Chiang Mai Thailand - Est. 1296 A.D.

Foods Glorious Foods!

The nearly one-month long Thailand experience comes in two great flavors: Part One regards the Ancient City of Chiang Mai, while Part Two tells the tale of an epic journey through the Northern Hills of Thailand.

Part One: Plain Vanilla
Chiang Mai.  Since 1296 A.D.  This ancient city is a fantastic visit if you can get yourself out to this neck of the woods.  Surrounded by a moat and a delapidating wall, it is recognized around the world for its temples, monks, and foods.  Not too big and not too small but just right to keep you busy but not overwhelmed.  There are too many places to eat and hordes of things to buy.  Chiang Mai hosts a Night Market every evening with 'The Saturday Night Market' being the largest and grandest of them all if you're willing to exclude 'The Sunday Night Market' which is just plainly obscene in scale and candor. Winter weather in Chiang Mai is unbeatable and the food scene, well, my tank was always full because we're not talking about regular 'ol plain-jane ordinary foods here... we're talking Thai foods, and authentic Thai foods are arguably the best in Asia.  Chiang Mai remains one of my favorite destinations.

Part Two: Rocky Road
I met a Shaman in Chiang Mai.  He taught me how to "cleanse my karma" and to "see my soul."  He asked me if I knew how to ride a motorbike.  And he wondered if I liked adventures.  I assured him positively on all accounts.  He drew me a map, a detailed, calculated map that plots a 1000 km loop through the mountains of Northwest Thailand using Chiang Mai as base.  This map outlined everything with most sights being completely off the tourists' trail.  The loop will take five days to complete.  The challenge, should I choose to accept, offers stunning waterfalls, caves, canyons, hotsprings, archaelogical sites, hill-tribe villages, rice paddy countrysides, a boat ride to Burma, Hindu, Buddhist and Burmese temples, a trip to the highest point in Thailand, Japanese War Relics, meditation centers, geysers, hermits, National Parks, elephants, and breathtakingly beautiful scenic views along curvy mountain roads with some of the cleanest and freshest air in Asia.  I was hesitant at first but this offer was just too good, too rare, and too precise to pass up.  I decided to go for it albeit solo alone.

He was right!  And he was right on.  His calculations were accurate and correct to the T. The map looked lame and flimsy but within it were all the keys to the hidden treasures that is Northern Thailand.  These are the places the Thais don't know about.  He instructed me on the best ways to do the loop and he laid out some do's and don'ts.  I did some of the things he said to do and I did some of the things he said not to do.  And while it's too much to explain here, in the end, it was a huge success and a major highlight of my runaround thus far.  Yeah, Thailand is still a rich, exotic and mysterious land.