Thailand (K)

We were starting to count down the days as we arrived in Thailand and were keen to fit plenty in. After exploring Chiang Mai's old city, we took a day trip to Thailand's highest mountain, whose slopes feature sparkling waterfalls, verdant market gardens and royal pagodas, one in honour of the current king and the other in honour of the queen. The royal family are held in very high regard in Thailand, and this is enforced via a law that proscribes even the gentlest of criticism of them or their actions. Whilst not temperamentally a monarchist, I have to admit that in the case of Thailand this veneration may have been useful to Thailand over the last 50 years or so, which have seen many coup attempts, several of them successful, by providing some stability at the higher end of society and discouragement to any would-be dictators thinking they could supplant the king. They also do a lot of good work for charidee - the market gardens we saw are part of a project to wean local hill-tribes off opium growing and on to more social acceptable crops. There are over a million members of the hill-tribe ethnic minorities, with many different groups having their own traditions, dress and customs. Many of them are Burmese refugees, with Thailand having absorbed over half a million in the last 20 years or so.

A coupe of hours south was the sleepy town of Lampang, which was a charming place where nearly everyone greeted us. There was plenty to keep us occupied - the horse and cart ride which is the town's signature tourist activity being by far the least interesting of them. The old city on the north side of the river is full of old wooden houses and gorgeous temples with virtually no other visitors; there is a vibrant night market with local handicrafts and food as well as the usual bizarre plastic tat you get at markets everywhere, and a short trip north of the city is an elephant conservation centre. Here you can learn to be a mahout or elephant keeper. We didn't have enough time for that so simply went to watch the show where elephants bow and curtsy, play musical instruments and paint pictures - you can buy an original work of art after the show.

One overnight train later we were down in the teeming metropolis of Bangkok (or to give it its full name: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit). I immediately went out on a tour of the city's lesser known areas by bicycle, guided by the lovely Nok of Grasshopper Adventures. This was a great way to see a city that I've never loved, partly fro its lack of walkability, although it was also hair-raising in places, especially cycling through bustling markets or along narrow paths next to a canal!

We also spent a day out at Ayuthaya, a former capital with attractive red brick ruins of temples and palaces , plus a very impressive museum to give some background to the society that built them. The next day, we boarded a train for Malaysia, our last country before we flew to Oz.