All aboard ... next stop Chiang Rai

After saying our final farewell to Mr Lop we took a seat in the bus station at Chiang Mai to take in the atmosphere of a city on the move. Backpackers like us, soldiers, school kids and families. All with their own agendas and all doing the same thing - waiting!

Unlike some bus stations in the UK, this one actually has some life as it seems there's an army of people in Thailand all going somewhere. There's plenty of places to eat, buy food to take with you and of course get on the Internet - all of Thailand seems to be on their mobiles.

We purchased some snacks and then sat next to two Ukrainian women. One of them was shouting into her phone at some unknown person about an accident and missing a flight and some other drama - it passed a half hour for us!

We boarded our bus and it left on time. For our £3.50 each we got a recliner chair, a bottle of water, air con and an apricot donut - a bargain. On leaving the city behind us, heading north, the road climbed, twisted, turned; I'm not a good traveller if not driving or in the front seat - oh dear!

I managed to keep it together to experience the early sights of very rural Northern Thailand. The strawberry, mango and pineapple crops were grown and sold on the roadside as the coach lurched both up then down and finally side to side, time to find the toilet. 

After relieving myself of my breakfast in the tiniest loo you have ever seen I settled down as the road flattened out and we drove through several small towns, all clinging to the main road, all very rural and agricultural. However, this wasn't Hicksville, all modern appliances, cars and services were available and there were some beautiful houses - it's that don't judge a book by its cover again.

Chiang Rai closed in on us as we took a spur off the Super Highway (Thailand is spending lots of money at the moment on its road infrastructure), it did look a little frontier like and were still an hour and forty minutes away from the border with Laos.

There was the usual scrum when the bus disgorged its passengers at the terminus, we quickly found a Tuk Tuk and gave him the address of our hotel, the Pimann Inn. 

Once there we realised the further north you travel certain things can get lost in translation. It took them a while to find our booking in reception which was staffed by very young people, most of them not versed too well in English and the one who was had to deal with every enquiry. I'm not knocking them, Hell, I can't speak hardly a word of Thai. We just put it all down to the experience of travelling in a foreign country and, eventually, we were in possession of our keys and unpacking our bags soon enough.

Now hungry, we had a stroll in the direction of town. The Pimann Inn is just on the outskirts along with many other modern, newly built hotels. It looks like this is a town on the up with many new businesses springing up in the area. We found a restaurant where after some delicate negotiations due to the language difficulties we finally acquired three plates of delicious Thai food to share. On the way back we stocked up with snacks and beer at the 7/11, they are equivalent to the Spar out here.

That evening we started walking into town, gave up after 10 minutes and hailed a Tuk Tuk. We asked to be dropped off at a bar, we made the usual drinking actions and off he went. we were dropped off in the middle of the town by a clock tower. After walking up and down for a while we plumped for the Singha Bar, quite full on a Friday night mostly with locals. There seemed to be more staff than customers though, all young, and all inexperienced. Eventually we got our drinks, Lynn was disgusted with the wine, as were other westerners around us. The food was just about palatable, not the best Thai offering we'd had this trip.

Back on the Main Street we were just in time to witness a sight that made coming to Chiang Rai worth it - the nine o'clock lighting up of the clock tower. First of all the street lights were dimmed. Next the clock was lit up in blue, then red, then green and finally music was piped by loudspeakers to the open jawed watching tourists - all filming it on their mobiles - me included.

We eventually did find a bar where the wine was half decent - the Easy House. It was in a district of girlie bars and dubious massage parlours, it made for interesting people watching. 

All tired out, we got back to the hotel to recharge our batteries for our second Saturday in Thailand.

Queuing for their tickets - we had ours.

On time but  eventually would relieve me of my breakfast.

The clock tower - before its performance

Retail therapy and the return of Mr Lop

After Lynn had finished her cookery course and we'd had that all important late afternoon nap we decided to try out one of the night markets around Chiang Mai. It didn't take long to find a Tuk Tuk on the main road into town - "Night Market," and we were off.

We circumnavigated the old town walls which are surrounded by a moat, the fountains were in full spray that night as our driver skilfully weaved in and out of the traffic. We suddenly found out the "girlie bar" district but that was only to take a short cut to the Kalare Night Bazzar - I wasn't allowed out of the vehicle.

The market was both indoors and out on the streets purveying everything you would ever need and lots you wouldn't: but buy anyway. Lynn was in her element and made a dint in our wallets; she found something to buy round every corner, all of it she informed me for our new house in Spain.

To be honest it's all part of the experience of being out here and just shows that a decent market can bring people into an area - it was packed with tourists. All shopped out we went back to the hotel for an earlyish night, the next day we were visiting Temples.

After breakfast the next morning we waited in reception for our old friend Mr Lop, remember he had picked us up from the station on our arrival. I'd phoned him the day before as he'd written his number on the city map he gave us - good thinking there Mr Lop.

Again, we were able to see a lot more of the city which was quickly heating up at half nine in the morning. We were first dropped off at Wat Phra Singh and then Wat Chedi Luang, impressed is too modest a word to describe what we saw in both these temples. The architecture was stunning and the gold inlaid decoration and adornments were just exquisite. 

Almost spooky too me were the wax figures of past monks, strangely looking as if they were staring straight at you, were they really mummified or made of wax - hard to tell! You also had to remember these were not just tourist attractions but actual places of worship and homes to the monks. An air of senrenity prevailed within the the walls even with the hoards of people visiting them. We listened in to a service of worship, the chanting almost hypnotic whilst in the background local people prepared the monks' lunch. Mr Lop informed us his mother helps to prepare breakfast for monks, (At 3am), truly a local community activity.

Our next mission was to buy a ticket for the bus the following day to Chiang Rai, the next town on our itinerary. Mr Lop drove us to the Aarcade Bus Station on the right bank of the Mae Ping River, a chance to see a different part of the city and spotted a Chelsea fan on a scooter as we whizzed through the traffic - they bloody well get everywhere.

The bus station was ordered chaos. There was a ticket system to get your ticket. Go to a machine, select what you want to do, in our case book an advance ticket then wait for your number to come up. See, just like Argos!

We didn't have that long to wait and the bonus was the tickets only cost us £3.50 each for the three and a half hour journey. It also meant we wouldn't have to queue up with all the backpackers the next day.

Arriving back at the hotel we wished Mr Lop a fond farewell. He had come up trumps escorting us round the temples and getting us to the bus station for the tickets. We booked him again for the next morning to take us back for our bus. We ate more great Thai food in the hotel for a late lunch.

That evening we tried out two more bars from the Lonely Planet guide, Soho, a mere two minutes walk from the hotel and the Irish Pub in the old town.

Soho was fine and we even got talking to a Canadian called Steve whose dad was from Middlesborough. Lynn was still looking for that elusive glass of decent wine - she didn't find it here. We hailed the inevitable Tuk Tuk to the town centre and were duly disappointed by the welcome. The owner seemed to be a South African. A typical one at that, surly and unfriendly, however Lynn managed to find a half decent drop of wine. There was a quiz going on upstairs hosted by an American. It all sounded a bit boring, not a jot on the famous one in the York Hotel!! 

We never ate that night, just back to the hotel for our last sleep in Chiang Mai - off further north in the morning.

"Lynn, don't let the bright lights draw you in...

...too late!"

Wat Phra Singh

Real. Or wax?

A real place of worship.

Mr Lop... and some crazy tourist!

Lynn goes to cookery school

One great thing about travelling in this modern era is the availability of wifi almost everywhere you go. It  enabled us to trawl the web from our Chiang Mai hotel room and book a Thai cookery course for Lynn - something she'd set her mind on doing back in England.

There are many on offer but we went for the Basil Thai Cookery Course mainly because the school was situated near our hotel. They arrived on time at the hotel lobby to pick us up. I was tagging along to get some pics and to see for myself what happens.

We were driven through the city to pick up two other students, Mark from Ireland and his American girlfriend Morgan. Greg would join later, he was on a three day course.

Our mini bus, driven by a young girl with interesting tattoos on her arms, weaved its way through parts of town I'm sure I'll never see again and we eventually ended up in the back of a local market. Time for the course to begin.

The driver, it turned out was Apple and she was the instructor. She was so knowledgeable about all the produce and in my humble opinion, as a former training instructor, excellent at her job. The market phase finished it was off to the school to start cooking.

All the students had to pick seven meals to cook in the bus from a list given to them. Back at the training kitchen their work stations were all prepared and ready for them. Apples assistant had done all that for her.

The first meals were talked through by Apple and everyone got down to chopping and mixing and stir frying; the smells coming out of the place were amazing. Having taken what I'd thought enough photos I went to leave but Apple was having none of it. "Stay to sample the first meal," she offered. I looked across at Lynn who half heartedly gave her blessing.

Apple's eyes were everywhere, no student was left out, "Stir faster," she'd shout, "more oil," she instructed. In minutes they all had a plate of food turned out from the wok to the plate and we retired to the dining table to try them out.

Lynn had chosen the countries staple, Pad Thai. It was delicious and my first introduction to tofu of all things, I knew Lynn would enjoy the rest of the day and I made my excuses and left. Seeing as she was armed with a meat cleaver. ( "Go write your blog." Were the words ringing in my ears)

She returned back to the hotel several hours later eager to fill me in with the details of all the food she'd cooked. To add to the Pad Thai she prepared and cooked hot and sour chicken soup, Thai red prawn curry, stir fried prawns in tamarind sauce, papaya salad, fried rice noodles with soy sauce and black sticky rice pudding with coconut milk. Those coming to visit us in Spain will be served a few of these dishes up, I'm sure.

One of the processes she enjoyed was preparing and making her own red curry paste using thirteen ingredients; then having to spend a good fifteen minutes pummelling them to death with a pestle and mortar. The end result though was worth it. She also enjoyed sharing her classmates food and working as a team with them all to achieve their end results. Her comments about her instructor and the team at Basil were very complementary - a very professional team.

Cost of all this frenzied but enjoyable day - a mere £20! Now that's what I call great value. If you are ever here and want to learn to cook Thai - sign up for this course.

www.basilcookery.com

Fantastic fresh produce

Apple in full flow - she knows her vegetables!

The class assemble - "Go for you're guns!"

"This is how it's done"

The end result - tuck in guys!

Out of our comfort zone - Breakfast in Chiang Mai... and lunch...and dinner!

So, we left the train station and went through the scrum of taxi and Tuk Tuk drivers like Maro Itoje through the Welsh backs, sorry Lynn. But what next? We had never been here before and hadn't even identified where the station was on the Lonely Planet map of the city... step up Mr Lop, a friendly and excellently fluent English speaking pilot of the Tuk Tuk.

He waved away with nonchalance other too eager drivers as I instructed him to take Lynn and me somewhere for breakfast. The 150 baht negotiated ( £2.97), we set off into the morning rush of traffic towards the town centre - the heat at this time was already stifling.

We were dropped at the Art Cafe situated just short of the old city walls, with a promise of a return to take us sightseeing. After the night journey on the train we declined, he did however leave his mobile number on the map of the city and left us to devour our full breakfasts.

We crossed the busy road to Boots the chemist, yes, Boots! They have branches all over Thailand, we needed to top up on the suntan lotion and mozzie spray. That achieved we hailed a Tuk Tuk, told him the name of the hotel and sat back as he proceeded to get us lost in a very short time.

Eventually, and after he switched on his google Map app on his phone, we made it to the Sakulchai Place; not too far by my reckoning from the town centre. At only £47 for three nights, it was a bargain.

The room was clean, had aircon, the all important wifi and a comfortable bed: plus, downstairs, a pool. We quickly made our way back down for a swim and a lay in the sun.

We shared a bowl of chicken coconut soup with galengang for lunch in the hotel cafe. Not expecting much we were bowled over by the sheer tastiness of this freshly prepared dish - and at (£1.58), another bargain.

After a late afternoon nap we decided to walk into town to discover some of the bars listed in the Lonely Planet guide book. We thought we'd try the Writers Club and Wine Bar, me being a sort of writer and Lynn liking wine.

The temperature was still in the 30's as we got to the busy junction of Huai Kaeo Rd and Mani Noppharat Rd ( no wonder the Tuk Tuk boys get lost with those sort of road names). We knew that in Vietnam we would have to get used to crossing busy intersections so we just went for it. Amazingly we crossed unscathed apart from the taste of two stroke fuel on the backs of our throats from a hundred screaming Tuk Tuks and motor bikes.

It took us a while and a few double backs plus asking the help of a British ex-pat to get to our destination but we made it.

The bar itself is slightly unassuming, it is owned by a former foreign correspondent but staffed entirely by Thais. Some old newspaper clippings adorned the walls but it was nothing special. We thought we'd have one drink and go and eat a hundred yards back down the road. Add to that, Lynn was not impressed by the wine, a theme that would prevail throughout our trip - she went onto the cocktails!

Suitably lubricated we now felt peckish enough to stay where we were and order off their menu. We shared crispy pork with kale and oyster sauce, sweet and sour shrimp and shrimp fried rice because they'd sold out of crab. It was an absolute treat and once again so tasty and fresh. The other underlying theme to our trip is to not judge a book by its cover, I'd warmed to the place after that meal.

After a few more drinks we hailed a Tuk Tuk who actually knew where we had to go, and after wresting with the aircon controls, and failing, we drifted off to contented first night sleep.

First day survived then, without the safety net of family members who know the place like the back of their hands. Tomorrow Lynn would take centre stage as we'd booked her in for a Thai cookery course the next day - stay tuned for that one!

First meal in Chiang Mai - full English at the Art Cafe

Ahh - luxury!

Getting to know the locals in the hotel lobby.

Suitably chilled after a great feed and a few drinks

Detox, Germans and Jose Mourinho on the Chiang Mai Express.

Thirteen hours after setting out from Bangkok's main station our overnight sleeper (sic) pulled into Chiang Mai, it was twenty to nine in the morning and over 35 degrees celcius - welcome to Northern Thailand.

We'd arrived at the station slightly early before departure to take in the atmosphere and hopefully buy some snacks for the journey. Lynn found Dunkin Dohnuts and we scoffed them straight way - well, we wanted to keep our blood sugar levels up.

There are two places to sit whilst waiting for a train, on the seats or on the floor. We managed to find a seat, the younger backpackers took to the floor. There were also reserved seats for... monks and novices!

One hapless backpacker nearly came a cropper at 6pm when the national anthem was played. He was flat out asleep on the floor of the station as an irate tourist policeman was angrily blowing his whistle at him. His crime was not standing up for the King - eventually one of his mates woke him up, he had a narrow escape.

At 7pm we strolled over to platform 3 to board our carriage. Ours was at the front just behind the baggage wagon. Our bedding was in place and it looked like it was just us two in the group of four bunks. Looked like we would get the two bottom beds plus no strangers snoring or smelly feet. We even bought orange juice and fruit from the restaurant car staff - we were going to enjoy this trip.

Minutes before we set off our peace was shattered. A group of four stumbled into the carriage muttering in German about their bunk numbers. The dad approached me with some excuse of having booked late and could his family have our four and we have the two next door. We agreed only to find the bedding attendant, restaurant  waitresses and the air con technical squeezed into the small space - Lynn was not amused. " I didn't  think I'd be sharing a compartment with the bloody staff," she muttered. 

It could have been a nightmare, well it was for the first hour whilst the train slowly made its way out of Greater Bangkok. Plus, the aircon down our end of the train was broken and even worse, you couldn't buy alcohol on the train - it was totally dry. Lynn read her book, I just looked out of the window and the Germans settled down for a family evening - in our old compartment.

Eventually though things settled down. The Germans came to broker a peace deal, the waitresses buggered off to another compartment and the aircon started working - hurrah!

Our tickets were checked and punched by the train attendant who was accompanied by a guy in a uniform who looked like he would enjoy checking your cavities for illicit drugs. No laughs from him then.

Later another official looking guy in a uniform spoke to me about the usual, where do you come from? What football team to you support....etc? Within moments we were discussing the calamities of Man Utd and the possibilities of Jose Mourihnio taking over as manager - as you do with every official on Thai Railways.

Lynn eventually moved from her seat, she needed the loo. I used this opportunity to make a peace offering by getting the attendant to make up her bed. It broke the ice on her return, with the attendant, not me; plus the fact the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra weren't coming to squat in our compartment. We all said goodnight in our little capsule and went to sleep.

When I say sleep I meant fitfull sleep. We seemed to lurch over every dodgy point on the main line and we stopped that many times I begun to think I could walk it quicker. I did at one point succumb to the need for the toilet and scaled down the ladder waking up Lynn. She hadn't slept well either.

Daybreak came at about 6.15am with a beautiful sunrise over the canopy of trees and hills that now towered over us.

We were constantly climbing through woodland and banana plantations, stopping at quaint little country stations and having coffee brought to us from the waitresses, care of the train attendant who organised it. See, it's not what you know but who you know when travelling overnight on the train!

And so it was we pulled into Chiang Mai, on time but completely shattered. A phalanx of Tuk Tuk and taxi drivers greeted us as we strained to see through the blinding sunlight. "First stop," we said to each other... "Breakfast!"

£17 for an overnight sleeper

One for the train spotters.

A bit basic.

Oh well - a dry night then?

Feed me Bangkok...feed me now!

A major part of our far eastern odyssey is sampling the regions food, exploring it's authentic cuisine and tantalising our taste buds with new and strange culinary explosions.

We didn't have to wait long for an authentic Thai dish as my sister rustled up a Thai green chicken curry on our first night with an English twist - broccoli. It surely beat, both hands down, the sad excuse for the red curry version of that dish on the flight over.

We had a need to be in downtown Bangkok on the Wednesday morning and eventually ended up in the MBK shopping centre - seven floors of retail therapy. On the 5th floor is a food emporium where you can literally have food cooked fresh for you from all over the world.

Small kitchens are set up where you can walk through and choose which cuisine you want. The dishes are presented pre-cooked, you choose then a fresh meal is cooked for you brought to your table - simple but effective - we chose the food of Vietnam.

My sister lives in the Chatrium residence next door to the hotel of the same name where every evening you can  sample an exquisite buffet and free flow drinks for approximately £32 per person. I started with the sushi bar. Never tried it before but it looked exquisite, it tasted so too. It was then a case of decisions, decisions as the choices were all first class. I went for a build your own surf and turf off the BBQ selection. I matched Australian Wagu beef with lamb and chicken accompanied by giant prawns and squid. An international cheese selection and ice cream finished me off.

Did I mention a free flow bar? I think we were the last to leave.

The next night I was treated to an Indian curry at a small unimposing place literally across the street from the Chatrium. Spicey by Nature is on the busy Charoen Krung Rd, getting across it in one piece is quite an achievement but once you do the food you are about to taste is worth the hassle getting to it.

I'm a Lamb Rogan Josh type of a bloke, it's just about my level of heat. I went for it here and although the spice and heat levels were fine, the taste was something else. I'd get another taste of India later in the week. In case you are wondering, Lynn was at a Take That concert - as you do when in Bangkok!

The following morning we were tempted to try the breakfast buffet at a downtown landmark - Dean & Deluce. Being a truly international city Bangkok hosts some great eateries, this place doesn't disappoint. It's basically a top of the range American deli come high class diner come restaurant, a bit pricey but so worth it if your going to be here for a while. We went for the all American Breakfast Griddle. It did what it said on the tin - thick ham, two eggs, fried potatoes and crispy bacon, all served in a griddle pan. Add pancakes with maple syrup, coffee and orange juice and it was £12 per person - not bad value for a high class joint.

That night we looked after our 10 year old nephew Louis who took us to one of his favourite hang outs, simply known as the Pad Tai lady next door to the Indian. That meant another attempt crossing the Charoen Krung Road. That duly achieved we were greeted by the staff of an unimposing street food cafe, a place you probably wouldn't entertain in England. Don't ever judge a book by its cover, this place cooked up the freshest, most tastiest and filling food you'd ever come across - as local as you could possibly get. The confidence to try it came from the other Westerners that were eating there as unlike so called decent places back home (alledgedly), here you can actually see the food being cooked - right in front of you. We had shredded pork with rice and veg, stir fried dark greens and something Louis liked - we did it the Thai way and all shared.

The following evening was my sisters birthday celebration. We didn't go out. I wasn't being tight. The restaurant came to us. Spicey by Nature as it turned out plus our very own cocktail barman - Mr Mojito! The spicey Indian buffet was superb, a treat to the sences, I was now converted.

Sunday was Mothers Day so I treated us all to Sunday lunch at Kai, a New Zealand restaurant downtown. We were seated upstairs in what I can describe as "warehouse chique", lots of distressed concrete and chains. We all ordered the monkfish chowder, a great choice. Firm pieces of fish, potato, carrot and muscles swam in a creamy liquor, almost perfect for a chowder fan like me. Two of us ordered Beef and two ordered pork, Louis ordered Kiwi sausage and mash. Sadly the roasts were not really all that hot, a big let down although the beef was melt in the mouth, maybe the icey aircon cooled down our plates too quick? Price wise it came to £140 for five of us including drinks and two desserts, again, good value for a capital city.

So ended our Cullinary journey through Bangkok - next stop the north!

A great way to begin our culinary adventure - my sisters Thai green curry - and broccoli.

Vietnamese in the MBK food hall.

Sushi in the Chatrium.

Pad Thai ladies kitchen.

Spicey by Nature comes to Amanda's birthday party.

Cars n Boats n Trains n Tuk Tuks

We've been here for five days now. We're nicely acclimatised and have been let loose round downtown Bangkok a few times. It's a mad place but one you can get around easily - and get used too.

Our plans are to head north out of here next Monday (7th March), that requires a journey to Chiang Mai so it's either an overnight bus at £13 or the sleeper train at £17. We chose the train option and consulted a very consise railway travel website www.seat61.com. 

Armed with our passports we took a taxi to Hua Lamphong railway station to book our tickets. There are two ways to get there, the slow way or the express way. Our driver asked if we would pay the toll (£1), we did and we were off. I thought he was giving us a running commentary but he was continuously talking into his phone. I thought the bar staff in the York were never off their phones but the Thais are the worlds experts!

From the raised expressway you have great views of the city where the traditional lives cheek and jowl with the modern shiny hi-rise. It's definitely a city on the up as glass, steel and cranes dominate the landscape with the incessant sound of construction filling the air. What is also surreal is a giant hoarding of Matta, Rooney and Schwiensteiger looking down at you, bloody Man Utd - they get everywhere. Cost of the taxi - £2 including the toll, always ensure he puts the meter on.

At the station it was calm and serenity personified and we joined a queue to book our ticket. It was all done efficiently as we duly paid our money for the top and bottom bunk of an overnight sleeper compartment, 2nd Class, with aircon - not bad for £17 each. Now let's talk about rip off Britain where a standard ticket on the London to Fort William overnight sleeper out of Euston would cost an eye watering £155 per person - scandalous!

My next mission after the train ticket was to get my iPhone screen fixed - time to find a tuk tuk to get us to MBK shopping emporium. Getting one was no problem, negotiating the fee was interesting but we agreed on 100 baht (£2), after a photo call ( see below), we were off. Nothing beats the experience of riding around in one of these death traps on wheels - Elf & Safety would have a field day in the UK stopping these and making then fit seat belts - just hang on and enjoy the journey.

MBK is  seven floors of shopping heaven (well, for some it is) where you can buy almost anything you want. Some genuine some...well, not so, but who cares. If a dodgy Rolex lasts me a couple of months and I've only paid a few quid for it, what the hell.

I arranged to get my iPhone screen fixed for a fraction of the price either EE would charge or some of the dodgy geezers in Morecambe - it took an hour, we went to eat. ( I'm writing a piece about food so will elaborate more then).

The phone was fixed and looked like new, now to get back home to the Chatrium. We'd travelled on the train system two years ago but under the guidance of my sister and brother-in-law, this time we were on our own. Also, last time we were here there were riots occurring all over the city and protesters had virtually locked it all down. Then, you could stroll easily on the roads because cars were stopped from travelling the now busy thoroughfares, thankfully the entrance to the station was on our side of the street.

We negotiated the self-service ticket machine and our journey from National Stadium to Saphan Taksin cost us 73p each for six stops on the Skytrain. The trains are immaculate. They are so clean, air conditioned and everyone is polite to each other - the Brits could learn a thing or two here!

From the station it's a short walk to the ferry terminal where we hopped on the free shuttle to the Chatrium complex where we were staying, it's only a five minute sail.

So for a days jaunt around a capital city it's cost us a mere £5.50 between us, looks like my pension will last out at this rate.

Okay Lynn, let's get moving!!