A return to Vientiane. Originally we had planned to travel down to the 4000 Islands in the South, but were advised not to with the onset of Typhoon Haiyan, and the continued case of... ahem... digestive system delicacy (WHO KNEW THIS COULD LAST 2 WEEKS!)
As a result, this will be a shorter entry than usual. Firstly, this might have been the nicest hotel of our entire stay- the Vientiane Garden Hotel. Populated by a nice mix of travellers and Thai holidaymakers, with incredibly comfortable rooms (an essential when you're unable to leave!).
The first thing to hit about Sukhothai New Town after our previous stops is that they don't expect so many English people there. This is a very Thai town, with very few hawkers trying to sell you suits/taxis/massages/drugs. We arrived around sunset, as their Night Market kicked off in earnest. The market is based round a Buddhist Wat, with a huge statue, and a big portion of the market is run by the monks themselves. A big town festival was starting in a few days, and they had a small (and incredibly rickety) fun fair, and a small area where locals were playing matches of a strange hybrid of football and badminton...
A luvverly bunch of coconuts
They don't have the hang of ripping people off here. For 20 baht (40p), we won 4 toys.
We also found several lovely restaurants. The first in a shed by the river;
The second had the greatest name ever;
Surprisingly tasty
And the final one, Dream Cafem just had the best food ever, and a selection of alcoholic elixirs claiming to give you energy, good health and virility!
Spring rolls 3 ways
Larb or Laap or I don't know they keep changing the spelling. Minced meat with mint and basil and chilli. It's lovely,
Various potions and crazy decor.
Chicken fried in banana leaf.
The main draw of the town is the UNESCO protected historical park in the old town. Tens of temples built by various rulers and kings over decades- proper Indiana Jones type stuff. You have to cycle round to see even half in a day!
Jenny being excitable
In other news... Ben ate insects and we failed to get a good picture of the music festival that we went to!
Much like Hanoi, Chiang Mai just seemed welcoming from the moment we arrived. We werw staying in the old town, a mile and a half square inside the old city walls. You can't walk more than 100 yards without passing a temple, and within hours, a local Buddhist had filled us in on the best ones to visit, and the best way to get cheap fares around. It's that friendly.
The original temple was HUGE, but then an earthquake made it just big
Jenny disapproves
We went to the Night Market by 'tuk-tuk' (a motorbike with a couple of seats attached to the back) in the evening. Ben bought vests (shock!) and on 'Halal Street', the Muslim section of the market we bought the tastiest and hottest dish made from rice balls, made fresh in front of us.
A picture cannot capture the sheer amount of chilli in this!
We washed it down with much needed Tiger beer, and watched a fan dancer in the middle of the market. The beer was lovely, and the fan dancing odd, but very watchable.
Later in the week, we arranged a trek through our guesthouse, involving an elephant ride, which was a little scary, as our elephant liked running up hills to fetch bamboo, but brilliant;
There are very few pictures where Ben isn't looking terrified...
This was followed by a trek through the jungle, with our guide Neo. He was a very funny chap, and had loads of info on the local wildlife (and what it tasted like!). We saw a chameleon, which was bigger than expected;
Some creepy spirit houses, where the local villages encourage evil spirits to stay out;
Shudder
A huge waterfall;
Some amazing views;
And rickety bamboo bridges;
We stopped off for a swim in a little lagoon by a waterfall, which was much needed after the walk, and was beautifully secluded. On the way to get some lunch, our tour guide showed us how to blow bubbles using plant sap!
After lunch, we went down the river on bamboo rafts. Ours was piloted by a 10 year old boy who liked hitting rocks!
And then we went and drank a lot of mojitos. There is so much more that's brilliant about Chiang Mai, but I think this post is now a little long. So I'll just put some food pictures to sum up the rest!
