Being cheap and disorganised all 4 siblings went to New Zealand on different flights… Mike was first to go, then Tony… followed by Jane and I. The plan was for all of us to meet in Auckland and drive down to Whangamata to surprise mum for her 60th birthday.
So, alas - our holiday in Thailand had to come to an end. As did the bottle of Jamisons that Jane bought over…
Once we got back to Bangkok the girls (Jane and I) and 3 priorities… shopping, shopping and then some more shopping!!! Luckily there was a weekend before our flights to New Zealand so we went to the wonderful Chatuchak Market.
While we were there, a HUGE storm hit – it was so exciting watching everyone get drenched… Check out the clouds!
The bonus of having the van is that we had the ability to go off and explore. So, explore we did. One of the places we went to was a thermal spring – somewhere north (I think) of Chiang Mai.
Even though it seems totally ridiculous that one would want to visit a hot spring when it’s over 35 degrees - the hot springs are a nice place to chill out, relax and boil an egg.
Outside the cave complex (see post below) there was a market selling traditional herbal medicine. Jane is studying traditional Chinese medicine so she loved wandering around the stalls checking out the potions and lotions… here are some photos she took to show her friends at school:
As I said in my previous post, the Chiang Dao Caves are definitely worth a visit. The cave complex is huge! Its part of a temple complex so there are lots of Buddha images in the caves, especially at the start of the cave. It’s a really beautiful place.
Once you get a few meters into the cave there are two options - you can either go for a wander down the lit walkway which can be done without a guide. Or, you can hire a lantern and a guide and go exploring in the unlit caves.
We hired a guide to explore the unlit caves. WOW – it was so cool. I think our tour must have been about 25-30mins, we saw so many different caves and formations… many of which looked like animals. A photographer followed us around and took lots of group photos – I thought this was a bit odd given the lighting was so poor.
Here are some photos (from my camera) from the caves.
I read in the wonderful lonely planet that… “It is worth coming into town to see the colourful Tuesday morning market, when hill tribes come to sell their wares.”
So I suggested to the group that we do a day trip and drive a few to see the market and check out the Chiang Dao caves. I was expecting to see some people wearing their traditional clothes selling traditional handy crafts and maybe some silver jewelry.
WELL… unless there is a whole load of factories up in the hills I think the lonely planet is mistaken. This market is like any other market in rural Thailand and is certainly NOT worth coming into town for!
Check it out:
Luckily the Chiang Dao caves are close to the market and are worth a visit otherwise I would have had a vanload of family members mad at me for making them get up at 6.30am!
What is a family holiday without leading the youngest sibling astray? After a day of Songkran madness we went to a Reggae bar and had a few drinks…
Songkran is my favourite festival… if you are ever in South East Asia around April I suggest you try and be in Thailand for Songkran.
Traditionally Songkran was a gentle splashing of water on the shoulder of the elderly folk in the village to show them respect and to wish them good luck. Somehow over time this has morphed into a 3 or 4 day nationwide water fight! It is totally crazy and oooh so much fun. Songkran comes at the hottest time of the year and the water is usually well received (although you do get a bit fed up with being constantly wet on the 3rd day).
Chiang Mai is a great place to spend Songkran and see a bit of tradition as well as a lot of craziness. In Chiang Mai they have a big parade of the Buddha statues from the important temples, the people in the street then toss water on all the Buddhas to help cleanse them and bring good luck.
Here are some photos of our Songkran in Chiang Mai:
We took a boat up the Mae Ping river to visit a little house. The house had an interesting garden with lots of herbs and vegetables. I had a really weird setup inside (fake snakes in a cage, a swing, random tables..etc) - apparently it was used as a set for a Rambo movie. Who knows… anyway, it was a nice day out.
One of the good thing about traveling with Kob as she has her trusty Thai guidebook which recommends a whole different set of sights to what the lonely planet does. As recommended by her guidebook we went to see an ancient temple complex in Chaing Mai. Jane and I hired a horse and carriage to take us around the complex, it was a very relaxing way to sight see.
Seeing as this temple complex isn’t in the lonely planet and I don’t know what it is called, I can’t really tell you a lot about it. I can say that it’s very old (I would guess pre-Authya period) and it is ruined (hence the ruins that you look at). I can also tell you there are a few great shops along the way!
Here are some photos:
