Chiang Mai - Songkran Day 2

Started the day at 0730 today. Today, I will be going for a 1 day tour to Doi Inthanon, the highest peak of Thailand.

Had ABF today at the hotel. Overheard some British saying that he is also going for a tour today, so I decided to sit down to have breakfast with he and his friends – Danny, George and Ken. They were going for the 1 day Trekking tour, which I signed up for it during the 3^rd day. They paid only 700 each, at a shop at the night bazaar, with free transport back to and fro the hotel. Gosh.. I had paid 1000+350 for 1 way transport. =( oh well.. when you are traveling alone there is little bargaining power. These guys been to Cambodia and Laos and have seen the Angkor Palace. Perhaps my next destination?

Then it came to a discussion about what do we want for a holiday? IMHO, I split the time that I spent overseas during my free time into the following categories. Holidaying, touring and exploration.

Holidaying will be a relaxing trip. More like a beach setting or a luxury hotel where I will laze by the beach or have a spa, massage etc. Basically it will be a laid back trip with no fuss and simply idling the time away.

Touring, that will be like going for tour packages thingy. “Touch and go”. You might get to see a lot, but its basically you will just visit a certain place, know a little and then u carry on to another location. I hate these type of package, where there are so much restriction and so little free time.

Exploration. My favourite type of holiday. That will include doing a lot of homework before visiting a place. You read up about the location, the people, the places, and decide on where to go and what to do. Read “Lonely Planet”. Get some maps and start walking.

Anyways, my transport came and he took me to a petrol kiosk to rendezvous with the rest. There were 2 New Zealanders (Jenny and Henry, who sat beside me in the van), 2 Israelis, 2 Australians, 1 French with a Thai girl and the Thai Guide, Lee. Everyone came as a couple, except me. Nevertheless, the group is very inviting and I had the most interesting chat with Henry. Perhaps I will visit them at Mapir next time. =)

The ride took about 2 hours, which is pretty boring, except for the occasional attacks from the road sides. Lee gave us a history lesson on Doi Inthanon, which I had mentioned earlier on. Read the website for more info. I guess history can only be interesting if you are going to visit the place.

The 1^st stop is Mae Ya Waterfall. There was nothing much there and the tour guide refused to let us go into the water.

New friends from NZ.

A Sutpa, different from a pagoda. This is for people like warriors, while pagodas are for people with royal or holy status.

Twin Pagodas.

The second stop is the Twin Pagoda. This place was initially built for King Rama 9 and his queen. But as he felt that it is best shared with the people of Thailand, so he opened it up for everyone. Imagine in China, the emperor will only think about his own pleasure.

Inside each pagoda is a statue o the Buddha. 1 pagoda is taller than the other by 5 meters as the King is older than the queen by 5 years. The place is very well maintained and with many flowers, although we were told that the best time to come is during winter (Nov to Feb).

The highest point is at 2585.33 meters above sea level. hmm how high is Bukit Timah hill??

My dinner... Ka Pou + Kai Daeow + Pepsi.

They are everywhere!?!??! I got wet again. But luckily i was more prepared this time =)

The day ended with a visit to another waterfall and a hill tribe village. Nothing much and its quite boring.

Lee dropped me off at city square where I started exploring on my own. Darn, it was 5pm and the water action is still going on. No matter how I try to siam, there’s always another water hose just around the corner. I walked into the street where I went yesterday, where all the action took place. It was still the same sight with water splashing everywhere. I wonder how come they don’t get bored of it.

Just outside the city gate is another night bazaar with temporary shops set up. It’s the usual night bazaar stuffs so I basically just ate some foods and went back to the hotel. At least this time the tuk tuk driver followed my instructions and took the road along the Mae Ping, therefore we din get lost. =)

Oh did I mentioned that during lunch, no body believed that I am 26?? They all thought I was like 19!! HAHAHA… they said I had a child-like look. Hmm.. not surprising coz I rem bumping into a primary school friend in NTu whom I hadn’t seen in 14 years and she could recognize me. Well rem my tips for staying young.. they helps, of coz rem to use some anti-aging cream, blah blah…