Thai Massage And So Much More

Entry 30:

As we approached the half way point of our journey, we had grown tired of hoisting up our backpacks every few days. We thought it would be nice to "chill out" for a little while and heard many nice stories about Chiang Mai, our next destination. That being said, upon our arrival in Chiang Mai, we immediately booked ourselves on a two-day trek into the mountains and through some ethnic villages. We departed the next morning.

Our trek began with a quick stop at an orchid/butterfly farm where we saw how orchids are harvested for sale in the local markets. The orchid is the unofficial national flower of Thailand and can be purchased for almost nothing.

After lunch, we began trekking through the mountains and made stops at a large cave and a local village. We were treated with tea served in bamboo cups. We liked the concept so much that we purchased a couple of those cups as souvenirs. We continued trekking for a few more hours before reaching our camp for the evening and celebrating with a cold shower. Everyone gathered around the campfire to stay warm and tell travel stories before going to bed.

That night may have been the coldest one we have ever endured. We slept in a wooden house on stilts. The room contained thin mattresses, each with its own mosquito next. We were given thin dirty blankets to cover up with, but they did not sustain the heat we needed. When you have a chance, make sure to ask Sharon about the kitty cat that decided to snuggled up with her. In the end, we were glad we'd signed up for only a one-night trek, while the majority of our fellow travellers signed up for two nights.

The next morning, we arrived at an elephant camp where each couple climbed up onto an elephant for a one-hour ride through the forest. The highlight of this particular walk was seeing the baby elephant, no more than six months old, follow alongside his parent's side. Our afternoon adventures were not over yet. We got to ride in a bamboo raft (see below) and then had a small taste of whitewater rafting (very fun!).

Our next stop was at the village of the Long Neck Karen. This is probably the most photographed hilltribe in all of Thailand and for good reason. Some of the women wear brass rings around their neck. There is a tale that explains the origin of this tradition. During the Golden Age, the Paduang tribal people were attacked by tigers. They were bitten at the neck and killed. The tribal leader was a sorceress who made sacrifices to wild spirits and declared that from then on, tribal girls and unmarried women must wear neck rings to avoid back luck. The rings consist of two sets. The first set sits on the wearer's shoulders. The second set is then set on top of the first set, but a pillow is inserted underneath it as a cushion under the chin. The two sets are then bolted together, although they can be separated for cleaning.

Traditionally, girls begin wearing the neck rings at age 5. Every three years, another three rings are added until the girl either turns 25 or gets married. The record for neck rings is 25 loops weighing just under 18 pounds. Today, neck rings are worn as a sign of beauty. More recently, wrist and leg rings have also become popular. Despite the rings worn and the name they've been given, the Paduan tribal people do not really have longer necks than other people. In fact, the rings' heavy weight pushes down on their chest making the neck look elongated.

While at this village, we also saw a woman with a big ear lobe. To obtain this effect, women place big loops inside the ear lobe in the hope they will have a long life.

Our final stop on the trip was at a nearby river where we hiked upstream for about 10 minutes until we arrived at a small pool with a waterfall. Although the water was cold, we jumped in anyways to refresh ourselves from a long couple of days of adventure.

After all the fun we had, we were back in town and ready to explore. From the very start, we knew we wanted to learn Thai cooking. We found a nice cooking school and signed up for the following day. We arrived first thing in the morning, were taken to the local market and instructed there about the ingredients we would later use. At the school, we were given a choice of seven dishes to make. Each person could select different dishes, but you could taste from everybody's dish afterwards.

The first step was to chop up everything. We then walked over the the cooking station where each of us was given a wok, some condiments, and our chopped ingredients, and before you knew it - viola - we had made papaya salad, tom yum soup, pad thai, sweet and sour tofu and vegetables, red and green curry, and sticky rice with mango. It was fun not only to make the food, but we then got to hang out and eat it all. We recommend this experience to those of you going to Thailand!

Chiang Mai is also well-known for its massage schools. Many foreigners come here to learn how to administer Thai massage. After shopping around for a reputable school, we decided on a five-day course at Nerve-Touch Massage School. Each day, we'd wake up early, arrive at our class with our book in hand, and learn about twenty new steps of the school's techniques. After breaking for lunch, we'd spend the rest of the day practicing on each other.

On the fourth day, we learned how to prepare an herbal compress, which can be used to enhance the effects of the massage by applying heat and herbal properties to the body's most problematic areas. We're now ready for business!

This is our teacher's demonstration:

Many people love Chiang Mai because it is a spiritual city filled with dozens of temples. At several of the temples, there are monks who encourage people to stop by to speak to them about all matters. One day, we spent a good two hours at the Chedi Luang temple speaking with two monks to learn more about their lifestyle and responsibilities. They were equally intrigued by us.

Despite its population of more than one million people, Chiang Mai is actually quite an interesting place for tourists. There are dozens of international restaurants, guest houses, and interesting shops of all kinds. Each evening there is a night market which caters to tourists. Every weekend there are special markets that tend to attract mostly locals. In addition, Chiang Mai is relatively inexpensive compared to the rest of Thailand. It was a memorable visit.

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Golden Triangle

Entry 29:
Chiang Rai is a cute little town with an exceptional night market, food stalls, and simply an authentic feel to the place. We imagine it is similar to how Chiang Mai was once upon a time before it became so commercialized. Although we had just arrived, the next morning we got on a bus going back towards the border as we wanted to visit the Golden Triangle. It is the point where the three countries -- Thailand, Laos, and Burma -- meet and where not so long ago there was a strong opium trade.

The bus dropped us off in Chang Saen and from there we had to take a minibus to the Golden Triangle. Before leaving Chang Saen, we confirmed the times of the minibus' return as we had to catch the bus back to Chiang Rai. We were assured the minibus comes around every hour until 4pm. This was important to us as some Australian tourists we came across in Laos told us about tourists being scammed by local taxi drivers who claimed there were no more minibuses.

The area of the Golden Triangle boasts two opium museums. The first is a small homey museum that speaks partially about opium and partially about the hilltribes. The second is the one usually avoided by backpackers for its heavy duty admission price (around $10 per person). We started off with the first.

The history of opium is quite interesting. We found out that although the original discovery sight of opium remains unknown, it was used as early as 1000 BC by the Greeks, Romans, Persians, and Egyptians. Its name means "fruit juice" and this plant was used for its medicinal qualities in the Mediterranean region to treat a variety of diseases.

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Around approximately 356-323 BC, Alexander the Great brought opium to both China and India. Years later, England monopolized the opium trade in China (but we'll get to that later). At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, some hill tribes who moved from China to the three countries of the Golden Triangle brought opium with them. The rest is history.

The second museum is a multimedia extravaganza complete with flat panel televisions, surround sound, a brief film shown in a fancy auditorium, and other audiovisual displays. It was financed by the Queen of Thailand in a public effort to demonstrate the country's dedication to ridding itself of its troubled past with international drug trade.

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Here's a bit of history that starts with opium and goes on a bit of a tangent:

China's silk and spices were in high demand in the West, so Britain began exchanging opium for these goods. However, as more and more Chinese became addicted to the drug, the Emperor of China tried to ban it from the country. This brought on the Opium Wars.

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England was not about to give in, especially as Anna, the Duchess of Bedford, made afternoon tea fashionable. As tea drinking became a more popular custom, England was more invested in increasing its import of tea. However, in the early 1800s it took over a year to ship tea to Britain from China. Thus, the British established the East India Company, monopolized the trade on tea, and began using faster vessels to speed the delivery along. Not only was the beverage popular, but so were the utensils it was served in. That started the import of fine china to England. Additionally, as the Duchess enjoyed drinking her tea with both milk and sugar, spoons were necessary. Consequently, fine silverware became part of tea culture. This also increased the demand for sugar from the New World and put increased importance on the Triangle trade (so called for its three components: slaves, sugar, and rum) in North America. The museum has a fancy website. Check it out for more information.

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Even though we had been told the minibus would be running until 4pm, when we returned to the pickup spot, all the taxi and motorcycle drivers told us the minibus was done for the day. We figured they were just trying to earn out business. There were supposed to be at least two more minibuses that day, so we waited around. When neither one showed up, we decided to negotiate with two motorcycle drivers to take us back to Chang Saen or risk missing the last bus to Chiang Rai. Within 20 seconds of getting on the motorbikes, Sharon spotted the minibus. We quickly jumped off and ran to it. We were relieved when we made our bus to Chiang Rai on time.
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One of the highlights of Chiang Rai is its lively and exciting night market. Dozens of vendors set up their stalls as well as a variety of food sellers with everything from pad thai to sushi to "mixed insects." We guess you really have to be in Thailand to appreciate the latter. We strolled through the aisles of handicrafts and picked up all sorts of goodies. Marc is especially eager to attend a formal event so he can wear his Thai silk tie covered with a zillion miniature elephants.

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Farewell to Laos

Entry 28:

When travelling through S.E. Asia, it is always wise to expect the unexpected and not be too discouraged when things don't go as planned. Many cities in this part of the world do not have bus stations in the center of town. Therefore, when you purchase a bus ticket, it often includes a pickup at your hotel. Sometimes this process can be painless, but at other times extremely painful. Even though we were picked up on time, it took nearly 90 minutes just to collect the remaining passengers and finally depart Luang Prabang. Add to this the extremely loud Laotian pop music blaring through the minivan speakers. Sometimes you just have to scratch your head and remind yourself - You're in Asia.

At this point in our trip, we were faced with the decision to take the slow boat up the Mekong River to the Thai border or visit a few more towns in Northern Laos. We chose the latter as we still had several days left on our visa and had enjoyed our stay thus far and were hungry for more. Our next stop was a small town in the mountains callled Nong Kiaew. The views were spectacular, but otherwise, the town had little to offer.

We walked about one hour outside of town to see Pathok Cave. During Lao's troubled past, this site was transformed into a hidden village complete with a hospital.

In the guidebook, we had read about a national park close to the town of Luang Nam Tha that offered visitors a wide variety of wildlife and tropical vegetation. This sounded great to us, and we headed there the following day. Unfortunately, there were no direct buses and we were forced to spend the night in Udom Xai, a small dusty town that sees many Chinese businessmen passing through. The book describes it as an ideal stopping point for truckers and not much more than that. For once, the book was right on. We did manage to find a sauna and spent the afternoon sweating with the locals.

When we finally arrived in Luang Nam Tha, we discovered that it is not possible to enter the national park without a guide. We shopped around for a guided trek, but realized the terrain would be difficult to climb and the prices were just as steep. We took the time to catch up on some internet and, of course, found time for one last sauna. There, we met a young local village woman who told us about her experience studying in the country's capital. Her yearly rental for an apartment in Vientienne cost her the equivalent of about $200, a steep sum for Laotians, which somehow she managed to pay.

It seemed as if our time in Laos was nearing its conclusion so we boarded a minibus to Huay Xai to cross the border into Thailand. We grabbed some pad thai to go as we had no idea what to expect on the other side of the border. We changed our remaining Kip into Thai Bat, passed through immigration, and jumped into a longtail boat for the 5-minute ride across the river. Lao will remain one of our favorite places to visit in S.E. Asia (if not for its disfunctional ATMs then for its charm, beauty, and down-to-earth nature).

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