After spending the previous day with my head almost permanently joined to the toilet bowl I was starting to feel back to myself again and was ready to take on whatever Chiang Mai had to offer. First things first we decided to go visit the most famous temple of CM. It was a good 2 hour drive so we rented some bikes so we could catch the whopper scenery on the way up. Pascal, Sean, Clare, myself and B all traveled up corteo style catching sound waterfalls and amazing views en route.
The temple itself was really impressive, I was of the "you've seen one, you've seen them all" attitude but this was good in fairness. There's photos of them up on 'The Book, so feel free to have a butchers hook at them.
On the way back, we had a mini crash into a ditch but I was fine, it's hard to kill a bad thing, and I'm rotten. We indulged in a fine cuisine beside this lake, it was your standard lake but fuck it, it was in Chiang Mai! After that we trekked back down the mountain towards home, I've just realized I never mentioned it was up a mountain, poxy mountains!!!!
The traffic system there is quite weird, one because they have a traffic system and two because it's all one way streets and that. Very confusing. So, yeah, we got lost a couple of times on the way back. Just keep going left was my contribution to the discussion of how we get home. It's a belief and a fact I have lived by for quite some time and as the biggest wanderer of the group I felt my opinion should be heard. Low and behold, I was right. Not to rub it in or anything and I want to be the bigger man, but fuck it, I told yiz so!
Back in Junior House at last! Me and B decide that it's time to do something adventurous so we book some elephant trekking. At the guest house they recommend "Woody's elephant trekking" as they look after the elephants, treating them as family, with no harnesses, saddles or any restraints. We're doing that first thing in the morning.
Pascal decides to join us and we head off at 8am. There's only 8 people allowed at a time per day so we're lucky to be involved. An Argentinian couple, a Welsh/Polish combo, Me, B, Pascal and a lovely Swedish girl named Karin find ourselves learning Thai to speak to the elephants in. after hunting for some bamboo, pineapples and bananas,we're all set.
Our elephant is obviously the black sheep of their family as he's a right little messer. We have a few attempts at getting on their back and it's going quite well, they give you their leg and hoist you up with their trunk. Its really something I'll never forget being up on an elephants head walking around, the reason you come away is to do things you couldn't do in rainy, grey Dublin. There's also a fantastic video of our mennis of an elephant going off the beaten track pulling down full trees and being rather cheeky in general. The funniest part isn't the Thai guy's ridiculous commentary or the elephant pounding through the river, but rather B saying to the camera "hey we're on an elephant".... Really? *headslap*
In a rare break from being lazy, I've left the link to some of the photos of the day, just so you can get a proper feel for it.
http://www.woodyelephanttraining.com/blog/photo-gallery/?album=20111130
Best day I'd had I think.
Myself, B Pascal, the Welsh and Polish couple and Karin all went for drinks afterwards. A great one was had but, as usual, me and B took that step further where we ended up at 4 in the morning singing and dancing around our room.
Needless to say, B is hanging like Saddam the next day, so I'm on call for the day. I decide to smarten myself up a bit, have a shave and get a haircut.
Bad idea.
A epileptic person with Parkinson's would have done a better job. No photos of this thankfully. At least it only cost the same as a 10 penny bag.
I decide, as the gentleman, to be nice and get a Mackers for herself. I get our usual order and head for a tuk-tuk to get home in. There's only one there and a couple of guys are in front of me. Again as the gent, I allow them to get in ahead of me. Straight away another comes along so it's not too bad. Then, something happens that makes my life flash before my eyes (Christ have I had some bad haircuts)
The tuk-tuk I would have been in, get's absolutely smashed in by a jeep and the two guys go flying out onto the road. My driver ignores this and keeps going. I'm in shock. How in the name of Jaysus do I keep avoiding near death? Got to keep on keeping on.
We're leaving Chiang Mai tomorrow evening to go tubing in Vang Vieng, Laos. It's going to be 8 hours *cough, lie, cough* on a mini bus to Vientiane on the border and then into bandit county.
The next installment is literally going to be absolute chaos and for the first time, I may have to edit it a bit.....
Psych!
This Blog has no editing but does have a health warning, especially this next one. Viewer discretion is advised folks. ;)
This is for my favourite Manchester red head, sorry for the delay!!
Call me maybe?
The temple itself was really impressive, I was of the "you've seen one, you've seen them all" attitude but this was good in fairness. There's photos of them up on 'The Book, so feel free to have a butchers hook at them.
On the way back, we had a mini crash into a ditch but I was fine, it's hard to kill a bad thing, and I'm rotten. We indulged in a fine cuisine beside this lake, it was your standard lake but fuck it, it was in Chiang Mai! After that we trekked back down the mountain towards home, I've just realized I never mentioned it was up a mountain, poxy mountains!!!!
The traffic system there is quite weird, one because they have a traffic system and two because it's all one way streets and that. Very confusing. So, yeah, we got lost a couple of times on the way back. Just keep going left was my contribution to the discussion of how we get home. It's a belief and a fact I have lived by for quite some time and as the biggest wanderer of the group I felt my opinion should be heard. Low and behold, I was right. Not to rub it in or anything and I want to be the bigger man, but fuck it, I told yiz so!
Back in Junior House at last! Me and B decide that it's time to do something adventurous so we book some elephant trekking. At the guest house they recommend "Woody's elephant trekking" as they look after the elephants, treating them as family, with no harnesses, saddles or any restraints. We're doing that first thing in the morning.
Pascal decides to join us and we head off at 8am. There's only 8 people allowed at a time per day so we're lucky to be involved. An Argentinian couple, a Welsh/Polish combo, Me, B, Pascal and a lovely Swedish girl named Karin find ourselves learning Thai to speak to the elephants in. after hunting for some bamboo, pineapples and bananas,we're all set.
Our elephant is obviously the black sheep of their family as he's a right little messer. We have a few attempts at getting on their back and it's going quite well, they give you their leg and hoist you up with their trunk. Its really something I'll never forget being up on an elephants head walking around, the reason you come away is to do things you couldn't do in rainy, grey Dublin. There's also a fantastic video of our mennis of an elephant going off the beaten track pulling down full trees and being rather cheeky in general. The funniest part isn't the Thai guy's ridiculous commentary or the elephant pounding through the river, but rather B saying to the camera "hey we're on an elephant".... Really? *headslap*
In a rare break from being lazy, I've left the link to some of the photos of the day, just so you can get a proper feel for it.
http://www.woodyelephanttraining.com/blog/photo-gallery/?album=20111130
Best day I'd had I think.
Myself, B Pascal, the Welsh and Polish couple and Karin all went for drinks afterwards. A great one was had but, as usual, me and B took that step further where we ended up at 4 in the morning singing and dancing around our room.
Needless to say, B is hanging like Saddam the next day, so I'm on call for the day. I decide to smarten myself up a bit, have a shave and get a haircut.
Bad idea.
A epileptic person with Parkinson's would have done a better job. No photos of this thankfully. At least it only cost the same as a 10 penny bag.
I decide, as the gentleman, to be nice and get a Mackers for herself. I get our usual order and head for a tuk-tuk to get home in. There's only one there and a couple of guys are in front of me. Again as the gent, I allow them to get in ahead of me. Straight away another comes along so it's not too bad. Then, something happens that makes my life flash before my eyes (Christ have I had some bad haircuts)
The tuk-tuk I would have been in, get's absolutely smashed in by a jeep and the two guys go flying out onto the road. My driver ignores this and keeps going. I'm in shock. How in the name of Jaysus do I keep avoiding near death? Got to keep on keeping on.
We're leaving Chiang Mai tomorrow evening to go tubing in Vang Vieng, Laos. It's going to be 8 hours *cough, lie, cough* on a mini bus to Vientiane on the border and then into bandit county.
The next installment is literally going to be absolute chaos and for the first time, I may have to edit it a bit.....
Psych!
This Blog has no editing but does have a health warning, especially this next one. Viewer discretion is advised folks. ;)
This is for my favourite Manchester red head, sorry for the delay!!
Call me maybe?
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