Laos - Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang, Laos

Wednesday 1^st - Wednesday 8^th February, 2012

A small Laos Airlines turbo jet took one hour from Chiang Mai and we sweep down out  of the clouds and see jungle-clad peaks, like the opening scene from an episode of MASH, in fact, John was cheerfully whistling “Suicide is Painless” as we walked the tarmac from the plane.

The Peoples Democratic Republic has a slightly arcane and confusing visa process – just remember to always carry some US dollars in varying denominations and spare passport photos.

"Mekong . . . "

We get in a taxi and reach town and, as we turn a corner, there is the mighty river – we are both speechless – just turn and look at each other wide-eyed and mouth “The Mekong”. To see this majestic water as it curves round the promontory that Luang Prabang sits on is a wonderful sight to behold. It's huge, with steep steps leading down to it at intervals all round the town. There is one road that leads down to the ferry that constantly transports people, goods and vehicles across to the other side. 

 

In the daytime small fishing boats dart back and forth, holding just one or maybe a few people and fishing trap baskets. Flat bottomed pleasure boats take tourists up to distant villages or over to the temples on the other side. In the early morning the large slow boats arrive from Chiang Mai – 3 days on the deck if it's a normal boat (with very dodgy plumbing we were told) or boats with luxury cabins if you are very rich.

This is just the most gorgeous place with very beautiful and very tiny Lao people, who are most welcoming and helpful. The river is a scene to sit and look at endlessly as it is so imposing and beautiful, a constantly changing hive of activity.

Our day starts with breakfast provided by our guest house, the Sala Prabang. Their restaurant is on the river side and we sit feeling almost slightly chilly in the early morning watching the river life and enjoying the creep of the sun warming our backs as we eat. We help ourselves to fruit – papaya, watermelon, apple, pineapple, banana. Then there is always a hot Laotian choice of either rice or noodles with chicken, tofu or vegetables. There is an egg station and they will cook them how you like or make an omelette with peppers, onions, tomato and chilli if you like it hot. There is very good bread here, which is the French colonial influence and, although the tea and coffee at breakfast is pretty bland, you can go to any number of chic cafés and drink the most delicious locally grown coffee and tea, along with delectable pastries, croissant and breads of the highest order.

Blue Lagoon "You're paying"

Authentic French food is available in any number of restaurants and one evening we went to one called The Blue Lagoon and ate steak and drank a bottle of excellent French wine. It was delicious, but after eating mostly vegetarian, or just a occasionally a little bit of chicken, for months, it weighed heavy on us and we had to retire to bed exhausted and feeling far too full!

Luang Prabang Rush Hour

Now, let's talk about shopping. If we had been born to buy then this is definitely a place where an awful lot of money could be spent on the exquisite silk produced here. Plus, all the up market clothes shops, the handbags, the craft work in baskets, woven cloth, silver jewellery. Then there is a walking night market every day that stretches on forever and sells lots of lovely bags, sarongs, woven cotton cloth, wooden carvings, herbs, snakes in bottles of medicine, coffee, and all the usual tourist stuff and even that is really well made. You eventually have to go and have a drink somewhere because your head is spinning with the amount of it. All the stalls are run by the women here, who are very independent and full of get up and go and like to get a good deal out of you.

Elizabeth, Ikon Bar

The best cocktails in town – in our opinion – were served at the Ikon Bar, just off the main street, heading towards the Nam Khan river on the other side of the town. The owner is a charismatic and enchanting Hungarian named Elizabeth. She is also an artist and the bar is decorated with all sorts of interesting pieces of art and literature. The classics are all available but you had to try some of her inventions and those of her clientèle. There's a shot called Raspberry Surprise: 2 parts Vodka, 1 part Raspberry Liqueur and 1 shot of Tabasco. Sounds weird but you knock it back and it is absolutely delicious. Two should really be the limit but one night someone was ringing the bell to buy them for everyone and they were too good to turn down. 

 

"You ask Joyce & Vicky"

Ah, yes, the reason they were ringing that bell was John had picked up the excellent guitar that Elizabeth keeps in the bar for anyone to play and it all got loud and 'singy' very quickly. Then he played Ian Dury's 'Billericcay Dickie' for a bloke from there and that was it – Raspberry Surprises for the whole bar. Unfortunately, this all happened before we got to dinner, so it was a bit of a stagger to the restaurant – but it was very good fun indeed! We seemed to drift into that bar just after sunset quite often in our 8 days in Luang Prabang.

French colonial architecture abounds here and it is very attractive and has been, and continues to be, lovingly restored. The hand of UNESCO and the French government can be see everywhere and It is a pleasure to just walk around and enjoy it.

Having described all of the above, there is something that makes this town stand apart from any other place we have visited and that is the spiritual nature of the people and the many monasteries and wats that are here. This is not a historic cathedral town with a museum and dusty old vergers showing you round. It is a living and breathing Buddhist life.

Tree of Life

At dawn you will see streams of monks and novices ,clad in orange or brown, in long lines, appearing on the streets carrying their begging bowls. They walk a set circuit gathering alms as they go. The women of the town sit on the pavement and the men stand waiting with their offerings to put into the bowls. This is done in silence and reverently. As tourists we are asked not to be obtrusive or get close and take photographs, so we didn't go to the biggest monastery and stand and gawp. We found a seat in the shadows near a small monastery and watched discreetly as the monks filed by collecting from a small group of women seated outside their houses. They gave food, toiletries and money as far as we could see. It was fascinating and we felt privileged to see this ritual.

Drum n Cymbal

Throughout the day there are ceremonies going on at all the wats and you can see and hear the prayers and chanting everywhere in town. They all have a huge drum hanging in a small shelter in the corner of the monastery garden. It looks like a large Jembai but is suspended longways and a young monk beats out a rhythm with a huge mallet for about half an hour in the morning and evening and the sounds fill the town, along with the clashing of cymbals. It was full moon whilst we were there and then were are even more ceremonies all the night as well as the day.

All the monasteries are beautiful, but one is especially so and has a huge tree of life decorating the rear wall and a large sweep of steps lead down from it to the river with anatomically correct male stone tigers sitting at the gate posts. We can't begin to understand the rich history of ritual and prayer, the continuous flow of daily life and how it is imbued with spirituality for the people here and how it sits with a communist government. However, it all seems to work.

Laos has more unexploded ordinance, lying across huge swathes of the north and along the border with Vietnam, in this small country than anywhere else in the world. America carpeted it with mines in the 1960s and 1970s and it is very dangerous to go off the roads or well known paths. Many people lose life and limb regularly here through stepping on them in rural areas. There is an ancient place called 'The Plain Of Jars', full of huge mysterious stone jars that would be interesting to visit but most of it is off limits because of the mines, so we gave it a miss.

We did go out into the country for a trip to a beautiful waterfall. We got in a 'jumbo', a sort of tiny truck with a strip of bench seats facing each other behind the cab. We shared with another English couple, a young lone, very red-faced and dazed looking Russian man, called Uri, who was enjoying himself but struggling with his English, and a Dutch couple.

"I went to the fridge . . ."

There was a large enclosure with sun bears, black with a white V on their chest. They are endangered and this sanctuary is important. They were the happiest looking bunch and were clearly relaxed and in good health. The older ones mostly lazed around in their hammocks or on platforms. The younger bears played rough and tumble, as if it had been put on for our amusement. It was the closest we could get to seeing them in their natural environment in this jungle setting.

We visited the old royal palace. It is turn of the century French style and holds some furniture and clothing from the 1930s and some nice wallpaper and some rather grand gold thrones and ceremonial swords. Much more interesting was a small and beautifully curated ethnic museum. It had authentic costumes and descriptions of the many and varied tribal people of Laos. It was wonderful. There was also a great café where we had a delicious Laotian meal after all our hard work looking at the exhibits!

Stupefied at Utopia

One afternoon we went and got stupefied, lazing at the Utopia bar. It's very cool and trendy with a volley-ball court in the centre, surrounded by cushioned sitting and lying down areas to gaze out on the river, with cold drinks, watching it all slide by.

"Jimi who?"

We ate dinner there and headed back to our side of town and ran into some young Laotians on the river side playing guitars and singing and they invited us to join them. John played them some songs and he asked them if they liked Jimi Hendrix and they had never heard of him – John utterly amazed! We sat drinking beer and had great fun with them. Suddenly it was midnight and that is curfew time here – you have to be off the street by then, so it was time for bed.

Emmy

Happened into a Fair Trade shop, selling lovely fabrics and art, where we met the Australian owner called Emmy. She's a real get up and go person and we got chatting. Emmy has a small cruiser called the Banana Boat, because it's painted yellow and is the only one like it on the river. We said we'd like a trip on it that afternoon but she said she couldn't do it as she was taking her Lao girlfriends out for a treat on a sunset cruise. 

 

The Banana Boat

Celia piped up and said John could play guitar and sing for them. She readily agreed and said she would get a guitar, so we found ourselves with Emmy, her girlfriends and children, a load of delicious food, wine and beer at 4 pm on this most scenic of rivers. The boat is 20 foot long and 5 foot wide. We sang all the way there and back and made firm friends with the pilot, Son Boon – it was fantastic.

"Day Oh"

Emmy enjoyed it so much she invited John and I to do it all again for another group of her friends a couple of days later. We left earlier and went further and there were a bunch of ex-pats as well this time, so lots of singing. 

As we made our way back up river to town, we had the gift of an impossibly huge fiery red moon rising above the hill and temple that dominate the town. John thought it was a fiirework that had got stuck in the sky - quite incredible and we were told that this was not a common occurrence. We made it back to shore just before dark and that's when you have to be off the river as no one has any lights and it's a fast flowing river with different currents and whirlpools, plus the rocks because it's the dry season.

We took a trip on the Banana Boat a third time – just the two of us. We set off early morning across to the far bank and climbed up to see two very ancient temples and rambled around and enjoyed the view from the other side, of Luang Prabang with the morning sun glinting off the gold roofs of the wats and the huge rain trees shading the banks. 

 We were the only people there apart from a Canadian couple from Vancouver Island and we chatted quietly relaxing in the sun. We got back in the boat at a different point further along the bank and as it is the dry season, had to walk across a very rickety bamboo bridge to get out to where it was moored – Celia nearly had kittens.

We moved on up to a village that specialises in silk weaving and were overwhelmed with the choice of fabric, colour, weave and pattern. They were small designer owned and run places with looms in the yard and display galleries. It was hard to choose what to buy but we managed – mostly dictated by our small budget! They also weave cotton and produce beautiful hand-made paper. Then it was back on board for a gentle cruise back. A perfect morning.

For about 3 days running, everywhere we went, we kept seeing this young French guy, and Celia accused him of stalking us and we got talking. He was from Avignon and was on a long trip like us. His name was Ruben – more of him in a later blog.

Nam Khan River

Got up very early one morning and climbed the hill in the centre of town to the small wat at the top, where there is also a very old anti-aircraft gun. Lots of people climbing up to make offerings, as it is a very holy place, and to enjoy the magnificent view of the town and surrounding area.

We had met a Chilean couple, Nisa and Maurice on the plane and arranged to meet them for drinks at the Ikon bar one evening and that also turned into a music session with a charming man called Curtis from New Orleans and Constantine, an American Greek amongst a whole bunch of people.

We went to see the Royal Ballet in the Peoples Hall, a stark and functional 1960s building in the ground of the royal palace. It was the only time you felt as if you were in a communist state because of the bureaucratic ticketing and the institutional and run down feeling of the place and it lived up to the alternative title of Peoples Democratic Republic of Lao as Please Don't Rush. They danced a series of scenes from the Ramayana in the classical style with slow gestures of the hand and head and a dipping motion of the body, accompanied by a live orchestra – quite lovely.

So, Luang Prabang was a delight from start to finish, a visual, sensory, spiritual, culinary, artistic and enchanting time. Just walking around for hours was fascinating.

Even when we left we took a little bit with us, as Elizabeth from the Ikon Bar was on the same flight as us going to Siem Reap in Cambodia to see the temples of Angkor Wat, but that story will be in the next blog.

 

 
 






 

Thailand 4 - Return to Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai, Thailand 
Monday 30^th & Tuesday, 31^st January, 2012

Relieved and happy to arrive back in Chiang Mai having had a safe and uneventful, if rather cramped, 4 hour journey back in a small minibus, and checked back in to the Parasol Inn. We have air con, TV, kettle, fridge, snacks, wi-fi – all the trappings of home that we had no thought of in Pai, and goodness how easily we slide into sloth. However, we feel no guilt as we watch a movie and sip tea in bed.

The next day is spent in planning and making bookings for the next part of our S. E. Asia tour - trains, planes and hotels; we are always trying to be in the moment but you always need one eye on where next, how do we get there, and where will we stay . . . let alone what we want to see when we get there, and how long we should stay. You have to think about check-in and check-out times against what time your train, bus or plane leaves, so that you can get the most out of your visit and not be sitting in a bus station for longer than necessary. Is this logistics? It's enjoyable though, because it makes you think hard about what you want, instead of perhaps just getting on a tour bus.

Over to the night market on the other side of town – out of the old city. All the stalls selling the usual stuff and perhaps not as varied and high quality as in Pai but still fun to look round.

Had a meal at our favourite restaurant near the hotel.

Detail of the Day: The cats look very fat and now we know why. As we sat eating dinner looking out on the street at the cafe opposite, a sleek white and sandy blotched cat passed by with a purposeful air and disappeared in the back door. Moments later there was a loud squeal and said cat reappeared with a large rat in its mouth and a smug flick of the tail and went back the way it had come. That's what you call feline fast food takeaway!

Then, just when one of you says: “It's Tuesday, it's quiet, we're going to Laos tomorrow, let's get an early night”, you walk round the corner and there is The Garden café with an acoustic music session going on. It's a bunch of ex-pats, our age and older, who get together on a Tuesday and sit round a long table, drink beer, play, sing and socialise.

(On Sunday nights this cafe has different bands playing and they live stream the music on www.gardenchiangmai.com from 7 p.m. Local time)

They were a mix of Canadians, Americans and British. John thought he was in heaven when they handed him and guitar and invited him to join in. (That gig-list/World Tour T shirt is going to look fantastic!) The standard was very high but they were very relaxed so the atmosphere was great. They played guitar, banjo, fiddle, harmonica and flute, playing mostly folk, blues, traditional and country.

While John got on and played music, Celia was talking to the other non-playing ex-pats. Some are living here all the time and have businesses, such as a Frenchman exporting furniture and decorative pieces who complained that the exchange rate does not suit him at the moment and that his second wife is causing him problems, all in the same sentence. Most of the group were retired and live here part of the year because the climate is nice, the living is easy, you can rent a good house relatively cheaply and the Thais are great people . . . it makes the pension go a long way.

Several of them give their time and support to charities, such as to aid the retention of traditional crafts and skills, particularly assisting women to earn money through this work rather than be drawn into the sex trade. Some support charities that give material support to people in more remote villages such as blankets, medicine, housing materials and clothing.

They were a diverse group with differing views, highlighted when two small children came in to sell single stem red roses. They were brothers of about 4 and 7 years old. The group round the table all knew them. First of all they tried to sell one to a kindly German, who said no and they left him alone. He explained to me that he always buys a rose from them on a Sunday when he is at a different café and that they know this and so don't really hassle him at this place. 


 The Frenchman would not buy and looked upset. He said that if you buy the roses then you are supporting the continuing exploitation of the children. In his words, “They are mafia”. An Englishman bought one and said he always does because he knows that they cannot go home and go to bed until they have sold each rose. The parents or whoever is running the operation are waiting on the corner for the money. The children are lovely but will try as hard as they can to get you to buy from them. The ex-pat wives know them by name and talk to them very kindly and buy roses. Having said all this, there are not a huge number of street children in Chiang Mai and we didn't see any in Pai, but that is not to say they are not there.

Anyway, the plans for an early night were rather lost in a fog of beer, wine music and chat. Celia's favourite was the charming German with his fantastic moustache, pipe, hearty laugh, perfect English and who said “damn straight” when he agreed with something that was said.

Thailand 3 - Pai

Pai, Northern Thailand 
Monday 23rd January - Monday 30th January, 2012

If we were asked to describe Pai, it would go something along the lines of: It's like a fairyland toy town with a bit of Christmas thrown in because of all the pretty lights (and for those of you familiar with The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton then it is definitely 'The Land Of Take What You Want' as well).

Pai River

Pai sits on a river that meanders along. People go rafting or float along on inner tubes, stopping at guest houses along the way for a swim and to eat and drink. They go out on trips on hired motorbikes or bicycles to elephant camps, go walking in the hills to visit different hill tribe people. Or, like us, you hire a car and driver and he takes you round the sights. Our reasons for not hiring a motorbike was seeing loads of people on crutches or with terrible cuts and bruises from motorbike accidents – and that was just the walking wounded.

Baan Tawan

The weather is hot all day, but not too hot. The evenings are cool to the point of being cold and we had to put scarves and jumpers on as soon as the sun had sunk in a perfect descent behind the surrounding hills.  (Every sunset was perfect). 

Baan Tawan

 This made a welcome change after the heat, and sleeping in a beautiful room at the Baan Tawan guest house, made completely of teak that sat on stilts by the river, in a jungle garden, under the softest white linen and a fluffy duvet, was a heavenly experience. (We stayed at the Ban Tawan Guest house for our first 5 nights – amazingly beautiful riverside setting)

It's only a little town but it has put itself on the travellers map in a big way. T-shirt shops with 'I heart Pai', and a zillion variations, abound. There is a walking street market every night, selling all manner of lovely things to buy. 

There are musicians busking – the Thai classical music band that called themselves the Hells Angels was a new twist. There are places to get Thai massage and there is even an estate agent to sell you your dream house out here in la-la land. 

Everything is pretty much in walking distance and there is accommodation to suit every pocket. There is a beautiful temple with huge bees nests round the statues.

Gorgeous little bars and cocktail bars all around, serving extremely good mixes – that we indulged in every day we were there. How could we not? It was all so alluring. One night we went to the 'Don't Cry Bar' – did we forget to mention there is a massive reggae scene here? - it's got loads of Rasta Thais and they play plenty of Bob Marley, both recordings of him and live covers and there are some excellent musicians around. They were holding a Reggae Festival when we were there, somewhere out in the country that we didn't manage to get to – we had enough of a festival going on right outside our door thanks.

However, we did see a great little band that were in town before going to play at the festival called 'Until That Day', headed up by 'Iray'. We got talking to him and it turns out he was part of the 'Dub Side Of The Moon' crew. We thought that was pretty exciting and he was just the loveliest person. His band are playing at the Dawson City Music Festival in the Yukon, Canada in July and we are going there so we said we would catch up with him there – now that is pretty cool.

Fried Grub . . . ?

Excellent places to eat – including Italian, French, fabulous Sushi from a street stall, everything the stoned backpacker will ever need in the way of Thai street food, plus pancakes, waffles, sandwiches, burgers, curry and juice stalls . . . plus the lovely fried insects stall, yum!

Then of course there is the free show that goes past you all day and evening in the form of some of the freakiest freaks you have ever seen. Celia's particular favourites were what she liked to call “The Satin Suit Guys”. They were two diminutive Australian cousins, wearing identical and very shiny suits – except one suit was pink and one was blue. They were barefoot, tangled long blonde hair, blue eyes and very white teeth. 

They were drinking all round town, loudly and speedily and talking rubbish to pretty much anyone who came near their spinning orbit in a friendly but slightly frenzied manner. We spun near them by accident one evening and discovered they had bought the suits for a bet and were going to wear them for a week without changing – the aroma told us that they were already on about day four. Anyway, that was an entertaining 15 minutes but generally best viewed from a distance.

We walked out every evening with no plan, only to get a sundowner and dinner somewhere, and had an adventure each night in spectacle and conversation.

There was Alex the Frenchman – slightly mad eyes but very charming, although intense and the conversation went something like “Yes, I was in ze Foreign Legion for sevan years and now I am enjoying very much to find what I want to be and who I am, is very nice” This actually took him about 15 minutes to tell you and what with the drink and all it was quite an exhausting listening session. He was also great fun and we enjoyed it all with him and a lovely girl from Cornwall called Charlotte who he had just met that afternoon who was there to have fun and do some yoga and craft classes - oh yes, everything is available!

Detail of the Day: 3 pm. An overheard conversation between two Brummies “What do you want to do?” “Dunno” “Shall we just get drunk then?” “Alright” . This was followed by an order for Tequila slammers.

We met a free spirit French woman, much older than us, who was there to party big time. She was covered in bruises where she had come off a motorbike she had been driving and then a second time when she was on the pillion. Drinking wine and smoking madly and talking about how much yoga and meditation she was doing. All the yin and yang you could want right there. We stuck with her for a while but couldn't match the pace!

Having said all of the above about Pai, it still retains a wonderful charm and tranquillity that is hard to describe and a peaceful feeling that pervades it. Perhaps it is a combination of scenery, fresh air, the Thai people of course and a small village feel. Whatever it is we enjoyed it!

One day we went out on a trip – it's quite hard to drag yourself out of this town. We visited an old temple on a hill with spectacular views out across country with a very relaxed head monk who had been at school with our driver and had decided to be a full time monk, whereas most men, like our driver, just stay for a couple of years.

We went on to some hot springs. They are in the wooded hills out of town and quite delightful. They are a series of fairly shallow pools that gently flow downhill and you just float around in the milky water that is a perfect temperature and it is very relaxing and supposedly good for the joints. Also the water did not have any sulphurous qualities, so no noxious fumes. John particularly loved the springs and would happily have stayed there all day. 

 After that we visited a small but picturesque canyon and the World War 2 memorial bridge. This had been built using local slave labour when the Japanese had taken control of the area and had been a very hard time for the people. (Here we bought the best baked banana chips in the whole world and have never found them since!)

Bhudda's Gong

Then we visited an ethnic Chinese village – all a bit touristy and strange but never mind. The road trip was good. We finished the day at some pretty waterfalls where some people were jumping off rocks and swimming. These were the same falls where a young man had died just a couple of days before. The owner of our guest house told us that he had been drinking and taking heroin. She said that the heroin in Pai is very high quality and very pure and people don't realise this and overdose easily.

Baan Mai

We had to move guest house as we only had the first few nights booked and when we tried to extend they were already full and we were rather sad that we had to move. However, the place we moved to called Baan Mai belonged to a friend of our original host and was equally lovely. It was right on a curve of the river and our room looked straight out on it over the garden. It was a magical spot. 

Fisherman came along in their punts and then stepped into the river and cast their nets in the way they have for hundreds of years. Further upstream, workmen in flat-bottomed barges holding large metal cages dredged the river for stones to use as hardcore. We even saw some birds – which is pretty unusual because they eat everything here and the wildlife is very shy indeed. So we were lucky to see anything.

Baan Mai

The days drift buy in this little paradise and what with reading, writing, walking, eating, talking, lounging in the sun, having late night drinks in the moonlight by the river, it was suddenly time to leave and go back to Chiang Mai for a day or two before flying to Luang Prabang in Laos. So we climbed in the minibus for a cramped 4 hour windy road trip back to reality.

Thailand 2 - Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand 
Friday, 20 Sunday 22 January

Left the lofty environs of the Baiyoke Sky Hotel in Bangkok and took a short flight up to Chiang Mai, just one hour. The old city is a grid layout surrounded by the remains of the city walls and one or two gates. Encircling the old city is a large moat. Inside this area is where we stayed and every corner you turn presents you with a most exquisite wat that you just have to go and look at.

They are all the most beautiful temples and we are told there are over 100 in the city and you can believe it. All the monastery sites have gardens that are well tended and have walkways and paths around all the buildings with flower beds on either side with frangipani, jasmine, bougainvillea and of course many others we can't identify. Tall trees give welcome shade and cast crisp shadows because of the intense blue sky. Monks abound; bright saffron denoting novice monks who may stay just a few years and then go back to life outside or may choose to stay and then wear brown robes when they become full time monks, showing a lifelong commitment to the monastic life.

Inside, the temples are fantastically and beautifully decorated, some with ancient murals, some with modern depictions, showing scenes from the life of Buddha, some showing stories from olden times with battles, animals and royal court life. Red and gold dominate and many Buddha statues are covered in gold leaf. Incense fills the air as people constantly come to light incense sticks, offer gifts to the monastery (usually yellow cellophane-wrapped parcels containing toiletries, rice and even electrical goods (blenders seem very popular), plus offerings of money. 

Young couples sit with a monk at one side of the wat hall and the discussion ends with him giving them what we think is a type of blessing. Other people come in and sit down facing the Buddha images (they sit on the ground with their feet to one or other side of them as showing the soles of your feet to all and sundry is considered bad manners) and say prayers. However, there is nothing precious about it and no one is concerned by tourists like us wandering in and taking pictures as long as we are respectful, barefoot and appropriately dressed – shoulders and legs decently covered and no hat.

In contrast to this beauty and serenity you have the hustle and bustle of the modern city that surrounds the old one, plus the odd sensation that there are two types of tourist here; tour groups, backpackers, individuals and couples on holiday make up the first. The second is exclusively male, mostly, but not all, middle-aged or above. There was one street we wandered down on our first evening that was full of bars with girls, waiting for, or already sitting with a male tourist. We didn't stop for a drink - just kept going.

Our first night was in the Smile Guesthouse that we booked on-line. However, as a rat jumped out of the bin in reception in front of Celia as we checked in, we both knew it would also be our only night at this establishment. The other guests were a motley collection of spike haired, tatooed, wannabe hippies, way too cool to risk smiling or even saying hello.

Next day we moved to a better hotel called The Parasol and it was a better area too. There are some great food places here, like the Garden Island Restaurant, where a charming Frenchman and his Thai wife have been running this successful eatery for several years. We drank French wine – it was a dream! Of course there are great Thai restaurants too and the food is always good. However, being in the old city means there is always a slight whiff of drains or 'rat subway', as John calls it. Nevertheless, the stench benchmark is Old Delhi and this comes nowhere near that high tide mark!

Live music is played in some of the bars and we sit and listen to a young Thai band playing US west coast covers like The Eagles and they were very good. Nearly all the music here seems to come from the late seventies – suits us fine as we know all the words. 
 

The climate is easier up here than in Bangkok; hot in the day but cooler evenings – still shirtsleeves but not boiling hot – very nice. There is a considerable size permanent ex-pat community running bars and restaurants and no doubt other businesses as well. Some people we meet never discuss their past – but you can see it behind their eyes.

Detail of the day: many people here have small pet dogs and, by Thai standards, it is cold here at night, they put little fancy coats on them that button underneath. Some with applique work or pom poms in bright colours.

Sunday night they have what they call a 'walking street' market. The crossroads outside our hotel is the centre of the old city and the four roads leading off are closed to traffic from 5 pm until around 10 pm. Hundreds of small stalls are set up on each side of these streets and they sell handicrafts, leather work, carved wooden objects, clothing, bags made of cloth and bags made of crocodile, paintings, batik, tie-dye, silk scarves, badges, jewellery – all good fun. What makes it even better is that it is not just tourists but all the locals are there as well. People mix more here than in Bangkok and it is very laid back and relaxed.

Also, numerous food stalls, including one exclusively selling deep fried insects. We identified ants, grasshoppers, locusts, grubs, worms and spiders amongst many others – John wanted to try these but his stomach wouldn't and you can imagine what Celia thought.

Down the centre of the market, at frequent intervals, are musicians and singers, playing guitars and traditional Thai instruments. Many have a disability and this is their means of income. Some are excellent and some aren't.

Just opposite our hotel is one of the very few old wooden houses here, built up on stilts and made of large teak columns supporting wooden walls and a tiled roof. It has downstairs rooms and then you walk up a broad and beautifully made wooden staircase that runs up the outside of the building to a large covered verandah running round the whole building and you can enter all the rooms from it, so air passes through keeping it cool. All the interior walls are dark wood and they stop a couple of feet from the ceiling. The top part is just a lattice-work screen – again to allow air to flow through. It was a merchants house, built in the late 1800s and lived in for several generations by the Chinese family that built it. It was donated to the university in recent years and is now part of the architecture faculty and had a small exhibition showing the preservation and planning works for the old city and surrounding wall and moat. It is has a large walled garden with big old trees and you can feel how the city must have once looked. The whole place has an air of peace and tranquillity.

Back at the hotel and back to more practical matters. John's heels are all dry and rough, probably from Celia making him go and walk round all the temples – so it is agreed he will have a foot spa. This is la large tank with myriad small fish waiting to nibble away all that skin. Celia declines having taken nephew Seamus' advice that “you can get some funny things from those spas”. However, this spa has not been used for at least a week and looks very clean so John sits on a cushioned bench and lowers his feet in to let the fish do their work for an hour. He doesn't look too relaxed and says some of the bigger fish definitely nip a bit harder than he would prefer – Celia is definitely happy with her decision not to have one. Anyway the result is quite good for John's heels and no horrible disease acquired – so far! Then we both have a foot massage – much more to Celia's liking and very relaxing. 


 We chat to a couple of Canadians who are living and working in China teaching English and are on a couple of weeks break. We meet so many interesting people and that is one of the most wonderful parts of this trip for us – chance meetings and fascinating conversations, tips and hints on where to go and what to see, pitfalls to avoid and of course we all love to share our travel lies!

We consult our travel map and decide to head further north, nearer to the Burmese border, and have a look at a place called Pai next. The hotel staff are very helpful and arrange our transport up country. That tale will be on the next blog.