Trip Report тАУ July 2015 тАУ Chiang Mai and the outlying areas
-->> Please note that my trip report for Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, Kanchanaburi and Pattaya will be broken up into many smaller reports due to the SGT 7 photo upload limit - which will make this entire process more frustrating - but I am willing to grin an bear it since so many of you other members have been so kind to share your trip reports with all of us over the years. It is truly appreciated. <--
Friday 3 July fly Thai Airways from Rome to Bangkok. Flight was good and almost every seat taken тАУ I was in peasant class so it was a somewhat uncomfortable journey. Watched lots of movies and slept a little.
Arrive Saturday 4 July at BKK at almost 6am exhausted, went through immigrations which had a line that lasted about 50 minutes as it seemed that many flights arrived at the same time and at that hour not all of the booths were open. Went to the ATM and withdrew some Bahts, then went to the carousel to retrieve my luggage. A Thai guy who I did not know who works at BKK comes up to me and asks me my flight number and then he volunteered to assist me to find my luggage and introduces himself to me as, Ananda, and then brings me to get an AIS SIM card. Ananda asked me if we could meet later (we exchanged phone numbers), as I told him that my number 1 priority was to go to sleep. i-)
I then checked into the Novotel located at the airport, as they have тАЬFreshen upтАЭ rates which I took for 5 hours so that I could shower and sleep. After a 10 hour flight I wanted some pampering. Woke up about 11:15, got ready, checked out, and then took the Novotel back to the Terminal. The Novotel is physically attached to the Terminal but it is a long walk so the shuttle it was for me.
http://www.novotelairportbkk.com/freshen-up/
I checked in for my Bangkok Airways flight to Chiang Mai, got rid of my luggage and then texted Ananda and I offered him lunch. Nice guy, has worked at BKK for 5 years and uses his job as an opportunity to meet and seduce falangs. He was disappointed to find out that I was not spending any time in BKK this trip and we left it at that. However, later on into my trip he did try stalking me with constant text messages which I conveniently ignored as I could tell that he was too pushy for my tastes.
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Had a great less than 1 hour flight to Chiang Mai and was disappointed to find out that my guide Woody, and his partner, Non, from the last time were not already waiting for me at the airport. I texted them and within 15 minutes they were there to pick me up and we were reunited again after 18 long months.
[attachment=2:2jg75web]Woody_and_Non2.jpg[/attachment:2jg75web]
You may remember the great time that I had with Woody and Non from my December 2013 trip report:
http://sawatdeenetwork.com/forum/tri...t30262-15.html
that I decided to use their services again, but instead of for just 2 days, this time it would be 7 days, where we planned a big trip to the outskirts of Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, and then Kanchanaburi.
I booked us a nice room at the Qi 68 guest house, http://www.qi68hotel.com/ in Chiang Mai in the Chang Phuak area which was convenient for our eventual night escapades. I could see immediately that the guys were disappointed with my hotel choice and I did not find out why until we arrived later in the trip at Sukhothai.
After unpacking we went to get a bite to eat, and then we visited some of the more important Wats (Wat Phra Sing, Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Chiang Man and Wat Suan Dok) which is always such a pleasure for me as I like to watch the guys do their Buddhist prayer thing, especially the one where they shake a canister that is full of Buddhist Fortune Sticks until 1 falls out which has a corresponding number. The noise of the shaking fills the Wat full of hope and spiritual energy. They then leave the prayer area and usually to the side is a тАЬfortuneтАЭ that is written that corresponds to the number. They love sharing with me this entire process and I enjoy participating in it. In addition, each of the Wats are unique in their own way and from an artistic and cultural point of view they never disappoint me.
[attachment=6:2jg75web]Budhist_prayer_and_fortune_sticks.jpg[/attachment:2jg75web]
Then off to the Saturday night market where as usual I was overloaded with its immensity of stuff for sale, entertainment, and smells of the various foods that are available.
As it was Saturday night, we headed over to the Circle Pub http://www.circlepubchiangmai.com/ to see the show which was of a typical go-go boy style show and then we moved on to Adams Apple, http://www.adamsappleclub.com/ as I did not get to see it on my last Chiang Mai trip and I had promised Vinapu after my last LOS trip that I would check it out on my next trip. We walked in and it was pretty busy тАУ not packed but a decent crowd. The owner/manager immediately welcomed us and there was a gaggle of guys around him as he was definitely being entertained by most of them. We watched the various Go-Go boy skits, and then Woody talked to a few, as he seems to have contacts with them. The night we were there most were of the twink type тАУ not my type тАУ and being my first day in LOS I was tired so we called it a night. Would I go back to AdamтАЩs Apple тАУ most likely yes, as I would want to have more energy for my next visit and maybe arrive a little earlier to see if we missed some of the famous manly Shan types that I heard about but did not see much of that first night, as perhaps they had all already been offed.
Back to the Qi 68 guest house where Woody and Non gave me an excellent 4 handed massage. You may remember from my previous trip report that they both work as masseurs at the Classic House in Chiang Mai, http://www.classichousemassage.net/ . We did not meet there as I found Woody on Line when he was advertising his tour guide business, as that is their true passion and massages are their 2nd passion. So, I got the best of both worlds in this trip.
The Qi 68 guest house does not have breakfast, they have a large common kitchen if you want to use it. This is the reason why the guys were disappointed with my lodging choice. So, I asked them to take us to the "Butter is Better" diner in Chiang Mai (189 Chang Klan Road) http://www.butterisbetterbakery.com/ which is truly an excellent place for falang breakfast, but the menu is rich enough to even satisfy the Thai guys, so we were all happy.
TodayтАЩs agenda (Sunday 5th of July) was to go to see the famous Wat Prathat Doi Suthep, which is 15 kms outside of Chiang Mai up in the beautiful national park of Doi Pui, about 3,500 ft above sea level. Woody and Non have a car, so transportation is not an issue. I did not get to see this important historical gem, which was built back in the 1300s on my last trip so it was very important to see it this time. We also ventured up the 300 steps to see the marvelous golden pagoda which they say contain the relics of the Lord Buddha. Lastly, the view of Chiang Mai down in the valley is breathtaking.
[attachment=5:2jg75web]Doi_Pui_golden_Pagoda.jpg[/attachment:2jg75web]
Then we drove further up the Doi Suthep mountain to see the Bhubing Rajanives Palace and beautiful rose gardens, which is a royal residence built in 1961 to accommodate the royal family during state visits to Chiang Mai. My guides having been there several times were more taken back by the lack of water in the reservoir and were very worried about the ongoing drought in Thailand and lack of rain. I noted that the reservoir was very low тАУ but it being my first time it did not register to me as alarming as it did to the guys. Ironically, I chose July for this trip as I wanted to experience Thailand in the hot, sticky, and rainy season (since I am thinking of moving here I want to see our beloved LOS in all of its seasons). In my 12 days here I only saw brief rain 2 times тАУ so this drought problem is very worrying. The grounds are immense and there are many botanical gardens and buildings to see. By the way, if you are in shorts, you will need to rent long pants in respect to the royal family. =;
[attachment=4:2jg75web]Bhubing_Palace_and_rose_gardens.jpg[/attachment:2jg75web]
Then off to a great Thai lunch at the PalaceтАЩs car park.
Then the guys wanted me to see a real Hill Tribe village, so we visited Doi Pui Mong тАУ it was interesting to see how the hill tribe people live. Of course, a big market that wound through the narrow street of the mountain village which was conveniently covered, as the hot sun was scorching. Plus, my first normal Thailand intestinal attack arrived and it was off to a Hill Tribe outhouse тАУ not a pleasant experience but necessary to survive the drive back to downtown Chiang Mai. Please note to bring sanitary supplies on these kinds of тАЬout of the cityтАЭ adventures.
Back to the guest house to freshen up and then off to see where Woody and Non live тАУ they live with WoodyтАЩs sister and her husband and their 2 children, peeboy and num. They showered and packed their bags as we decided to leave Chiang Mai tomorrow. While they prepared themselves, I tried to entertain the 2 children with their toys and of course communication was impossible but it was still fun. Then we were off to see the famous Sunday walking street, which I saw last time but I really enjoyed it as it is packed with cultural delights, entertainment, great smells, and the ability to see many variations of people. While walking around, I saw a travel office offering some zip line adventures, something that I had wanted to try for a long time. I asked the guys to talk to the staff about it and we left with some exciting brochures for some places that are about an hour outside of Chiang Mai. The guys were quite surprised that this old falang was up for some adventure in the jungle. I told them, тАЬI am not dead yet and you only live once!!тАЭ
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We visited more Wats, with their beautiful night lights and then we headed off for some dinner. In this photo I thought that something was wrong with my camera тАУ because when I checked the photo of the same Wat, it had 2 different colors тАУ then the guys told me that it was planned that way with the lighting тАУ a very nice touch.
[attachment=3:2jg75web]changing_color_Wats.jpg[/attachment:2jg75web]
After dinner we went to visit the New My Way bar http://www.newmywaybar.com/ for some fun. As expected, Woody knew one of the go-go guys, Song, who was an ex-Classic House masseur, and so we offed sexy Song and brought him back to the guest house. He had a perfect body, 6-pack abs, very masculine, and sexy. Unfortunately, he could not keep an erection :-o , as I think he was a bit put off by the 6 hand massage on me and too shy. We made the best of it and everyone got to squirt at the end. This was my first 6 hand massage in my life and I think it will be my last. Yes, it was nice to have 6 hands moving all over your body, but it was too intense and it was hard to keep from losing control and cumming to a quick end. LotтАЩs of requests to stop, slow-down, donтАЩt touch, ecc. тАУ so too much energy focused on trying to not arrive to a quick finish instead of just relaxing and enjoying the sensual massage session.
Monday July 6, we check out of the Qi 68 guest house and then head over again to the "Butter is Better" diner to fill up on some good breakfast food before our big adventure to the Mae Taeng river, a little over an hour from Chiang Mai to visit the Zipline Chiangmai adventure park. http://www.ziplinechiangmai.com/ On the way you pass the Maetaman Elephant Camp, and the dirt road was full of Elephants and OxтАЩs carting people around who were having a lot of fun. I decided on this trip for NO elephant rides, as I already did it last time in Koh Samui, and after 20 minutes I was very bored, as the elephant moves so slow тАУ so once was enough for me. So this trip is more adrenaline oriented and hence why the choice for the zipline adventure.
We arrive and we meet very sexy Mieng (who is from Sukhothai which just happens to be our next destination) who would be our zipline guide during our adventure.
[attachment=1:2jg75web]zipline_guide_Mieng.jpg[/attachment:2jg75web]
At this wonderful place, you get to admire beautiful wild Thai orchids, catch an awe-inspiring view of the Mae Taeng River, which is way below you while you are soaring from tree-to-tree, almost like a monkey. We signed up for the 2 hour zipline adventure, which entails 31 different tree-top platforms, which varied in length from 20 meters to a truly amazing 400 meter zipline. They have plans next year to open an additional 800 meter zipline and I definitely will want to try it.
[attachment=0:2jg75web]Ziplining.jpg[/attachment:2jg75web]
This place is great тАУ lots of attention to safety details, a training class before starting the adventure, etc. At first I was very apprehensive and scared at the thought of falling into the jungle and abyss underneath, but after the first 30 minutes I was much more relaxed and found myself having the time of my life. The highlight is when Mieng convinced each one of us to let go of the zipline break and handle and to just fly across the jungle tree tops upside down like a monkey. What exhilaration seeing everything from an upside down point of view. It is truly a full on adrenaline experience and if you have a strong heart, I urge you to do it if you also have the stamina. I am almost 54 and if I can do it you can also do it. Plus it is a great experience to become absorbed into the Thai tropical forest and jungle.
Ok, that is enough for this portion of my trip report. I hope that my writing style does not bore you тАУ IтАЩm a details guy, and it is the little details that interest me the most when I read trip reports. Soon I hope to add an additional trip report for our continued adventures to Sukhothai and then Kanchanaburi. Afterwards I will leave my guides Woody and Non to head off to Pattaya for 4 days of debauchery (as no guides are required ;>)) before heading back home to Italy.
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Originally Posted by BOY69
