After a lovely Christmas day on Koh Samed with Andy, we bounced off to Chiang Mai for a New Years trip. That made it my second time to Chiang Mai and I was quite eager to get back. I was excited to be in a city that I was familiar with and has so many wonderful things to see and do. We got our fill of markets and bought gifts for others and ourselves. One has to be very careful when going to the markets in Chiang Mai...you will talk yourself into buying many lovely things. Andy had lots of photo opportunities with all of the vendors, colors, performers and dogs. Since getting his new camera he wasn't shy to use it. I started to forget to bring mine out because he was always at the ready.
We arrived Thursday night around 10pm and got settled into our room at the Eagle House 2. Because the office was closed the staff kindly left towels and keys at the desk with a little note for us.
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| photo credit: andrew j. hansen |
The night markets of Chiang Mai weren't the only draw for us- we were pumped to climb! Just 30 minutes southeast of town lies Crazy Horse, a beauty of black and brown limestone that shoots into the sky and is visible from the road. As you approach, the prominent 'horse' feature becomes more and more visible...and it will give you chills of excitement. We had a ball climbing for 3 days. Because of the holdiday, is was pretty quiet there which was nice. The rock was a little sharp on some lesser climbed routes of course, but it was alright. Just a few cuts here and there on the hands. My callouses have pretty much disappeared because I'm not climbing with much frequency these days, so my hands were a mess after 3 days.
On our last day we visited the San Kamphaeng hotspring. Now, unlike Crazy Horse, the hot springs were bumpin'. The grounds were covered with tents, cars and people. As we drove into the parking lot we were greeted by the typical announcements blaring from a megaphone atop a pick up truck and throngs of people streaming towards the geysers and springs. It was quite a sight. First we walked by a geyser and a pool of sorts and our nostrils were alerted to a sulfurous odor. I knew immediately it wasn't just sulfur we were sniffing, but eggs. It is a thai tradition to boil eggs in the hotsprings, and most people were carrying their own litte baskets full of eggs. We didn't purchase a basket of our own, but we enjoyed watching others engage in the custom.
We walked away from the geyser and egg pool and towards the stream where people were seated along the banks. We found some opening and gingerly dipped our toes in. I think we only got up to the end of our pinky toe before realizing that this section of the stream was dangerously hot! No wonder there were so many openings...
We ventured toward the more crowded portion of the stream as we were advised by a friendly Thai woman, and found this section much more comfortable. Only 15 feet away from our previous spot and the temperature was dramatically cooler. We acclimatized here and then relocated to a bit of a hotter spot. We had a good time participating in this Thai custom and realizing that as we looked around, we were two of 3 total farangs in the area. People of all ages were enjoying the springs. The little ones were playing in the pool where the temps were like your bath water, and the older folks filled the banks of the stream. Some kids were taking their chances with the hotter sections closer to the geyser, and anyone who witnessed this got a good laugh as they yelped and jump away from the water. One man was even helping his elderly father in and out of the hotspring.
We drove back to town feeling refreshed after our foot soak. As we drove home on the motorbike we took in the evening countryside one last time. The sun was blazing brilliantly over the fields, and as the sun sank lower in the sky, the mist settled in its place. It was a lovely sight.
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