12 hours to chiang mai

I had a really nice post going, and then I accidentally deleted it.  Yarr!

So, let me try to recreate. 

I took the train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in typical Gina fashion.  I did not have a ticket upon arriving at the station.  All those trips from Chicago to Milwaukee and vice versa on the Hiawatha when I would arrive just in the nick of time has given me a false sense of security.  But unlike Gina fashion, I arrived very early for this train- about 2 hours early!  I would have bought a ticket the evening before through my guesthouse, but I got home too late from my excursions.  I was at the Siam Discovery Museum and I got back to my guesthouse too late.  The Siam Discovery Museum is actually very cool.  It's all about what it means to be Thai, Thai culture past and present, and the evolution of their people, country, and culture.  I like museums, and growing up at the Field, I'll always have a soft spot for places like this.

But, the train worked out fine- I was taking a day train to Chiang Mai in the middle of the week, so I was reassured by the lady at my guesthouse that I would be fine.  Thais don't want to take the 12 hour trip in the middle of the week because it will take away their workday, and most people want to take the night train so they don't loose a whole day of traveling.  I'm not on such a time crunch, and besides, at this point I've taken a handful of night boats/flights/bus rides and you don't really sleep so well on those, so a day trip sounded kind of nice.  I got to see the beautiful countryside once you get out of Bangkok.  So it was good thing I slept most of the morning and missed the missable sights, and was awake for the beautiful countryside and jungle sites.  At some points in the trip, I really did pass through dense jungle and over jungle rivers.  Very cool.  I really like train trips.

I got settled into a guesthouse around 10pm and then got some dinner.  Afterwards, I walked over to a bar where the band was playing Bob Marley songs.  Would you be surprised if I told you the name of the bar is 'Roots Rock Reggae' and on the wall behind the band is painted 'Chiang Maica'.  Pretty nice vibe there.

Today was for exploring, and just walking around Chiang Mai.  I will only be here on this part of the trip for a day because tomorrow I head up to the far I'll be WWOOFing on.  After 2 weeks there I'll be back to hangout and take in some more of Chiang Mai.  But today, I really just went where I felt like and got my feet wet.

Right off the bat I like Chiang Mai a lot, and definitely a lot more than Bangkok!  Petey told me that Chiang Mai has a Boulder, CO feel, and if ever there is a place to give you this feeling- it is a little restaurant called the Free Bird Cafe.  The Free Bird Cafe supports the Thai Freedom House which is a language and arts community center for Hill Tribe people and Burmese Refugees.  http://www.thaifreedomhouse.org/ if you're interested in their work.  There is a second-hand clothing shop, or 'previously loved' as it is labeled, and they also sell locally made soaps and lotions, as well as beautiful handmade cards by the children of the freedom house.  The restaraunt serves tasty juices and smoothies, great food and choices of western breakfast or thai food, and coffee from the surrounding hillside.  Very Boulder indeed.  I bought some cards and orange shower gel, which I'm sure is bound to smell better than the strange soap I bought in the 7-11 with a picture of a parrot on the wrapper.

My first real goal of the day was to get in touch with Alea, the Thai gentleman who runs the farm.  I'd been having an interesting time getting in touch with the guy who is the WWOOF contact and so I next turned to getting in touch with the actual farm.  While I was having breakfast I was able to reach Alea on the farm, and hooray- I can arrive tomorrow!.  He says it will be easy, I think otherwise.  The directions sound ridiculous, but I have a cell phone, so I'm not worried!

Then, I wanted to check out the Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Association (CMRCA) and see what they were all about.  Being a climber,  I was very eager to connect with other climbers because when you're with climbers, you're suddenly at home.  I was also just really eager to do a little climbing in my short time in Chiang Mai, and they have a nice bouldering wall at their shop.  So, set on finding my own way their- not hiring a tuk tuk driver- only using my guidebook maps, I head out.  After 15 minutes of walking, I found it!  One reason I immediately liked Chiang Mai so much is that's it's pretty easy to navigate, and it's not su bustling.  In Bangkok, as soon as you whip out a map or a guidebook, you are swarmed with tuk tuk drivers asking you if you need a tuk tuk, and the noise of the city makes it so hard to concentrate you can hardly figure out which was is North. 

I chatted with the folks there and asked about their trips to Crazy Horse Buttress, a beautiful climbing area about 45 minutes East of the city.  When I get back to Chiang Mai after my farm time, I will certainly be signing up to climbing with them to Crazy Horse.  From what I've read, seen, and heard of the area it just sounds awesome.  And the people at CMRCA are so friendly, one guy even wrote down some words in Thai for me to show the bus drivers where I need to go to get to the farm!  It was nice to do a little bouldering and work those muslces.  My climbing has been kind of on and off on this trip but that's ok.  I also made some friends in the process, and afterwards we went out to dinner and had some fantastic Mango Curry.  Food up here is definitely delicious.

Alongside these two events, a great portion of the day was spent in the bookshops.  Chiang Mai has a good reputation for used bookshops which was really exciting to hear.  Pretty good selection for really cheap prices.  I think I stopped in 3 or 4 bookshops today!  I was looking for another book to take along to the farm.  I'm almost done with the hobbit, so I'll need something else!  I picked up a big fat novel called 'East of the Sun' which should be good.  It's long so it will last me a while!

But the day has been wonderful.  A little rain in the morning, a little in the evening and some good times in between.  It was really nice to have a few goals for the day and accomplish them.  Get in touch with the farm- check.  Find climbing gym and climb if possible- check.  Go to a bookstore for another book- check.  Plus the added bonus of making friends and sharing a meal makes for a great day. 

I'm really excited to spend some real time here.  It's definitely my pace.

I will be out of touch for the two weeks I'm on the farm I'm pretty sure, so I'll have lots to share when I return!