After all that planning and all that agonizing, Karen and Julie finally did it!
Mar 10th, 2006, 07:05 PM
#81
CFW - I think I might give the tailor-made clothes one more shot. I'm pretty sure I could do a better job next time of explaining what I want. If it doesn't work out then, I'll give up. The funny thing is I bought a blouse at Jim Thompson's, another one at Artisans d' Angkor, and a third one for $6 from a woman at a stand in Cambodia - and I like all three of them better than the custom blouses from Cotton House!
Mar 11th, 2006, 05:26 AM
#82
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K-We've used Sergeant Kai's services twice and have been pleased both times. We enjoyed the river rafting. When we went to the Khantoke dinner, there was a large group of Thai men drinking untold quantities of alcohol. It was quite amusing and added to the show.
Mar 11th, 2006, 10:15 AM
#83
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We thought Sargeant Kai was the best guide we've had - just can't recommend him highly enough! As to tailors -- I've tried twice and given up. Like you I found things ready made that fit better and that I liked more. I bought a textured cotton/linen tunic top with a mandarin collar at the Sunday walking street in Chiang Mai that I just love for about $5.00.
Mar 11th, 2006, 02:02 PM
#85
Pat - thanks so much! I've been busy with my PICTURES today (and normal life stuff like taxes!) - and haven't had a time to write about the elephants. Will do so later tonight or tomorrow. Our elephant day was such a great one that I can't wait to write about it, but I'm eager to get a few photos posted too.
I don't know if the rest of you feel this way, but I am STILL on that trip in my head. At work, I find my thoughts wandering to Cambodia or Bangkok or the Karen village. I can almost feel the heat of the sun at times. There are such intense feelings associated with it that it's hard to come home. I've traveled a lot, but this trip was different. I'm not sure I'll ever quite be the same. And I can't WAIT to go back.
More later!
I don't know if the rest of you feel this way, but I am STILL on that trip in my head. At work, I find my thoughts wandering to Cambodia or Bangkok or the Karen village. I can almost feel the heat of the sun at times. There are such intense feelings associated with it that it's hard to come home. I've traveled a lot, but this trip was different. I'm not sure I'll ever quite be the same. And I can't WAIT to go back.
More later!
Mar 11th, 2006, 07:55 PM
#87
Day 11 – Chiang Mai excursion -ELEPHANTS!
Sergeant Kai himself picked us up at 8:00 for the drive to the Elephant Conservation Center near Lampang. It was to be one of the best mornings of the trip.
The Center is fabulous. Everything is clean and well maintained, and the grounds are lovely. Moreover, the entire operation seems organized and efficient. The entry fee, which included the show, was 30B.
Bath-time was the first order of business, and it was quite a show in and of itself – 15 elephants (or thereabouts) can make quite a splash, literally! They sprayed each other, sprayed themselves, and sprayed the mahouts. It was one big splash-fest, and they seemed to be having a ball. Some of the mahouts, on the other hand, were quite diligent. I noticed one giving his elephant’s tusk a thorough scrubbing (while the elephant patiently blew water out his trunk - toward the crowd standing on shore). Overall, it looked like more fun than work.
That done, the elephants lumbered out of the pool and walked single file – tail to trunk – to the show area, an outdoor amphitheater, which seats probably 100 people. The day we were there happened to be Scout day, and the place was crawling with Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
I wasn’t particularly excited about the show – thought it would be too circus-y, but we both ended up enjoying it a lot. It was more a demonstration of skills and capabilities than a circus act. Those elephants could drag logs, roll logs, lift logs (between tusks and trunk), and lay down on command.
For the finale, two of them painted pictures with a small brush held in their trunks. One painted what looked like modern abstract art, but the other painted an actual picture of flowers. As Dave Berry would say, I am not making this up. The elephant was very methodical – and really did paint red flowers on green stems.
After that, we bought bananas and sugar cane to feed them (10B a bunch), but the area was so crowded with kids that we decided to get away from them by going for a ride. You have the option of 30 minutes or an hour, and we figured 30 minutes would be enough. I’ve forgotten the cost, but it wasn’t expensive, and it was a lot of fun.
To board, you climb stairs to the top of a platform and step right onto the elephant’s back and into the basket, while the mahout is seated on his neck. Julie took her shoes off so she could have her feet right on the elephant’s back.
An elephant ride is one incredibly rolling, pitching ride – but in slow motion. You’d think it would be smooth up there on such a large, slow-moving animal, but no. When the elephant goes downhill, you kind of pitch forward. Uphill and you’re leaning back. With every step, you rock from side to side. And did I mention it’s very high up there?
What a hoot. But 30 minutes was enough. There’s just not much to do up there, and when the novelty wears off, you’re pretty well ready to quit! As we neared the platform, Julie whispered to me that she was going to ask the mahout if she could sit on the elephant’s neck for a minute. I was all for it! She asked (using hand motions), he nodded yes, she got on, and I snapped a couple of pictures (of her euphoria). Then she got off, I got on, and as she started to take my picture, the elephant started backing up. The mahout looked startled and immediately jumped in the basket. I’m not sure what I’d have done if the elephant had walked off with me! But nothing happened, Julie got my picture, and we were two very happy campers.
We did a little browsing (the kids had either left or dispersed by this time and things were quiet in the main area). There’s a shop, a building with some displays, and an elephant dung paper-making “factory." Julie bought a silver ring with elephants (very cool) and a journal of elephant dung paper (also cool), and we decided it was time for lunch.
The restaurant there is inexpensive and good. I had pad thai with prawns, and Julie tried chicken garlic fried rice. We also had coconut juice and water, all for 190B. I thought the pad thai was particularly good, and Julie liked the fried rice, too. (Oh, and of course, I also had a banana shake.)
Our last 20 minutes at the center ended up being the highlight. There were two baby elephants in pens with their moms, to keep them separate from the other elephants. And we had them to ourselves.
We bought some sugar cane and started feeding one of the babies. What a cutie! He’d take the sugar cane in his trunk and put it in his mouth – and he was not shy about reaching out and touching a hand or arm with his trunk. Julie got a picture of me with my face against his head. At one point, he thought Julie had some sugar cane and took hold of her arm and started to put it in his mouth but released it as soon as he realized there was no food. “I felt his TONGUE!” she said.
Last stop was the elephant hospital. We saw about six elephants. One had been shot in the leg. One was just very old. They seemed to be getting good care – in fact, the vets were there when we were. It was interesting and made me glad we had chosen Lampang rather than one of the other camps.
With that, we ended our elephant experience. We were fully sated. (Although Julie did say she’d like to go back for the 30-day mahout training course!)
I would highly recommend Lampang if you want an elephant experience. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
And since it’s late and I need to get to bed, I’ll quit here and finish our day with Sergeant Kai tomorrow. (And I’ll tell you a bit about him, too.)
Goodnight!
Sergeant Kai himself picked us up at 8:00 for the drive to the Elephant Conservation Center near Lampang. It was to be one of the best mornings of the trip.
The Center is fabulous. Everything is clean and well maintained, and the grounds are lovely. Moreover, the entire operation seems organized and efficient. The entry fee, which included the show, was 30B.
Bath-time was the first order of business, and it was quite a show in and of itself – 15 elephants (or thereabouts) can make quite a splash, literally! They sprayed each other, sprayed themselves, and sprayed the mahouts. It was one big splash-fest, and they seemed to be having a ball. Some of the mahouts, on the other hand, were quite diligent. I noticed one giving his elephant’s tusk a thorough scrubbing (while the elephant patiently blew water out his trunk - toward the crowd standing on shore). Overall, it looked like more fun than work.
That done, the elephants lumbered out of the pool and walked single file – tail to trunk – to the show area, an outdoor amphitheater, which seats probably 100 people. The day we were there happened to be Scout day, and the place was crawling with Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
I wasn’t particularly excited about the show – thought it would be too circus-y, but we both ended up enjoying it a lot. It was more a demonstration of skills and capabilities than a circus act. Those elephants could drag logs, roll logs, lift logs (between tusks and trunk), and lay down on command.
For the finale, two of them painted pictures with a small brush held in their trunks. One painted what looked like modern abstract art, but the other painted an actual picture of flowers. As Dave Berry would say, I am not making this up. The elephant was very methodical – and really did paint red flowers on green stems.
After that, we bought bananas and sugar cane to feed them (10B a bunch), but the area was so crowded with kids that we decided to get away from them by going for a ride. You have the option of 30 minutes or an hour, and we figured 30 minutes would be enough. I’ve forgotten the cost, but it wasn’t expensive, and it was a lot of fun.
To board, you climb stairs to the top of a platform and step right onto the elephant’s back and into the basket, while the mahout is seated on his neck. Julie took her shoes off so she could have her feet right on the elephant’s back.
An elephant ride is one incredibly rolling, pitching ride – but in slow motion. You’d think it would be smooth up there on such a large, slow-moving animal, but no. When the elephant goes downhill, you kind of pitch forward. Uphill and you’re leaning back. With every step, you rock from side to side. And did I mention it’s very high up there?
What a hoot. But 30 minutes was enough. There’s just not much to do up there, and when the novelty wears off, you’re pretty well ready to quit! As we neared the platform, Julie whispered to me that she was going to ask the mahout if she could sit on the elephant’s neck for a minute. I was all for it! She asked (using hand motions), he nodded yes, she got on, and I snapped a couple of pictures (of her euphoria). Then she got off, I got on, and as she started to take my picture, the elephant started backing up. The mahout looked startled and immediately jumped in the basket. I’m not sure what I’d have done if the elephant had walked off with me! But nothing happened, Julie got my picture, and we were two very happy campers.
We did a little browsing (the kids had either left or dispersed by this time and things were quiet in the main area). There’s a shop, a building with some displays, and an elephant dung paper-making “factory." Julie bought a silver ring with elephants (very cool) and a journal of elephant dung paper (also cool), and we decided it was time for lunch.
The restaurant there is inexpensive and good. I had pad thai with prawns, and Julie tried chicken garlic fried rice. We also had coconut juice and water, all for 190B. I thought the pad thai was particularly good, and Julie liked the fried rice, too. (Oh, and of course, I also had a banana shake.)
Our last 20 minutes at the center ended up being the highlight. There were two baby elephants in pens with their moms, to keep them separate from the other elephants. And we had them to ourselves.
We bought some sugar cane and started feeding one of the babies. What a cutie! He’d take the sugar cane in his trunk and put it in his mouth – and he was not shy about reaching out and touching a hand or arm with his trunk. Julie got a picture of me with my face against his head. At one point, he thought Julie had some sugar cane and took hold of her arm and started to put it in his mouth but released it as soon as he realized there was no food. “I felt his TONGUE!” she said.
Last stop was the elephant hospital. We saw about six elephants. One had been shot in the leg. One was just very old. They seemed to be getting good care – in fact, the vets were there when we were. It was interesting and made me glad we had chosen Lampang rather than one of the other camps.
With that, we ended our elephant experience. We were fully sated. (Although Julie did say she’d like to go back for the 30-day mahout training course!)
I would highly recommend Lampang if you want an elephant experience. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
And since it’s late and I need to get to bed, I’ll quit here and finish our day with Sergeant Kai tomorrow. (And I’ll tell you a bit about him, too.)
Goodnight!
Mar 14th, 2006, 03:27 PM
#89
Chiang Mai excursion continued...
After the elephants, we stopped in Lamphun for a quick look at Wat Phra That Hariphunchai – worthwhile if it’s on your way, not worthwhile otherwise – then back to Chiang Mai and onto Doi Suthep via the old route and the incredibly tall, straight “gum trees” lining either side of the road. Sergeant Kai told us there have been quite a few accidents at night because the trees are so close to the road and drivers don't see them.
Sergeant Kai, by the way, is fabulous – I strongly recommend him. He’s personable without being pushy, talkative without being overbearing, and has a great sense of humor. He’s a genuinely nice man and very easy to be with. He's there when you need him but gives you plenty of space to be on your own. His 15-year-old daughter is something of a celebrity violinist in Thailand (he was obviously quite proud).
We asked him a zillion questions –
- about Buddhism (you don’t have to be a monk for life – you can be one for awhile and then just decide not to be one)
- about his family (15 extended family members all living together),
- his background (many years in the Thai military, hence the “Sergeant”)
- and Thai life in general (it costs about 500,000B for a modest house in the Chiang Mai suburbs).
He’s traveled some in Southeast Asia, and his dream is to go to Hanoi, which he could do fairly cheaply by bus. He said going to Europe or the U.S. is “too big a dream,” although his daughter told him when she grows up she’ll take him to see the world. How sweet is that?
Favorite story – the toothbrush incident. It went something like this. His daughter told him she wanted a new toothbrush because for some weird reason hers was always wet BEFORE she used it. She brought it downstairs to throw away, and another family member said, “Hey, that’s my toothbrush.” And a THIRD family member chimed in, “No, it’s MINE.” Three of them using the same toothbrush without realizing it. So they went out and bought new toothbrushes, and the next morning Sergeant Kai’s father, who had missed the discussion the previous day, came downstairs and said, “What happened to my toothbrush?” Yup... FOUR people had been using that one toothbrush. We absolutely howled.
Ok, on to Doi Suthep – the one must-see wat in the Chiang Mai area. It’s out of town, so it requires extra effort to get there, but it’s worth it. It’s as beautiful as Wat Phra Kaeo (in fact, it reminded me of Wat Phra Kaeo), with much smaller crowds. And the location on top of a mountain overlooking Chiang Mai is spectacular. You can climb the thousands of steps (ok, maybe not thousands, but it LOOKS like thousands), or you can pay a small fee and ride the funicular up to the wat. We rode the funicular (remember, I had Julie with me – ok, ok, it wasn't just Julie - I wanted to ride, too).
If you're in Chiang Mai, don’t miss Doi Suthep.
Then it was back to our hotel and time to say good-bye to Sergeant Kai. That evening we spent marathon night market session, as it was our last night in Chiang Mai.
Tomorrow – on to Luang Prabang.
After the elephants, we stopped in Lamphun for a quick look at Wat Phra That Hariphunchai – worthwhile if it’s on your way, not worthwhile otherwise – then back to Chiang Mai and onto Doi Suthep via the old route and the incredibly tall, straight “gum trees” lining either side of the road. Sergeant Kai told us there have been quite a few accidents at night because the trees are so close to the road and drivers don't see them.
Sergeant Kai, by the way, is fabulous – I strongly recommend him. He’s personable without being pushy, talkative without being overbearing, and has a great sense of humor. He’s a genuinely nice man and very easy to be with. He's there when you need him but gives you plenty of space to be on your own. His 15-year-old daughter is something of a celebrity violinist in Thailand (he was obviously quite proud).
We asked him a zillion questions –
- about Buddhism (you don’t have to be a monk for life – you can be one for awhile and then just decide not to be one)
- about his family (15 extended family members all living together),
- his background (many years in the Thai military, hence the “Sergeant”)
- and Thai life in general (it costs about 500,000B for a modest house in the Chiang Mai suburbs).
He’s traveled some in Southeast Asia, and his dream is to go to Hanoi, which he could do fairly cheaply by bus. He said going to Europe or the U.S. is “too big a dream,” although his daughter told him when she grows up she’ll take him to see the world. How sweet is that?
Favorite story – the toothbrush incident. It went something like this. His daughter told him she wanted a new toothbrush because for some weird reason hers was always wet BEFORE she used it. She brought it downstairs to throw away, and another family member said, “Hey, that’s my toothbrush.” And a THIRD family member chimed in, “No, it’s MINE.” Three of them using the same toothbrush without realizing it. So they went out and bought new toothbrushes, and the next morning Sergeant Kai’s father, who had missed the discussion the previous day, came downstairs and said, “What happened to my toothbrush?” Yup... FOUR people had been using that one toothbrush. We absolutely howled.
Ok, on to Doi Suthep – the one must-see wat in the Chiang Mai area. It’s out of town, so it requires extra effort to get there, but it’s worth it. It’s as beautiful as Wat Phra Kaeo (in fact, it reminded me of Wat Phra Kaeo), with much smaller crowds. And the location on top of a mountain overlooking Chiang Mai is spectacular. You can climb the thousands of steps (ok, maybe not thousands, but it LOOKS like thousands), or you can pay a small fee and ride the funicular up to the wat. We rode the funicular (remember, I had Julie with me – ok, ok, it wasn't just Julie - I wanted to ride, too).
If you're in Chiang Mai, don’t miss Doi Suthep.
Then it was back to our hotel and time to say good-bye to Sergeant Kai. That evening we spent marathon night market session, as it was our last night in Chiang Mai.
Tomorrow – on to Luang Prabang.
Mar 15th, 2006, 04:43 AM
#94
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Great reports and so pleased you had such a wonderful time in the Land Of Smiles. Bangkok is a truly amazing place and having lived here for 4 years absolutely love it! A word of warning, I used Julie Taxi on a regular basis for a while but found her to be unreliable and she let me down (or at leasther drivers did) several times and quite severly. Just a word of caution!
Mar 15th, 2006, 04:07 PM
#95
Thanks, all, for your comments! Yes, Gloria, I did feel that we got a really good feel for the culture considering how short the visit was. I think the key is actually taking time to talk to people rather than just seeing the sights and moving on. It's the little interactions with that give you real insight into a place.
Big T - I think someone else (or maybe it was you) had mentioned that Julie had left them in the lurch (and we couldn't find her driver when we returned to BKK from Siem Reap), but we did have a wonderful day with her.
As for LP, I don't have time to do it tonight, but will get to it tomorrow. It was such an awesome part of the trip (well, actually the entire trip was awesome) that I can't wait to tell you about it!
CWF/alibi - glad you enjoyed Sgt Kai, too. He's first-rate - we'd use him again for sure.
Till tomorrow...
Big T - I think someone else (or maybe it was you) had mentioned that Julie had left them in the lurch (and we couldn't find her driver when we returned to BKK from Siem Reap), but we did have a wonderful day with her.
As for LP, I don't have time to do it tonight, but will get to it tomorrow. It was such an awesome part of the trip (well, actually the entire trip was awesome) that I can't wait to tell you about it!
CWF/alibi - glad you enjoyed Sgt Kai, too. He's first-rate - we'd use him again for sure.
Till tomorrow...
Mar 15th, 2006, 06:03 PM
#96
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Karen-- you are right. It's the connections that you make with people that last long after you have forgotten about the temples and the scenery. It's what's NOT in the guidebooks that makes a trip really special-- at least for me.
Mar 16th, 2006, 06:30 PM
#97
Days 12-13 – Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang
After my final walk around Chiang Mai (while Julie slept in), we enjoyed our last breakfast at Baan Orapin and then headed to the airport for the next chapter of our adventure: Luang Prabang.
Laos. It sounded so exotic, so remote. LAOS. How many people did I know who’d been to Laos (besides you all, of course)? None, nada, not one. Yet here I was going. All by myself (well, with my daughter actually, but I had to be the grownup if we got lost or ran into trouble). A few months ago, such a prospect would have seemed daunting. But on the plane, with Thailand under my belt and my research under my hat, I was excited. We were going to LAOS!
Our Lao Air flight was fine. The plane was old – maybe the oldest one I’d ever been on – but we left on time and had a smooth, uneventful flight (only about an hour). The arrival process in Luang Prabang wasn’t bad. First, we stood in one line to give them our passports and passport pictures (one each). Then we stood in a second line, and they gave us back our passports and we paid $25 (U.S. cash) each for the visas. Then we stood in a third line for a passport check. Then we went to the luggage area to pick up our luggage. It was orderly, if a bit bureaucratic. About 30-40 minutes in all. Next we went to the taxi stand to get a taxi (tuk-tuk) to the hotel (about $5 as I remember).
We stayed at Sayo Guesthouse. I’d highly recommend it - but definitely splurge on the big corner room. It's well worth the $60. When we arrived, it wasn’t available because the guy staying there was sick and had asked to stay an extra day. I was a bit upset because we’d reserved that particular room a couple months in advance and I had really been looking forward to it (and I tend to get frazzled if things don’t go according to plan – although I’m getting more mellow with age!). We ended up in a $25 room that night at their other guesthouse (on the river). It wasn’t great, but the location was ok and it was just for one night. The next day, they moved us into the big room and, it was fabulous - huge, with an incredibly high ceiling, large windows overlooking the wat across the street, and a loft with an extra bed (where I slept!). (I took a picture, which I’ll post when I get my LP pics ready.)
That evening we had dinner at L’Elephant. It was quite good, as others have reported. We had a cheese plate as an appetizer, buffalo steak and fries, and ravioli with mushrooms in a cream sauce, plus wine. The bill was $33 – expensive compared to some of the other restaurants we tried, but we liked it. Luang Prabang restaurants in general seemed pricier than those in Thailand, although maybe it was just the ones we happened to select.
Then we hit the night market. What a different experience from those in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. It was more like the one in Mae Hong Son, with a relatively quiet – almost hushed – atmosphere. The vendors (mostly women) sat on the ground (on mats), where their wares were laid out. No one was standing and there were no tables. The entire market was outside, in the middle of the main street – so there's no traffic going by. And it closed very early. By 9 or so, the vendors were starting to close up shop. Prices were good – lots of handbags, lightweight quilted/embroidered blankets and tablecloths, umbrellas, and so on. The selection was greater in Thailand, but we nonetheless enjoyed Luang Prabang’s night market very much.
The next day I got up first (surprise!) and rented a bike to check out the town while Julie snoozed. You can rent a bike in LP for a dollar a day. ONE DOLLAR. You wrote down your passport number and hotel, signed your name, gave them a dollar, and off you went. (One place charged TWO DOLLARS, so if money's an issue, go down the street and you'll find one for half price.)
Luang Prabang is surreal. Palm trees. French colonial-style architecture. Bicycles and tuk-tuks everywhere – very little car traffic. A bustling morning market with chickens (dead and plucked, but feet still attached), fruit, fish, vegetables, rice, and every other food imaginable. The Mekong River. A wat on every corner (well, so it seemed). Lots of monks wandering around (a lot more than in Thailand) – many carrying umbrellas for sun protection. The town had such a different feel from anywhere we’d been so far. More laid back than Bangkok or Chiang Mai. Less backpack-y than Mae Hong Son. More refined, somehow. It was what I might have pictured if someone said Asia, 1952 – or no, earlier. I LOVED it.
As I think someone else mentioned, though, work has begun on paving streets/sidewalks in brick. That saddened me – I don’t want another Williamsburg! Still, I was quite taken with Luang Prabang.
To be continued...
After my final walk around Chiang Mai (while Julie slept in), we enjoyed our last breakfast at Baan Orapin and then headed to the airport for the next chapter of our adventure: Luang Prabang.
Laos. It sounded so exotic, so remote. LAOS. How many people did I know who’d been to Laos (besides you all, of course)? None, nada, not one. Yet here I was going. All by myself (well, with my daughter actually, but I had to be the grownup if we got lost or ran into trouble). A few months ago, such a prospect would have seemed daunting. But on the plane, with Thailand under my belt and my research under my hat, I was excited. We were going to LAOS!
Our Lao Air flight was fine. The plane was old – maybe the oldest one I’d ever been on – but we left on time and had a smooth, uneventful flight (only about an hour). The arrival process in Luang Prabang wasn’t bad. First, we stood in one line to give them our passports and passport pictures (one each). Then we stood in a second line, and they gave us back our passports and we paid $25 (U.S. cash) each for the visas. Then we stood in a third line for a passport check. Then we went to the luggage area to pick up our luggage. It was orderly, if a bit bureaucratic. About 30-40 minutes in all. Next we went to the taxi stand to get a taxi (tuk-tuk) to the hotel (about $5 as I remember).
We stayed at Sayo Guesthouse. I’d highly recommend it - but definitely splurge on the big corner room. It's well worth the $60. When we arrived, it wasn’t available because the guy staying there was sick and had asked to stay an extra day. I was a bit upset because we’d reserved that particular room a couple months in advance and I had really been looking forward to it (and I tend to get frazzled if things don’t go according to plan – although I’m getting more mellow with age!). We ended up in a $25 room that night at their other guesthouse (on the river). It wasn’t great, but the location was ok and it was just for one night. The next day, they moved us into the big room and, it was fabulous - huge, with an incredibly high ceiling, large windows overlooking the wat across the street, and a loft with an extra bed (where I slept!). (I took a picture, which I’ll post when I get my LP pics ready.)
That evening we had dinner at L’Elephant. It was quite good, as others have reported. We had a cheese plate as an appetizer, buffalo steak and fries, and ravioli with mushrooms in a cream sauce, plus wine. The bill was $33 – expensive compared to some of the other restaurants we tried, but we liked it. Luang Prabang restaurants in general seemed pricier than those in Thailand, although maybe it was just the ones we happened to select.
Then we hit the night market. What a different experience from those in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. It was more like the one in Mae Hong Son, with a relatively quiet – almost hushed – atmosphere. The vendors (mostly women) sat on the ground (on mats), where their wares were laid out. No one was standing and there were no tables. The entire market was outside, in the middle of the main street – so there's no traffic going by. And it closed very early. By 9 or so, the vendors were starting to close up shop. Prices were good – lots of handbags, lightweight quilted/embroidered blankets and tablecloths, umbrellas, and so on. The selection was greater in Thailand, but we nonetheless enjoyed Luang Prabang’s night market very much.
The next day I got up first (surprise!) and rented a bike to check out the town while Julie snoozed. You can rent a bike in LP for a dollar a day. ONE DOLLAR. You wrote down your passport number and hotel, signed your name, gave them a dollar, and off you went. (One place charged TWO DOLLARS, so if money's an issue, go down the street and you'll find one for half price.)
Luang Prabang is surreal. Palm trees. French colonial-style architecture. Bicycles and tuk-tuks everywhere – very little car traffic. A bustling morning market with chickens (dead and plucked, but feet still attached), fruit, fish, vegetables, rice, and every other food imaginable. The Mekong River. A wat on every corner (well, so it seemed). Lots of monks wandering around (a lot more than in Thailand) – many carrying umbrellas for sun protection. The town had such a different feel from anywhere we’d been so far. More laid back than Bangkok or Chiang Mai. Less backpack-y than Mae Hong Son. More refined, somehow. It was what I might have pictured if someone said Asia, 1952 – or no, earlier. I LOVED it.
As I think someone else mentioned, though, work has begun on paving streets/sidewalks in brick. That saddened me – I don’t want another Williamsburg! Still, I was quite taken with Luang Prabang.
To be continued...
Mar 17th, 2006, 12:58 AM
#99
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Karen,
I'm having such a fine time following your travels.
I loved Fern Resort and Baan Orapin too, and I was keen to find out if you had revelled in that wonderful room in Sayo as much as me.
Looking forward to the next intalment!
I'm having such a fine time following your travels.
I loved Fern Resort and Baan Orapin too, and I was keen to find out if you had revelled in that wonderful room in Sayo as much as me.
Looking forward to the next intalment!
