South-east Asia (particularly Thailand) is one of our favourite holiday destinations. We always travel the easy way: just a backpack and an airline ticket. Here's a short impression of our journeys:
On 29 september 1992 we departed for Bangkok and flew directly through to Chiang Mai in the north. This first trip to Thailand is partly a "Buddhistic" event. In Chiang Mai we met a Dutch guy who has been a monk for a few years. Regularly he visits his former abbot and teacher Achan and on one of these occasions he takes us along.
In the Wat Ku Tao temple we are cordially invited for dinner and, inexperienced as we are with some exotic fruits, the monks are very helpful in showing us how these are peeled. We also enjoyed the evening chant. In the Viharn the monks (some of then very young) sang in the beautiful Pali language a "close harmony" we've never heard before.
In the Chiang Mai area we also visited the 97-year old abbot Long Poo Noy, A fragile and good-hearted man. We felt very honoured when we received his blessing, a Pali-text profusingly accompanied with an amount of water sprayed upon us by dipping a small broom in a big bowl at his side. He also gave us an amulet.
Chiang Mai has numerous temples, some of them very old, which are worth a visit. One of the most famous ones is Wat Prathat Doi Suthep, situated on a hill outside the town. This temple is from the 14th century and has a golden chedi (tower). Less famous but in our opinion more wortwhile is Wat Doi Saket, about 10 kilometers out of town. This temple has many wallpaintings, all worth viewing. If you like a pieceful temple, then Wat Umong may be worth a visit. This temple is well known for its meditation lessons and on every tree in the area a text is applied so you're assured of a contemplating walk. The temple also has a "Buddha-cemetary" where Buddha images and statues can be brought for a last rest.
Chiang Mai itself is a rather busy but pleasant town. Transportation is done by the noisy Tuk-tuks (motorbikes with a seat attached) or by Song-Tao's (small vans with wooden planks to sit on). Don't forget to bargain at the night market. To get in touch with other travellers, visit Daret's Guesthouse. It has a cosy terrace where you can get a reasonably priced meal. In the Chiang Mai area you may do what all tourists do: visit the "factories" (silver, leather, wood, gems, silk, lackerware, etc.) and make an elephant ride (very nice actually!), but you'll find that less touristic places like the San Sai buffalo market are also very enjoyable. As we were the only "farang" (western people) there, a lot of people stared at us as if we came from another planet.
It's already mid october when we go to the north. Via Chiang Rai we reach eventually the Mekong river where we enjoy a boat trip to the Golden Triangle. In Mai Sai we try to cross the border to Myanmar (Birma), but unfortunately that was not allowed. Back in Chiang Mai we hire a motorbike and travel to Lampoon. Here we visit the beautiful temple Wat Prathat Haripunchai. It's a cold day for Thais ('only' 20 degrees centigrade), so again we get a lot of staring and laughing when we walk around in our T-shirts. The next day it's even colder and when we visit Achan in Wat Ku Tao he's wearing a towel round his shoulders and a knitted cap on his shaved head.
As flying is very cheap in Thailand, we take a plane to Pitsanulok. A few things of interest here are the big Wat Yai temple, the Folk Museum and the riverboats in the Nan river. A local bus takes us to Sukothai and a song-tao further to Old Sukothai. This old capitol can best be seen by renting a bicycle. This place is loaded with temples (sometimes badly restored ruins) in various styles. Most chedi's have the usual bell form whilst others have prangs.
We travel further south to Bangkok, skipping the other old capital Ayuthaya. Bangkok is so busy, noisy and smelly that you almost have to wear a gas-mask to walk around. If you like wat-walking, Bangkok is the place to be. Worth a visit are Wat Trimitir with its massive golden Buddha, Wat Bencharmabopit a.k.a. the Marble Temple, Wat Arun with its massive prang and Wat Po with an enormous reclining Buddha. This latter temple is also well known for its traditional massage. The most impressive temple complex, however, is the Grand Palace. Chedi's in all forms, the revered "Emerald Buddha", beautiful buildings and nice views, all "watched" by large Guards. Also recommended is a bout trip through the klongs (canals), but not to the floating market (a tourist trap).
Kanchanaburi is well known for its small but impressive war museum. You can make a boat trip to the famous Bridge on the river Kwai, which is very different than the one made in the movie with the same name. Further down the line we catch the train to make a beautiful trip along the Kwai.
Hua Hin is the next place we visit. When we go to the beach we notice that the waves are rather high. Local people tell us that stormy weather is imminent. Indeed, in the next hours there's so much rain that some streets are flooding. In a dry period the next day we take a bus to the hills Kao Takiab and Kao Krilas south of Hua Hin. The view on top is exellent. Taking a bus, by the way, is not always evident as we cannot read the signs. Fortunately there's always a friendly Thai willing to help.
On 2 november we go to the beach again to have a massage. Recommended! In the afternoon we go to the airport of Hua Hin to fly back. It's already dark when we fly over Bangkok and we enjoy the lights beneath us. At one o'clock in the morning we board for our direct flight back to Holland.
