Chiang Mai

After taking a nasty flight on Indian Airlines from Bombay to Bangkok we flew up on to Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand.

We wanted to head up there to see another part of Thailand and to do some courses and get our teeth done. The dental industry seems to be booming as there were far more dental clinics around when I was last there. All in all we saved about $1000 in all the work we had done. We didnt do too much but had about 5 massage/spa treatments while we were there...which were amazing!

One day we took a Thai cooking class - it was the same as I had done before and since it was so good we decided to do it again. The class takes place at a farm about 40mins outside of Chiang Mai and the majority of the ingrediants come from the organic farm. All is all we made about 5 dishes all of which are very easy to make. The instruction was excellent and the surroundings are peaceful. We met a couple there whose lives closely mirrored ours -- they were Aussies that had just got married after living 4 years in London and were traveling before they went home. That night we went out with them and drank way too much -- considering we had flight early the next morning it wasnt the best thing.

That night was the King of Thailand's 80th birthday and there were celebrations around the city to mark it. About 85% of the restaurants and bars were closed out of respect for the holiday as well. The celebrations included some fireworks and the hanging of thousands of yellow lanterns in the main square. The King is revered in Thailand and one should NEVER say anything bad about him. He carries alot of clout in the political arena and some foreigners have gone to prison for defacing photos of him. At the new airport in Bangkok signs that read 'Long Live The King' are ubiquitous and photos of him can be found everywhere. The King was actually born in Boston and was raised in Switzerland and only moved to Thailand when he was 20. He is a designer of boats -- and many are used for mass production too.

Chiang Mai is a very nice city but the effect on tourist is rife. I do not think there is much in the old city that is truly authentic and the tourist is catered for on every corner. The other thing that stuck me was the amount of (primarily English) sex tourists at every step. Its sickening seeing these guys as they travel in packs and are disgusting to even look at. Many of them are with absolute stunning women who are in their early 20's (if they are lucky). I have seen quite a bit of the seedier side of life in SE Asia but it still disturbs me and I constantly wonder what makes these people tick. Does one mate call another and say 'hey lets go to Thailand and hook up with as many pros as we can?' The psychology of it all baffles me -- I really dont get it.

After Chiang Mai we decided to head up to Laos.