SE Asia XIIV - Expectations

Bangkok is the number one toursit destination in Thailand. Chang Mai is the number two tourist destination in Thailand. When travelling in South East Asia popular opinion (or at least the people I've come across) is that Bangkok is a pollution infested, traffic gridlocked, dirty city. Whereas Chang Mai is a cultural wonder. Bangkok surpassed my expectations and I spent 10 days there. CHang Mai on the other hand fell far short and I only stayed a few days.

Bangkok is a city of two halves. The old city with the narrow srtreets, klongs (canals) and old buildings focused along the Chao Praya River. The other half of Bangkok is the new city starting from Siam Square and heading out along Sukhumvit Road. New Bangkok is just a bit plain, it isn't a bad modern city it is just a little bland. I had Sircumvit recommended as a good area to stay. I only think this is the case if you are desperate to shop or visit dodgy ping pong shows (not table tennis). It is far more convenient to stay within the western ghetto of Khao San Road and enjoy the old city close by. South of Khao San Road is the Grand Palace with the sacred (and ridiculously busy) Wat Phra Kaew the home of the Emerald Buddha. Just south of the palace is Wat Pho with the huge Reclining Buddha. Across the river from here is Wat Arun an amazing sight easily visted on a cross river ferry. There is a great little cafe to the left of the boat landing on the opposite side of the river to Wat Arun. There are lots of great temples all around Bangkok and the further from Khao San Road you go the less likely that you will encounter any other westerners there. Further south of the palace is China town a crazily busy area packed with street markets whre you can buy anything from knives and swords to SWAT body armour. Nancy Chandler's Map of Bangkok is useful to have and gives you tips on where to find some of the least disturbed parts of Bangkok. A bus map is also very handy. Buses are very cheap (under 15B a journey) and it is easy to get from Banglampoo (Khao San Road). to Siam Square, getting back is another matter and that is where the map comes in handy.

I mentioned in a previous blog that the Khao San Road area is a Farang ghetto. I stayed on Soi Rambrutti, an extension of the ghetto, at My House. There is a lot of accommodation in the area and it suits a varioety of budgets. My House is at the cheaper end, 200B for a single (a rarity in Thailand) fan ensuite cold shower and a window. It was clean even though the walls were decorated with curious stains. The staff were not particularly friendly and only entered into conversation with me about my royal t-shirts.

Bangkok is renowned for appalling traffic and it lives up to its reputation. I sat on buses that didn't moved for half an hour. The sky train is a good way to bypass the traffic but only if you are travelling along a narrow corridor. The river boats are a good way to get around the old city, especially if you are staying Banglampoo (Khao San Road). There are big ferries that run up and down the river and cross river ferries (which are just small barges). The ferries are often very crowded. The Chao Praya River is very busy with ferries, longboats, barges and other vessels. A journey along it is rarely smooth.

The fastest way to get from Banglampoo to Siam Square is on a river bus along the Klong. Bangkok was known as the Venice of the East and while most of the Kloings have been concreted over some still exist. the boat stop is under the bridge next to CentralWorld in Siam Square. The journey to Banglampoo (the stop is next to the Octagon Fort) costs 12B. It has a James Bond quality to it. The conductors walk up and down the edge of the boat collecting fares while the boat is speeding down the narrow canal. They wear a crash helmet for protection when passing under the numerous low bridges. An unusual safety feature by Thai standards and an indication that alot of conductors must have hit their heads. For a particularly low bridge the whole roof folds down, a modification worthy of Q. I thought it was hilarious. For more info click here.

With all the reports I had heard about Chang Mai I envisaged a place that was small and old, full of temples, with friendly, helpful people and not blighted by tourism. It does tick most of these boxs but tourism has its tentacles all over the city. The trouble is that Chang Mai is much smaller than Bangkok so it is much more difficult to absorb the shear number of tourists. There are markets but I found these markets to be orientated to the tourist and not as interesting as their Bangkok equivalents. The locals are friendly and maybe a lot friendlier if you have only encountered Thais trying to sell you something on a beach or on Khao San Road. However, the Thais in the towns between Bangkok and Chang Mai are much friendlier because they don't come across as many farang.

One of the easiest trips out of Chang Mai is to Wat Doi Suthep. It is a very important temple to the Thais on a hill overlooking Chang Mai. The views are meant to be great, unfortunately I was confonted with a thick haze. The temple is heavily visited by tourists and locals, and is surrounded by tourist tat stalls. If you want to walk it is an hour to the base of the hill and then in a sangthaew 40B from the base to the temple. They are queued up and when there are enough passengers they drive up. The way down isn't so organised. There is a flat fee of 30B the trouble is finding a sangthaew full enough to go down. The easiest way to find one is to walk down the hill to the first big bend and wait for a sangthaew to drive passed, they will pull over and you can jump in.

Chang Mai is busy with tourists of all types. I found cheap accommodation to be more diffiult to come by then anywhere else in Thailand. I wandered the sidestreets of the eastern moat and ended up in Moonlight Guesthouse. It was an uninspiring place, 200B for a room with a bunk bed, and a shared bathroom. I moved the next day to Mataka. I had a double bed with cold ensuite shower for 180B. The rooms appear to have been recently refurbished.

Lampang is just south of Chang Mai and can be visited on a day trip. I stopped there on my way north from Sukhothai. Even though it is close to Chang Mai it is a sleepy place with few tourists. I stayed at Riverside Guesthouse, 250B for a triple room with shared bathroom. I walked from the bus station to the centre of town, which is alot further than you might think, a sanghtaew is a better idea. Lampang has a number of temples. The most beautiful temple I have visited in Thailand lies just south of Lampang. Wat Phra That Lampang Luang is spectacular. There is a really distinctive atmosphere as you walk into the coutryard. It feels like you could be on a top of a remote Tibetan mountain (probably diminished by the coach loads of tourists who arrive later in the day). I was quoted 500B for a round trip from Lampang, I found another sangthaew who was heading south and dropped me at the temple for 60B. I persuaded him to hang around and he took me back to Lampang for 100B.

On the main road between Lampang and Chang Mai is the National Elephant Institute. It is possible to get any Chang Mai bound bus to drop you off here. They have two Elephant shows a day here (aswell as Elephant rides and Mahout courses). I arrived for the afternoon show. The show was thoroughly entertaining. Over 20 elephants are used and they seem to enjoy themselves, at the very least no force is used on them to perform the activities (apart from prodding). The show begins with the Elephants bathing. They then march into the arena and line up. One rings the bell to start the show while another raises a flag. The show involves displays of log dragging, lifting and pushing. They play some musical instruments and paint pictures. One picture was an impressionistic piece, the other was a still life of flowers. The show closes with an opportunity to feed them sugar cane and bananas.