trains, buses and bicycles

andddd we're in Chiang Mai...


since the last time we checked in we've traveled up north riding on trains, buses, bicycles, sangtaews (basically a covered pick-up truck with two benches that face each other, great for watching the scenery and sweating the most) and elephants. (DON'T WORRY DAD -- more on that to come...)


So basically sunday afternoon, after we posted, we ran into Matt and Josh, who are also on a trip throughout Asia, having dinner at the Chabad House, which was right across the street from our hotel in Bangkok - did we mention we ate there three times on Sunday? nice.
(note: In the spring of '03, a "Matt and Josh" Adventure/Calendar was created, pre-dating the Matt and Josh trip to Asia that is currently underway. It should also be noted that the original Matt and Josh had matching suits - which they still wear now on special occasions - while the new Matt and Josh had matching puffy bright red jackets - however, they ditched them in Hong Kong.)

Anyways, so we ran into Matt and Josh because the world is very, very small... but if we were going to run into them anywhere in Thailand our best bet was probably in the chabad... so we had dinner with them sunday night and then told us what to expect while traveling in China -- mostly a lot of spitting and something about a man and his wife cutting their toenails on a public bus. Also, something about an old man a really cool trick involving roller skates and two soda cans. We're excited.


After dinner, and another round of thai massages - a recurring theme, we went to bed because we had to be up super early to catch a train with our tour group up to Sukhothai -- and, NO it is not pronounced suck-hot-thai...


Our tour group is great-- or lovely, as most of them would say since they are mostly from Great Britain. Mostly everyone is in their 20s. There are three girls traveling together from Cambridge, one girl on her own from London, another couple from outside London who are in the midst of traveling for an entire year, one couple from Dublin and two slightly older guys from Australia, probably 40 something. S0, this makes Josh and I the only Americans, which is totally fine. But kind of funny cause we can barely keep up with a normal group of drinking Americans, let alone a bunch of Brits and Aussies. Haha. But overall our group is really getting along well and it's fun having a group of people to compare stories with and share the experience.


Our tour guide's name is Su -- she is an adorable, little thai woman probably in her mid-20s who has been leading intrepid tours for two years now. She is totally knowledgeable about everything, and we literally could not have experienced the last few days without her, since we've been in very remote parts of the northern country where a non-thai speaking traveler wouldn't have a prayer of being understood...

So we're at the train station in Bangkok early Monday morning... somehow we found the most amazing waffle stand and had waffles for breakfast. In the mini-mart type thing at the train station we attempted to buy food for the train ride, while we did manage to find some ritz crackers - score - we avoided the seafood flavored chips - WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN??

The train itself was nicer than we expected... this doesn't necessarily mean it was nice though, but it was air-conditioned... so we were all good. Objects of note scene from the train window: scarecrows, yes apparently there are scarecrows in Thailand, monkeys climbing up abandoned buildings, the most temples ever and lots of lots of rice fields. Also, there were random fires along the train tracks - this didn't seem to alarm anyone else so we just went with it. Then lunch came... which consisted of rice - surprise! - and the spiciest curry thing ever. (Not even Don would like it.)

The train stopped at our station as Su, our tour guide, was telling us we have to get off the train now. This resulted in a very hectic exodus. Lindsey had to gather all the food and electronic equipment and was therefore the last one off the train -- almost getting stuck as the oncoming passengers boarded. Josh tried to stop them from getting on, but only managed to tell a train attendant who didn't understand a word he was saying.

Then, even though we had just been on a five hour train ride, we boarded a sangtaew for another one hour trip to our hotel. We should make it clear now that sangtaews are not comfortable. Although they provide a great view of the scenery, they cause back pain -- Josh will tell you all about it. We finally got to our hotel, The JJ Guesthouse in Sukothai, which was a little collection of bungalows that were each separate bedrooms. Totally filled with bugs. Hardest mattress ever. But at least it was a big double bed - instead of the tiny twin beds we've found at some of our other accommodations. Also, there was no hot water. NOT that we're complaining. It was quite pleasant once we actually got into the pool.

That afternoon, Josh taught Lindsey how to play chess. Josh is such a good teacher than Lindsey beat him on her first try. (He was going easy on her). Dinner that night was at the Guesthouse. It was really good, our first really authentic Thai meal -- pad thai and ginger chicken and rice - OBVIOUSLY. That night we walked into town with out group -- there were the most bugs ever. Also, lots of random, stray dogs, a bunch of roosters and many roadside food stands. When we got back to the hotel, our group stayed up to drink thai whiskey while we head straight to bed (it was about 9pm - apparently we were still jet lagged, or just lame. One of the two.)

The next morning we got up, had breakfast at the hotel - which included amazing homemade bread - and then headed off to ride bicycles around the Sukhothai Historical Park. Sukhothai was the capital of Thailand at some point, like the 1200s, so the historical park has ruins from the ancient temples that were there. It was pretty incredible. It kind of looked like Pompeii except with asian architecture and large buddhas. One of the Buddhas was huge, probably 3 stories high. It was totally humid and really hot, but Josh was a trooper and rode his bike really well -- even though at one point, while he was holding up the group slightly, Lindsey had to ask him if Don and Shana ever taught him to ride a bike. (Don't worry, they had.)

A picnic lunch was provided for us by our local guide, which would've been lovely - rice and curry and vegetables - except that Lindsey found a bug in her rice. This didn't seem to bug Josh (get it? it's a Pun) and he ate the whole thing... Lindsey waited until it wasn't rude and ate a Clif bar instead.

After riding, we boarded a local bus to ride up further north to Lampang, our next destination. To sum it up, the bus ride was awful. It was hot, it was sweaty, it was uncomfortable and oversold. Luckily we got seats. (Thanks to Lindsey) Also, there were some amusements: a Monk sat behind us. As well a few members of the Thai army in uniform. And at one point a Thai man in a pink polo shirt sat down near by - first he proceeded to talk very loudly into his cell phone for no good reason and then sing loudly to himself for everyone to hear. WHY? no one knows.

When we got to Lampang - FINALLY - we could not have been more relieved to get off the bus -- especially Josh who had had to pee for 2 hours. No, there wasn't a bathroom on the bus. Our guesthouse in Lampang was very pleasant. It was wooden and had intricate carvings all over it. There were no shoes allowed inside. There are no shoes allowed inside of most important places in Thailand. Good to know. Our room also had a double bed, luckily it was slightly more comfortable than the night before. But just as many bugs.

For dinner that night we went to The Riverside Restaurant, which was a pretty touristy place that had thai food for westerners. We ordered a few traditional thai dishes and also a cheese pizza because we could. And it was awesome. We sat next to the river, which was really nice. And as we were finishing our meal the coolest thing happen... a four piece band - guitar, bass, keyboard and drums - along with a female lead singer started to play the longest set ever consisting of amazing american covers -- including: Under the Bridge, Hotel California, Mambo #5, Like a Virgin, My Heart Will Go On, YMCA and, of course, Sex bomb. Don't worry we took lots of videos. After enjoying the music, we headed back to bed while, again, our group stayed up drinking...