Chang-Rai … No Pai … No Chang-Rai … No Pai

Sunday 10^th January 2011

MP3 track of the day: Shes not you – Elvis Presley

Weather: The day started hot but then the clouds descended making it a lot cooler

Today was decision day, Chang-Rai or Pai. Friends in both and I hoped to have an e-message from at least one of them this morning. After breakfast I fired up my netbook, went onto Facebook, and clicked on 'messages'...

… no new messages, damn. This threw me a little, what should I do now? I then went online to look for accommodation at both Pai and Chang-Rai; 'hostelworld' displayed very few places for both ... two each in fact which were either two expensive or not appropriate (i.e. one place was an hours drive out of Chang-Rai). I sat back in my chair a little deflated, what was I to do now? Not only did I not know where my friends where staying but I couldn't book accommodation either. For the first time whilst traveling it looked like I would have to do something I hate and have avoided so far … I would have to turn up, in a new town, and try to find accommodation on the day. I was told by fellow travelers that both places should be fine just to turn up in and, in fairness, most travelers do not pre-book accommodation … but this didn't make me feel any better.

My plan for today was to head to the bus station, which was a good ninety minutes walk away. As I didn't know where my mates where, and I couldn't book accommodation, I questioned whether I should even bother making the epic hike to said bus station. In the end I decided that I couldn't wait here in Chang-Mai for eternity and so I decided to put my boots on and head out hoping that the walk would clear my mind and a decision would be made before arriving to purchase a ticket.

After about thirty minutes of walking I had decided that I would head to Chang-Rai tomorrow. Firstly this was where Matt and Rachael where and Anna would have to come through Chang-Rai on her way to Laos, therefore it seemed the safest bet. However the biggest factor for this choice was that it was my choice; before I knew that friends where around this area Chang-Rai was always going to be my next move and so, once at the bus station, I queued up for a ticket on the 11:45am coach to Chang-Rai.

As I was walking back from the station I had to go through an area of town that I hadn't seen before; I nick-named this area 'pudding district' as there where cake shops, ice cream stalls and places selling 'banana-splits' as far as the eye could see. Even more stranger than this was that one of the dwellings, within this area, had a 'merlion' in their front garden … similar to the ones in Singapore, only smaller. Both of these things you wouldn't have seen if you had taken a cab to the bus station I thought to myself.

Currently the sun was behind a blanket of cloud, there wasn't any chance of getting sun burnt however it was still quite hot and humid; I hopped from one 'Seven-eleven' to another purchasing an orange juice, then an ice cream and finally a bottle of 'Fanta Strawberry' (which is the brightest pink coloured liquid I have ever seen … I reckon its illuminous in the dark and as powerful as 'a million candles').

Once back at the hostel I met a guy who lives in Chang-Rai; he showed me, on a map, the street where all the guesthouses where situated but couldn't recommend a particular one to stay at. I then got on with trying to find some accommodation within Chang-Rai, on the internet, that met my requirements and that I could pre-book. After an hour of searching still no accommodation was booked, however I did have a few addresses and 'crosses' on my map and so I felt better arriving in Chang-Rai. Not wanting to waste my last evening on the internet I put my computer away and joined my fellow travelers watching 'Oceans Eleven' before heading out for my final meal within Chang-Mai and my last beautiful cake.

Once back I went online quickly to find that Anna had left me a message with the details of where she was staying in Pai. As she was currently online we chatted a little and it appeared that she wasn't going to Laos at all; after Pai she will head down to Bangkok and fly to Vietnam. Once our chat had finished I once again checked through my messages to see if anything from Matt and Rachael had come through … nope. Either they hadn't got internet connection or they had already left for Laos and are on the slow boat down the Mekong river towards Louang Phabang … which would be a bit of a shame.

As I was sleeping in the TV room tonight (As 'Spicy Thai' is full) I had to wait for everyone to finish watching films. Luckily for me one girl couldn't sleep so she was planning to watch films until 3am; I however couldn't wait that long, knowing that people would be up around 7am, and so I made my bed on the long sofa and tried to drift off to sleep with the sounds of car chases and guns firing in the background … the last time I remember looking at my watch the time was 1:30am.

Toodle Pip!

New Years day … again

Saturday 8^th January 2011

MP3 track of the day: Shut up and drive – Rihanna

Weather: Overcast, making it really pleasant to walk around.

I woke up today with a plan. As this was my last full day here in Chang-Mai (well, unless I book another night) I needed to book accommodation in Chang-Rai, my next stop, plus walk to the bus station to find out ticket prices. Then I decided that I needed to look at the next leg of my journey, up until I started my voluntary work in Cambodia (February the 19^th). This plan came to an abrupt end soon after I had got up; I headed downstairs and in front of me “... free trip to see tribes new years celebration...” was written upon the activity blackboard.

Sounds interesting I thought and so I signed up. Before leaving I had time to read two Facebook messages stating that Anna (a friend from Georgetown) was in Chang-Mai and that Rachael and Matt (the couple I met in Krabi) were in Chang-Rai, my next stop. So the good thing was that I had old friends, all heading the same way as I, all around me; the problem was that I didn't know where any of them where staying, how long for and if it is was possible to meet up. It would be good to cross the Laos border with friends. Anyway for now I didn't have time to think about that; the van to the tribes new year celebrations was outside and so I quickly grabbed a bottle of water and headed out to join another five travelers.

The ride was pleasant to start with; we went past my current favorite cake shop and headed out of town. The ride started to get less pleasant when the tarmac was suddenly removed from the road and we headed up into the hills. It took about thirty minutes to arrive at the top of a hill where we parked our van. We all got off and walked down the other side of the hill following the sound of loud music. Being overcast today the weather was lovely and cool and walking was a joy; as we walked further we saw a local having trouble moving his 4x4 off the side of a hill. Now I would like to say that it was my idea to help him, however that would be lying. A Canadian in our group said that we should help him and we did so; we pushed his vehicle but the rear-left wheel was just spinning in mid-air. It took for him to reverse down the hill slightly before we could get him out. The driver shook our hands to say thank you.

As we continued walking down the hill I seemed to have adopted a little child who kept grabbing my hand and wanting to walk with me; now I didn't mind but I was wondering where his parents where. I have to admit that he was starting to get a little annoying due to the fact that he walked quite slowly and I was loosing the group; it all got a little too much when he started hitting my bag with his 'spinning top' stick.

I managed to loose the infant and join up with the group again. All around us where tribes people dressed in costumes to celebrate the new year. Noom, our hostel owner, explained to us that the hill tribes believe that today, the 8^th January, is the new year. All the hill tribes meet up for a weeks long celebration within the area that I found myself in. You could tell the different tribes from their slightly different costume styles and everyone seemed to be having fun. It was weird to see 'Red Bull' logos plastered everywhere which made me wonder if they sponsored this local event. Activities for the day included a push-cart race which immediately reminded me of 'Cool Runnings' and I wondered is Sanka was taking part … with his lucky egg. We where stood near to the finish line with a pond to our backs and a line of single used car tires in front of us … this would never pass FIA health and safety I thought, and so F1 coming to the mountains of Chang-Mai would be postponed for another year. My adopted child had, somehow, found me once more and so it was time to move on.

We headed up another hill to have a look at the stalls and see what the local tribes people where up to. First of all I found myself in a large open area with a stage in front of me and stalls to the left-hand side. Just off to the right of the open area I saw boys throwing balls to a girls, who would then catch said ball and return it. Noom told me that this was a kind of courting ritual where the guy asks the girl to play catch whilst they talk, hopefully leading onto becoming a couple.

We continued up the hill to see two teams of men, within a cordoned off area, holding huge spinning tops; they where just about to start a game. The rules seemed pretty simple, one member of the defending team span their spinning top within a marked circle, one member of the attacking team launched his spinning top from behind a line, five meters away from the circle, hoping to knock the defenders spinning top out of said circle. If the attacker missed then nothing else happened and team members would change. If the attacker knocked the defenders spinning top out of the circle then both players would rush off to their tops and try to keep them spinning the longest. If the defender kept his spinning top spinning the longest then team members changed; if the attacker kept his spinning top spinning longer then the attacking team would score one point and team members would change. Only the attacking team could score points and so the teams switched roles once all players had played.

We didn't have time to watch the teams switch as the kart race was about to start, however these guys where good at knocking each others tops though it did seem that to score a point you have to be quite lucky. It was also taken a little seriously with a ref and one team member checking the other teams spinning tops, paying close attention to the bottom of the top.

When we got back down to the finish line I had something to eat. The meal, I had to say, was the dodgiest I had eaten so far within my trip as the tribe lady pick up the food with her hands and put it in my bowl; it was all okay as she ladled in a steaming hot brew into the bowl however I didn't like the look of the meat so I left it … for only fifteen baht it was fine.

The race started with the first kart crossing the line, who I thought had won. It soon became apparent that after the next three karts came down on their own that this was a timed race, which was a little disappointing for the spectators. I asked Zoom why they didn't race together and he said it was because last year they had a few broken arms and legs … justified I thought.

I had no idea who had won, however after the racing had finished it seemed everyone headed home and we did too. As we had walked down a hill to get here we had to walk up said hill to get back; the walk seemed a hell of a lot further than coming, however we did have to dodge scooters and cars that were also bidding for road space. We eventually made it back to our transport and soon we where back at our hostel.

It was now 2:30pm and so I headed inside to start on the jobs I had intended on doing this morning. I decided that it was easier to look at my trip from the 19^th February backwards:

• Saturday 19^th February – arrive for Voluntary work, Phnom Penh

• Monday 14^th February – arrive Phnom Penh for five nights to have a look around and revise my English notes

• Wednesday 9^th February – arrive by plane (need to check flights) from Laos to Siem Reap to have a look around Ankor Wat for five nights

• Tuesday 8^th February – get to Pakxe to take flight tomorrow.

• Friday 4^th February – Arrive Vientiane for four nights

• Tuesday 1^st February – Arrive Vang Viang for three nights (it's supposed to be beautiful however it's also supposed to be full of tourists getting drunk, hence why I don't want to stay long … oh and it's close to 'the plain of Jars' which I want to visit)

• Wednesday 26^th January – Arrive Louang Phabang for six nights

• Monday 24^th January – Arrive from Chang-Rai to take the two-day slow boat to Louang Phabang

As you can see there are still two weeks between where the above schedule starts and the present day meaning that I have bags of time to leisurely look around the north part of Thailand and, if I enter Laos early, to be a little more flexible … I liked that and so I immediately booked another night here in Chang-Mai.

Next I went back onto Facebook to see if Anna or Matt and Rachael had messaged me back. Anna had told me that she had left Chang-Mai today to go to Pai (what an effect I have on women)and that, if I got her message before 12:30 (which I didn't), I could join her on the bus. I messaged her back and said for her to let me know where she is staying in Pai and that I might go to Pai to meet up with her. No message from Matt and Rachael but hopefully tonight I'll get an answer.

I then looked at how much the flight might cost from Pakxe to Siem Reap and was shocked to see that it might cost $180.00 USD … it might be that I go overland, and fight with the Cambodian border guards, after all for that price. The rest of the evening was spent eating and watching films before having an early night.

So here I am, one set of friends in Chang-Rai another in Pai. I'm in the same situation that I was twenty-four hours ago, I still don't know where to go but tomorrow I will have made a decision … promise.

Toodle Pip

Cooking

Friday 7^th January 2011

MP3 track of the day: Mr Brightside - The Killers

Weather: Hot, but I didn't really feel it as I was inside most of the day.

Today cooking; I have to admit that when planning my round-the-world tour cooking thai dishes wasn't something I thought I would be paying to learn. However now that I am here I was quite looking forward to it, even though I may have paid too much. At 9:15am a gentleman came to my hostel to pick me up; he was a youngish guy who was actually one of the cooking teachers, though I didn't know that at the time.

We drove around Chang-Mai for a little while, picking up two other people, before making it to where my cooking lesson would commence. 'Thai Orchid Cookery School' was the name and once there I joined a group of eleven tourists which consisted of three British, two Americans and six Dutch people. We where shown into a room where we were given a drink and a list of sixteen thai dishes put into four groups:

• Soup

• Appetizer

• Curry

• Main dish

For me the choices where simple, for a soup I went for a traditional prawn soup. For the appetizer I went for spring rolls … as I love spring rolls. I chose the traditional green curry for my … err curry and then a 'pad-thai' for my main dish as that's one of my favorite thai dishes.

I started off with the spring rolls; the group split into smaller groups each concentrating on their chosen appetizer. I went into this smaller room with a large mirror, angled at forty-five degrees, on the roof so that all could see what was happening on the cooking table. It didn't seem too taxing and after the teacher (who was the guy who gave me a lift this morning) had done a demonstration we where given out our ingredients, escorted to where the cooking tables where, and off we went. First off all I had to chop up my vegetables and fry them in a wok … which didn't take long at all. After separating my fried vegetables into two even piles I was given two pieces of rice paper. I put the vegetables ontop of the rice paper and then folder then into 'spring roll' packages sealing it with beaten egg yoke ... All was going well so far. Next the teacher fired up the deep fryer where I placed my spring rolls to cook, occasionally turning them, which again happened surprisingly quickly. After fifteen seconds I took them out of the fryer and over to the table where we all congregated to eat our 'fruits of our labor'. 'Not bad' is how I would describe them, not bad at all … sure I've had better spring rolls but for my first attempted they were edible, tasty and didn't kill me … 10/10 in my book.

Next up was the soup; this time we were all put into one big group and all headed to the room with the big mirror. All three soups, which I chose one from, followed the same method and so the lady teacher (who happened to be the guys sister) went through all of the soups one-by-one allowing us to taste them once she had cooked them. Again it didn't seem too taxing and so, just like before, I got my ingredients and headed outside to my cooking area. Once all the vegetables where chopped up the cooking time within a pan of 'prawn stock' was incredibly quick with the vegetables taking a minute to cook and the prawns (which were all ready cut for me) taking a further ten seconds.

Just as before we brought our food to a dining table and ate the contents; the soup was really good and tasted just like the food that I've been purchasing for meals. Before I could create my next two master pieces we all got into their people carrier and took a short drive into town. Our destination was a fruit and vegetable market which I had walked past the previous day. The lady teacher took us around and showed us all the produce that needed to be bought for thai cooking; you could really tell that she enjoyed her job but I was still shocked when she broke produce to show us the inside colour, and smells, of certain items (they have these black eggs, which she picked one up and broke so that we could have a look inside … It wasn't pretty) without paying for them. I reckon she does this tour everyday so the locals are used to it, besides she purchases all of her food from here.

We spent around twenty minutes looking at all the stalls and talking about all the different ingredients that could be used in Thai cooking. Once this had been done we headed back to the cooking school and, before getting on with the next dish, had a glass of cool water as it was really hot in the market. Next up was the curry; the dish I had been looking forward to the most as for me it's the dish that represents Thailand the most. Yet again we were all sat in the room with the big mirror and yet again the lady was our teacher. In front of her were three pots of 'curry paste'; she explained that each paste had twelve individual ingredients and took over an hour to prepare and so it wasn't feasible for us, within this short time, to make our own. Three curries where on offer, the green, the red and the yellow curry; again each followed the same principles with subtle differences in ingredients and method. Again she started off with the easiest curry, which was the yellow curry followed by the green and red. We all got to taste what she had prepared … which was a great tasting sensation.

Once back at the cooking table I went to work on my green curry, cutting up the vegetables ready to put into the wok when the green curry paste was nice and warm. Once the paste was warm coconut milk was added and allowed to bubble for a short while before the vegetables, and then the meat, were added. All looked good however I couldn't eat this meal just yet as the plan was to make the pad-thai dish before eating the whole lot.

Once more we where split into smaller groups but this time the room with the mirror was given to another group and I remained where my cooking station was. The lady teacher, who by now I was liking a lot as she was a really nice and a very enthusiastic person, showed us how to make pad-thai and she showed me how to make it without egg. All went well and soon I was sat down with my green curry to my right, my pad-thai plus rice to my left and a plate in front of me with a glass of cold water … heaven. As I was hungry I ate pretty quickly which then signaled the end of my half-day course, whereas my other class mates would remain for another two courses.

I paid my 750 baht (£15.00) and said thank you very much for a great day. They presented me with a cookery book (which is great and I must get it back home) and asked if I wanted a lift back to my hostel, which I declined as I quite fancied the walk. Once out of the cooking school I thought about what I had just done; the class was quite expensive but I loved every minute of it. Thai cooking, once the food is prepared for cooking and the paste is made, its so quick to cook in a wok that you have to be alert all the time or else your 'pad-thai' will become 'burnt-thai'. Maybe it was because I was cooking small portions … I don't think so. One of my objectives, once home, is to learn how to cook properly and so this course will certainly help me move me in the right direction.

I soon arrived at my hostel, ice cream in hand. I sat down with a large group of travelers leaving today; they where watching 'Lock, Stock and two smoking barrels', one of my favorite films of all time. I watched the end of the film, they left, and then the remaining travelers here put on more films though-out the evening. At one point in our 'film marathon' we had to get some food and so the group of us headed out to a local street food place called 'Organic'. Thirty baht (60p), and a lovely red curry later, we where heading back to our own private cinema when one of the guys in our group explained that there was a great cake shop just across the road. CAKE! I made a straight path through scooters, trucks and old ladies to the door off this cake shop. Being greeted by a glass door, a white surgical floor and designer furniture could only mean one thing … expensive. Looking at the cakes in the glass cases they were all expensive for Thailand with none being below sixty baht (double the cost of my main meal). However looking at all those beautiful cakes within the glass cabinets, all the different colours, sizes and shapes I new I wanted one. I had been told that the 'banana mousse' was great but looking in the cabinets the strawberry slice, mango cheesecake, white cream cake … in fact all of them looked great. In the end I did go for the banana mousse which was brought over to me, by a lady-boy (can't have everything you know), on a small white plate. I picked up the spoon and took a small spoonful of the yellow and golden dessert … It was heaven; sixty baht or not I decided that I would be back tomorrow for another cake as I polished this one off. We then returned to watch 'Sahara' before heading to sleep.

Today has been a very good day … a very mouth watering day of different tastes (my sister would have liked today). I still don't know what my next move will be for certain but I have a fair idea.

Toodle Pip!

Not much happening today

Thursday 6^th January 2011

MP3 track of the day:: The importance of being Idyle – Oasis

Weather: Hot, very hot

I leisurely got up and leisurely got ready for the day. Having breakfast at 11am, which was a new experience for me, I got ready ... but I wasn't really that bothered that the day was slipping away. Actually I was so not bothered that when someone put on a film at 11:30am I decided to watch that until 1pm.

'21' was the name of the film and it was about a guy who had just turned twenty-one playing blackjack for a team in Vegas. It was a really good film with a great twist at the end.

At 1pm I eventually left the hostel; the sun was out and, when standing directly in the sun, it was very hot … luckily Chang-Mai has a lot of shade. I stopped by KFC, again, for a quick lunch before heading into town. Once at the western edge of town I didn't actually go in, instead I skirted around to the northern edge to head towards the bus station. I had just booked another two nights at 'Spicythai' but I still wanted to know how much, and how often, a bus ran to Chang-Rai, my next stop. It was great to eventually find a town, within South East Asia, with a bus station close enough to walk to, this was certainly an improvement … until I found out that said bus station was local services only and the bus station I wanted was, yet again, miles out of town.

Giving up on the whole 'visiting the bus station idea' I went into town and visited areas that I hadn't seen before, including a few new temples. Whilst walking around I found a few travel agencies and got a quote for 250 baht to Chang-Rai … which didn't seem too bad.

It was so hot, and I had been walking around for a couple of hours, that I was pretty tired and so, without achieving a lot today, I headed back to the hostel. There was a big group of travelers sitting outside of the hostel and so I joined them for a chat before we all headed in to watch another film.

At 8:00pm I headed out for a quick bite to eat at a street-food place called 'Orchid'; the food was great and at thirty baht per meal (60p) it's a steal. Most of the other guys within the hostel decided to head out to see some Thai boxing whereas I, who hates boxing and thinks that if fox hunting was banned for cruelty then why the hell is boxing continuing (a sport … I don't think so), went back to the hostel to watch yet another film ('Salt' … good film but strange ending) before heading to sleep.

So today I haven't done much, and but for tomorrow I've booked myself onto a Thai cooking course … being totally rubbish at cooking it should be fun and interesting. The main reason I haven't done much is that I'm pretty tired at the moment; Bangkok was exhausting, and so the change in pace is actually a great relief. As you may have noticed the last few places I have visited I've spent rather a long time in each of them, which has allowed me to experience not only the 'tourist' things to do but a bit about life in each particular place … I like it. Another new experience I'm currently gaining, whilst doing less moving around, is spending time with other travelers ... just watching a film and having a drink. All-in-all I wouldn't say that the type of traveling I find myself doing at the moment (i.e. staying somewhere until I get bored instead of giving myself a three / four day time limit) is any better than my time rushing around in Japan or New Zealand, however I wouldn't say that it's any worse ... it's just different.

As this blog isn't very long, or exciting, I thought I might end it with a little bit of an overview of me traveling in Thailand and South East Asia. I'm still struggling with the area, mornings are the hardest where I really can't be bothered to do anything. When I move on I always wish that I was moving onto Kyoto or Franz Joseph, I don't know why because as I look back at my time within South East Asia so far I have done some brilliant things that I couldn't have done anywhere else in the world. The only explanation I can come up with, of how I feel, is that I could be experiencing a side affect of my Malaria tables. Mild depression is a side affect. Now I wouldn't say that I'm depressed, I think a state of 'I can't be bothered' is more fitting for how I'm currently feeling. Hopefully this might end soon but who knows. Money wise thinks are okay, I spent a lot over Christmas and all these 'tours' are hurting the old wallet; however I didn't spend too much in Bangkok and neither here in Chang-Mai. I think my current daily budget is some where near £15.00 per day, which is over the original budget set however, as it turns out, my original budget of £10.00 per day was unrealistic.

Toodle Pip!

Chang-Mai

Wednesday 5^th January 2011

MP3 track of the day: If I ruled the world - Jamie Cullum

Weather: much cooler than Bangkok yet still hot enough for shorts and a t-shirt

Waking up at 9am I burst into action. First of all, as a lot of people where leaving early for a two a day trek today, I delayed showering until later and went straight for breakfast. Breakfast was followed by getting my laundry done; as the washing machine was doing 'it's thing' I went on the internet and completed my 'e-jobs' just in time for the washing machine to stop … err washing. I hung my clothes up and finally got to use the bathroom, it was a nice feeling when hot water ran out of the shower. All of the above sounded like it happened with military precision however it still took until 1pm to complete my objectives. I finally ventured into town.

Following the advice of 'Noom', the manager of the hostel, I went into the local village, turned left and then turned right at the traffic lights. Noom also mentioned that there was a shopping center on the way to town with a huge food court; he recommended going for lunch here.

I was glad to see that to walk into town wasn't out of the realms of possibility, it only took me twenty minutes to reach the shopping center and town was only a further ten minutes. Once I had arrived at the shopping center I went down to floor 'G', which is what Noom said to do. Here I was supposed to find loads of places to eat however in reality I found very few. I did wonder if I had entered the wrong shopping center however I was way to hungry to shop around. I ate at KFC. Before leaving the shopping center I noticed that there was a cinema which could come in handy.

I finally made it into the center of Chang-Mai; the center is conveniently quite small due to an ancient moat creating a perimeter around the area. I walked and walked having a look around 'Wat Phra Singh' and 'Wat Chedi Luang' on the way. Both temples where pretty interesting with Luang being my favorite out of the two. Whilst walking around Chang-Mai I bumped into Josephine and Lea; we chatted for a little while and it appears that there was a third girl with them who I hadn't seen on the train due to her feeling very ill indeed. She was still in bed and Josephine and Lea had left her to have a look around town and also buy her some fruit.

None of us were sure about what to do tonight but a film sounded good. I mentioned that I knew where a cinema was and so we arranged to meet up later using Facebook to define the actual time; we parted with the intention of meeting up later.

I headed back to the guesthouse to pick up my lovely clean, and dry, laundry and to check Facebook. I had received a message from Josephine stating that her friend was too ill to go to the cinema and instead they where going to head to a local night market and asked if I wanted to join them. I wasn't really interested in going to a night market located at the other end of town, I politely declined and headed out somewhere locally for something to eat.

Once back at the guesthouse it was around 9pm. I put a film on a watched that before going to sleep. I do like Chang-Mai, it's a chilled city which has just about everything you want close by. I like the guesthouse here and so I may stay longer, though apart from Thai cooking I don't think that there is much I want to do around here … taking it easy might be high on my agenda for here.

Toodle Pip!

Bugs

Tuesday 4th January 2011

MP3 track of the day: Say hello, wave goodbye - David Grey

Weather: Sunny in Bangkok

I didn't want to get up at the time my alarm clock instructed me to. I contemplated missing my train so that another day with Mike, Stef and Barbara-Anne could commence. I got ready and left the guesthouse. Due to it not being very hot I decided to once more become a proper backpacker and walk the twenty minutes or so, with my backpack, to the train station instead of getting another taxi … I had the time.

I Arrived at the station a little tired and hot; I sat down, looked at the departure screen, and was relieved that currently my train didn't have any delays. The waiting area within the station was huge and quite dirty. A massive concourse with two rows of orange chairs either side of an isle, with shops encircling the area, wasn't massively exciting but it was my surroundings. To make matters worse some old woman stood in the isle, near to where I was sitting, and just started talking randomly in Thai. She went on and on about something or other and that would have been fine if she didn't come and sit on the row infront of me and continue yapping … total nutter.

I awaited until twenty minutes until my train was due to leave before heading to the platform. The train before mine was still occupying the area and so I had to wait for it to leave. Once it had departed my train arrived and I found my air-conditioned carriage pretty easily. Once on-board I found my seat, again no issue there; I sat down, had breakfast and noticed a dead bug on the seat next to me. The bug soon got removed from it's location but it did make me a little nervous of my surroundings. Looking around the carriage the place had seen better days; the seats where dirty and broken, the curtains a very black shade of blue and all-in-all not a pleasant environment. I dreaded to think what the toilet was like and all of a sudden Romanian trains didn't seem too bad.

I sat down waiting for the train to leave the station, which it did so, at 8:50am (the Japanese wouldn't put up with this). As we left the station I looked out of the window and it wasn't long until I saw something scurry along the windowsill and into a crack within the inner carriage wall … this is going to be a very long journey I thought.

The view out of the window was pretty good; as soon as we headed out of the urban area we arrived in Thailand's agricultural heartland. The inner Thailand plains is a vast area of land with endless rice fields, which were extremely healthy looking. Viewing the bright patch-work squares of green, that went far into the distance, you could be mistaken for thinking you where in a country a lot more advanced than Thailand. It was at this point that the seat next to me became occupied by another traveler; a Danish girl (what a shocker), called Lea from the row behind, asked if she could sit next to me due to her chair behind being broken … no problem, I said. She said down and we chatted for quite a while about traveling and where we were going etc.

After an hour or so an awkward silence fell upon us as we both tried extremely hard to find something else to talk about. Admitting defeat she went back to her music and I stared out of the window, still healthy rice crops dominated the view. It was now time for lunch; I was surprised to find that, just like on an airplane, meals where included within my 611 baht (twelve pounds) ticket. The stewardess, not with the same etiquette as the Japanese rail personnel, handed out a meal to all the guests within my carriage. I opened my shelf, from the back of the seat in front of me, to find it broken. I therefore received my meal and placed it on my lap. looking at the microwavable meal infront of me I had seen better; opening the lid a huge waft of steam rolled into my face before I could see what lay before me … rice and chicken, standard stuff. The food smelt okay so I started to eat the contents however I didn't even come close to finishing it before I decided that I had eaten enough.

With no pudding I stared out of the window again; the terrain was starting to change as we approached the northern mountains of Thailand. Rice fields had given way to long grasses, trees and sheer rock faces. The terrain was very beautiful and I stared out of the window looking at what lay before me. I was concentrating on what was happening outside so much that I didn't even notice Lea switch seats with one of her friends; I now had a new Danish girl to talk to, Josefine. The conversation went along the same lines as the one with Lea however, for some reason, with Josefine we were able to hold the conversation for much longer.

The sun was setting below the mountains which gave the views a stunning fiery orange colour; Josefine went to see if she could get a photo from the front of the carriage where as I just stared out of the window … it was very beautiful. It was now 6pm and with the sun set, and still three hours left to go, Josfine and I decided to play cards where she taught me a game called 'casino' and I taught her 'Yaneeve'. The time just flew and soon the train pulled into Chang Mai, thirty minutes late.

The four of us had already decided to take a taxi; the girls wanted to be dropped off within town where as I needed to go through town and out the other side. As we walked we attracted other backpackers like a magnet and soon eight of us approached a taxi driver with our requirements; seven of them wanted to be dropped off in town and then I would carry on alone to 'Spicythai backpackers'. The guy wanted 300 baht however we got it down to 200. Our bags where put on the roof of his vehicle, which was a little disconcerting. The ride was okay however due to my height I couldn't really see where we where going due to the windows being so low.

It wasn't long before the driver stopped in town, however the girls weren't happy with the location and asked him to carry on. After another ten minutes the driver stopped and the girls, now happy, got off; they all passed me the money for their ride and I would pay the driver at the end. I waved them goodbye as I headed off. Counting the money the girls had actually paid for the entire journey giving me a free ride.

There was one local to drop off before the driver made his way to my accommodation. It took a very long time to get to my place which became a little disconcerting when I thought about how I would venture back into town tomorrow. Eventually the driver dropped me off, I gave him the 200 baht that we had agreed however he now wanted 250 baht. No translation was needed for my response and he soon 'jogged on' without getting the additional fifty baht.

As soon as I arrived at 'Spicythai backpackers' I was immediately chatting to people. Outside the guesthouse there where two girls on hammocks who directed me into the building. I met a Scottish guy on reception and he gave me a quick tour of the place. The guesthouse is basically a converted house and the 'vibe' emerging from the place reminded me off the hostel in Juneau, Alaska … we where all here together.

By the time I had dropped my stuff of in my room I had spoken to around ten different backpackers and all was great. I headed back to the common room where I found 'The Beach' playing on the TV, free sweets in a large glass jar and loads of people chatting … far from town or not, I'm going to like it here.

I couldn't believe that it was midnight before I went to bed; on the bed below me was a nice Aussie girl who asked me a million questions about everything under the sun. However she had been on a longer journey that I and so it didn't take long for us all to drift off to sleep.

Tomorrow laundry followed by town … though need to work out how to get there.

Toodle Pip!