way out we stopped at yet, another village on the Mekong in Laos to search out a long lost buddy of Ted’s whom he hasn’t been in touch with at all in 30 years. I’ll be damned if he didn’t find him!! It was fun to watch the surprise and recognition in the man’s face !

After crossing at Vang Tao, Laos to Chong Mek, Thailand we paid a driver to get us to the airport at Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand and successfully completed another smooth round of flying. It was uncanny how the moment we crossed the border, you could just sense a higher level of sophistication everywhere. Less trash around, healthier vegetation, paved roads (mostly), less poverty (although still widespread) etc. It just goes to show how much of a piece of crap the communist system is except for those individuals ruling the country. Look at North Korea. Look at Cuba. It hasn’t been too long since North Koreans were eating dirt to survive.

Today we got up and did a walking tour of the walled portion of Chiang Mai. The “original” and older portion of this city is in a complete square maybe 3 or 4 km across and is bounded by the remains old walls and moats on 4 sides. It’s a Great Wall of China type idea, but not in great shape. The modern city, however, does extend beyond these walls. The city has over 300 Wats (or Buddhist temples). Today we saw about 7 or 8 of the “wats not to miss” lol, most of which were very impressive but some of which looked gaudy and similar. The older one’s dating from hundreds and even thousands of years ago are our favorites. In the afternoon we did a boat tour of the Mae Ping river and then we topped off the day going to the Chiang Mai night bazaar which is really nuts. It is literally hundreds and thousands of feet of street vendors selling anything and everything. Lots of haggling and bargaining going on and delicious food and good live music everywhere. This “night bazaar” goes on nightly and is definitely a highlight of this town!! Great day but WAY different than Laos!