It's great to be back in Thailand- I'd almost forgotten how much i love Thai food- so much so, in fact, that we decided to do a Thai cooking course in Chiang Mai (4th cooking lesson of the trip) and this one was for a whole day. Our teachers were hilarious- one took us to the cleanest market I've ever seen in Asia and on giving us some free time to explore told us that we should remember what she looked like as all us Westerners look the same to her. haha. That set the fun tone for the day I can tell you.
After the relaxed pace of Laos we thought Thailand would be hectic-in-your-face again but it hasn't been so far- well, Chiang Mai and Lampang haven't- all this will change once we hit Bangkok, I'm sure! Chiang Mai is full of tourists though (Lampang is absolutely not), especially the older greyer haired more male variety with younger Thai ladies on their arms...nice of them to take their Thai grand daughters out for a meal, I always think. We found a pub quiz in an Irish pub and came 2nd!! 280 baht worth of free drinks thank you very much! K's knowledge is not going to waste on this trip- so far have come 2nd in the last 3 quiz nights we've been in!!
Lampang is very laid back. It's like a world heritage site before Unesco realises it. Restored wats a plenty and beautiful old teak houses. It really is the land of smiles here. And not forgetting the ubiquitous city motiffs; the horse and carriage (we had a go on this, Mez up the front making friends with the driver and us at the back trying to translate the fact that she had an extra coupon for brekkie at our hotel) and the white rooster. Cocks galore in Lampang.
Today we've spent the day riding on elephants, watching elephant shows and elephant bathing. Fantastic creatures- smaller than their African cousins but still a long ways off the ground when you're sitting on the top of one!! And this one kindly spurted us with water while wading through the water. Considerate beast, it was a hot day... Note, elephant skin dries much faster than socks & shoes. I was especially amazed to see the elephants painting (real pictures of other elephants) with their trunks. More talented than most humans. Although, we did all think that buying a picture was a step too far. One of those things that's great on your holiday but get it home and put it on the fridge and it looks like the neighbour's kid painted it.
Tonight we'll be on our first overnight Thai train and considering how VIP the Thai buses were (albeit very red; red seats, curtains, eyes etc) we are expecting good things!!
All aboard- next stop=Bangkok.
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