Southeast Asia: Northern Thailand

Chasing Pavement in Northern Thailand

 

 

Up above, Braden and Jake stop to take in the view. And for the first time  motorcycling  the rolling jungle hills of Northern Thailand, I'm behind the boys 😁😁😂  A bit more on that - I have ridden motorcycles with both these characters on numerous occasions and have always been impressed with their maturity on 2 wheels. Biking is fun - straight up - but you have to have that sense of when you can play - and when to just sit the bike and pay attention. These boys have that great maturity at a young age. Proud of  'em.





We bus traveled north to Chaing Mai straight out of busy, bustling Bangkok and luxuriated in this chill, lush, green and very rural space. It's a beautiful place universally agreed to by all we met particularly according to those in the cool hostel we found shortly after arriving. It's safe, peaceful and laid back in Chaing Mai with the Buddhist spirit alive and well - the food fresh and amazing - live music in the cafes and lots of people just hanging out. A nice chill vibe to be sure.

Morning found us heading for a trek into the jungle to see some elephants. We chose the environmentally friendly "no ride" option given our Canadian and general sensitivity to animal rights. Do we really need to ride an elephant to appreciate their unique beauty and right to share our space? I don't really think so...
The green space is not like Canada.. more bamboo and low leafy ground cover. I expected it to be flatter ... more rice fields but that's not it at all. It's rolling hills green and clean..




The Thailand jungle elephants are much smaller than their African cousins that I am now very familiar with.  These ones tended to have pretty good manners around people seeming more like big dogs or maybe horses. Certainly playful - you got that sense that you were interacting with them as they mill around trying to get you to feed them. They are a bit insistent.... one in particular would sneak up and kiss guests in a surprisingly affectionate and playful manner. Just look at those smiles... we must do what we can to protect these neglected and large ignored Carpathian-like captains of the jungle. Truly remarkable planet partners.

I'm not sure if swimming with the elephants or the ensuing all out mud fight was more fun but both activities were well enjoyed. The mud fight (or mostly elephant poo I suspect...whatever....) was unexpected as we thought we were just going to be watching... until the first elephant covered one of the other "watchers" with mud...it slowly built to an all out war elephants and people all playing and laughing together. Weird!! We shared the day with an Australian family who just could not get enough of adventure and fun. We later went to this cool waterfall with them and did a little cliff diving into the waterfall. That's Jake and Braden closest to the camera in the water. Jake diving with his waterproof GoPro .... what a great device that is.

 Ladyboys

What is with the fascination and proliferation of Lady Boys????  I raise the topic because there are so many in Bangkok and Thailand generally...well I suppose I can't be sure of that .... but the hint of an Adam's apple is the first thing you look for. As one of the boys remarked - when it's that close... what's the difference... unless off course it goes much farther than just an appreciative glance. It then makes quite a difference indeed!!! A she or a he below.... tough call.... 😌 The boys would like to think it was a girl....I'm not convinced....

I think I can speak for all 3 of the Chang brothers when I say that while we chatted with some great people and enjoyed the nightlife - it was really the natural environment that we enjoyed the most in Northern Thailand. We took a pass on the White Temple of Chaing Rai which was a 3 hour trip to and then from. Next time maybe.


Jake poses near what I think is Hibiscus blossoms drying and protected from the direct sun.

My guess is that they are for tea...  We took the motorcycles to Pai which is a few hours from Chaing Mai. The road has 732 up and down corners in 150 km. Oh Yeah!!!!!!!. That's a motorcycles guys dream come true. Given a choice between a dinner date with Beyonce or this... most of the bike guys I know would take the twisties  and any decent 2 wheel machine any day!
We stopped a number of times and compared shit-eating grins... very fun day and again a nice balance between safety and fun.
We drove into this cool canyon pictured on the right and took in the the vibe and natural beauty.









Thanks for reading Layno!!!!!

Surprisingly -  I have gone over 10,000 readers now. Man...I am very grateful that so many would take an interest. Thank you.