Chiang Mai

So, I left Istanbul yesterday somewhere around 4pm local time...I had a 4 hour stopover in Munich, followed by a 9.5 hour flight to Bankok, another hour or so stopover, and then another hour flight to get me to Chiang Mai, where I am now. I was to be met at the airport by someone from the Elephant Park, and when I got there and didn't find anyone for three quarters of an hour, I must admit I was trying to figure out my Plan B. I had a phone number for the Elephant Park, but no money, and hadn't been successful using the phones in Turkey, so wasn't sure how this would all pan out. It turns out the driver was waiting at the Domestic flight entrance, but I was at the International entrance. Go figure. In any case, we met up, and he brought me to a small hotel in the city.

A shot of the traffic from the window of the car that picked me up from the airport.

Ian, Ainslie & Isaac are already at the elephant park, as they arrived a day early, and Ian shot me an email saying he's blown away by everything! We have a backhoe arriving at the jobsite, so I guess we're actually going to build something- yipee!

Thai Airlines kick ass, by the by- holy kadoochies! Excellent service- when you first get onto the airplane, there is soothing jazzy lounge music playing, and the female flight attendants were wearing (what looks to me like) traditional garb- long sleeve silk blouse, full length skirt, and a sash over the shoulders. They served us salty snacks and drinks (they brought around hard liquor!), so I had myself a killer strong and delicious G&T (with bombay gin, no less!). Dinner was quite tasty- choice of fish or chicken, with thai-esque sauce, rice, and really good bread. More wine with dinner, and they came around several more times for top-ups. In the morning (some of us slept a bit), the attendants had changed into other clothes (pants this time), and we had a tasty omelette (skip the uncooked bacon!), fruit salad, yogurt, the works. They are really efficient, and were very attentive. A +++ from me!

I thought it was ironic that this poster for Thailand was in the airport advertising riding elephants- and the very place I'm going to is all about giving elephants back some dignity and quality of life. Hmmmm....

Thai Airlines inside- purple, pink & yellow seats make for a rather cheery, festive decor.

When leaving the Thai Airlines flight, all of the women were given a beautiful (I think it's an orchid?) corsage- those flowers are real! How cool (yet unpractical when travelling through a hot country) is that?!

I didn't know I'd be arriving at dusk/dark on my own in the city, but since that was the case, I decided to explore. I went roaming around my neighbourhood, which, it turns out, has a large number of English speaking tourists & vendors. There are restaurants and bars every other building you pass by, it seems- and people in all of them! It seems like there is a bit of a scene here- some backpacker types, and some older couples, taking in a different culture in a 'safe' environment (safe because it's so....English). There is a lot of traffic on the main street, with a variety of cars, pick-up taxis (similar to the ones in Haiti, except they're all painted red- state controlled, perhaps?), scooters, motorcycles, and these cool three wheel chromed up taxis. And traffic doesn't necessarily stop at a red light, as I discovered at a set of lights- pedestrians beware!

I stumbled across an outdoor concert of sorts- there was a gathering, and everyone was wearing red, with the banner back-drop behind the singer. Canned music with a live singer overtop. And I can hear fireworks right now too!

You can barely see the singer on the stage in front of the backdrop, but he was there, crooning away.

This was all lit up in the park where the concert was taking place. I'm sure there's significance- hopefully I'll remember to ask Lek tomorrow.

Street vendors selling noodles & other delicious smelling food at the event at the square.

The funny three wheeled scooter, and also a couple of the red pick-up taxis.

I wasn't sure how much money to take out (apparently the 'baht' isn't worth much, so you can easily go through thousands- I withdrew 1,000 for now). It didn't tell me what the equivalent was in Canadian dollars, so note to self to check online banking. It's amazing that one can bank anywhere in the world with the cirrus chip!

Chiang Mai is a vibrant, colourful, alive city, filled with both local folks & tourists.

I went for a really tasty meal- I was craving veggies, so it was a plate of sauteed veggies, with rice, fresh basil, and lots of chunks of garlic. Exactly what I needed. And now, I'm sitting here typing in a rather cool breeze on the outdoor courtyard of my hotel, barefoot, sipping a Thai beer, and getting ready for my next adventure. I'll be picked up tomorrow and head over to the Elephant Sanctuary with my clan, and we'll dive into the building project that's coming our way.