Return to Chiang Mai, Thailand

PART ONE:

After doing a full circle of South East Asia, it was time to return to Chiang Mai. For each of us, it was like returning home! The bus journey wasn't the most comfortable. When it comes to long journeys, I really miss the sleeper buses. Luckily enough, it was only a very short ride to the border which was hassle free, thank God! From there we were back in our VIP bus, facing a lovely sixteen hour journey. It may have been a VIP bus, but we didn't feel like VIP's! Lets put it this way, there was no Champagne and no Caviar, but it did get us to our destination, even if it did keep on breaking down! We even managed to make a new friend, Angelina Liu from China. It was very interesting listening to her tails of China. She gave us great advice on what to checkout in China and even offered to show us around her town if we ever do manage to make it over! After a night of tossing and turning, with not much sleep and no bed, we arrived at our destination ahead of time! God is good! It was straight in a taxi to our favourite hostel, 'SOHOstel.' The place as always treated us right, and some of our best memories began there! Our friend, Angelina even came with us. She even managed to get a bed in our dorm, which was handy! All three of us really missed the convenience of Thailand! Seeing '7 Eleven' and 'Boots' again was Like being in Heaven. I don't think any of us thought we would miss them that much. Outside of Thailand, it's so hard to buy basic things such as shower gel! It was really nice to be back in Chiang Mai, which is such a lovely town. It was only right that we spent our first night at 'The UN Irish Bar.' The food here is incredible. It's so hearty! The next day, we all went exploring through the local shopping centre. The lovely Kathrin managed to buy a yoga mat called Jason. We even managed to kit Kathrin out in some lovely (ok, horrible) clothes and shoes. I even managed to photograph the stylish fashion show. It was good fun and it gave us all a good laugh! After a few hours kip, all three of us, with our bellies practically empty, walked down to 'Taste From Heaven' where the food really is like something from heaven. It's all vegetarian food, but with food that tasty, who needs meat? We got talking to an American girl called Kelsey who told us that she had a rented scooter stolen in Pai. The owner wanted her to pay for a new bike. The poor girl, I hope it worked out in the end for her. That evening, after enjoying some nice food, we heard a crash. None of us are sure what exactly happened, all we know is that there was a westerner guy on a bike who managed to hurt a girl who walked out in front of him. It really wasn't his fault. Before he knew it, this police officer, only a kid came to the scene and took the keys. The guys only objection was that the keys to his hotel were on the same bunch of keys. The officer was getting really annoyed and kept going for his gun. Before we knew it, the army came up, as there the ones running the country at the moment. Unfortunately, what the army says, goes. Eventually, the guy was taken away. He had no chance of getting away with it. He either was locked up or had to pay a large fine. So unjust considering it wasn't his fault! On a more happier note, with our return to Chiang Mai, it was only right that we check out some of our old haunts, and at the top of the list is 'Zoë's in Yellow.' While really enjoying ourselves with Angelina, the music stopped and the shutters came down. It was only 12.20. Oh well, from there we followed the crowd to another venue, 'Spicys' which is suppose to be the after party place, but we were only there twenty minutes and the place closed! At that point, the only call we could hear, was for our beds! The following day, we didn't do very much. We did manage to check out this large temple which consisted of a couple of other temples. They were all very impressive, but just a bit too touristy! Later on, back at the hostel, our new roommate, Hitoshi showed us all how to do a handstand. Ok it was beside a wall! I was told that I definitely need more practice, of which I guess practice makes perfect! Overall, it was really nice being able to return to Chiang Mai, as it is one place that is closer to all our hearts than anywhere else!

PART TWO:

It's time to make the dreaded trip back to Chiang Mai for 'The Big Farewell!' The big adventure without our lovely Swiss friend is something myself and Jason don't want to think about! It will be like Switzerland but without The Alps. When we arrived back at SOHOstel, we were presently surprised that we were being put in room 502, the same room we were in at the start of our trip. The same room where our friendship with Kathrin blossomed! That wasn't the only surprise were got. When we got up to the room, who was there, only Alex and Rory from England. We met these guys while traveling in Cambodia and they have been popping up ever since! This time in Chiang Mai was very chilled as it is our third time here. Of course, the main reason we are here is to say farewell to our dear friend, Kathrin. It was only appropriate that we have a couple of good nights at Zoë's. One of the nights we went to a cabaret show with Charlie and Shaun. It definitely was a good laugh. Us men even got a free massage. The day before Kathrin was due to leave us was 'so sad!' We were all very emotional and I kept on making the poor Swiss girl cry with all the nice things I was saying to her! You see, I'm not all bad! The following day wasn't much better either. Eventually, when the red car came to pick her up, it was absolutely horrible having to say goodbye, as we have all grown so close to each other. Watching the car vanish before our eyes was horrific. We will see each other again. She will remain a huge part in both of our lives. Now we have somewhere nice to stay in Switzerland! Happy snappy days! You may have left us, but you don't get rid of us that easily! Wanting to get away from the hostel as it was too lonely without our friend, the two of us booked ourselves in to a nice guesthouse called 'My Home' which had lovely views of the Taipei Gate, which was really nice. The room was lovely and comfortable and had only been done up recently. As a nice gesture, Kathrin bought us a tour of Chiang Rai and 'The Golden Triangle.' It was a really nice day out for myself and Jason. Our guide was very friendly and told us interesting facts, such as how the king grew up in Switzerland. When his mother returned to Thailand, she found it very hard adjusting to the warm weather again, so the government built a castle for her on top of a mountain in Chiang Rai, where it was a lot cooler for her! Isn't that a nice thing to do! 'Such nice people!' One of the main attractions of the day was 'The White Temple' which is only about twenty years old. Their still doing work to it. It's very impressive and is definitely one of the more breathtaking temples we have seen and we have seen some really amazing ones. Sadly, an earthquake hit the area a few months ago. Luckily enough there was only minor damage to the temple which can easily be fixed. Before you can walk up the bridge to the temple, the ground is filled with demons who were refused entry to the temple. They even have some of their heads banging in the trees. To warn people that there is no smoking allowed in the area, they had this really cool thing with the hands of demons coming out holding onto a packet of cigarettes. It was really cool and it reminded me of poor old Jo Jo! Give up the cigs or your going to hell! Ha ha! It certainly was very impressive! They even had the nicest toilet I had ever been in. It was housed in this beautiful gold temple like building. The next major stop off the day was to the 'The Golden Triangle.' It's an area where you can see the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar with a river in the middle. China is a little bit further down. The area was famed years ago with having the best opium in the world, hence how it got it's name! Of course that practice is now illegal. There's a small island in the middle that used to be filled with people selling the stuff. The island doesn't belong to anyone and has no jurisdiction with no police or army running it! We stopped off at Laos where we enjoyed some whiskey with a cobra, turtle, tigers penis, and a gecko and ginseng. They were all very tasty. It was nice being back in Laos again, if only for a half an hour! During the day we also visited a tribal village. There were many different tribes there. Most of the tribal woman were selling things that they had made. For a lot of them, it's there only way of making money as they have no citizenship so there not allowed to work or leave their village. It's definitely a hard life for all of them. One young woman had her baby in a cradle behind her. Every so often she would pull on this long piece of string to rock the baby. It was a very long but enjoyable day with a lot of driving involved. We really enjoyed it! Thanks Kathrin! The following day, myself and Jason checked out the lovely 'Central Festival Mall' where we were able to get a nice roll and cheese and some lovely juicy apples. I even found an M&S where I picked up my favourite bar, a lovely 'Cappuccino Chocolate Bar.' It was really tasty. We both enjoyed our little goodies. From there we went to the cinema to see 'Dawn of The Planet of The Apes' in 4D. The movie was brilliant, but 4D made it even better. The two of us even got a little bit wet. When shots were fired, we could feel them in the back of our heads. It was really cool. The movie has a soft spot for the two of us as we went to see the first one on our first date together. How romantic! Three years later and we are still going strong! Of course, like every great place we visit, we must say goodbye. Unfortunately, three have become two. However, we have carved out a friendship with Kathrin that is stronger than no other! All three of us made a pact that within the next ten years, we will return for another New Year Festival! Watch this space...

By Andrew

#zoes #fashionshow #cinema #farewell