Chiang Dao or bust!

Note:  We are leaving on Saturday morning  for a three week trip to Vietnam and Cambodia.  We're taking only small backpacks and our computers will be left in Chiang Mai.  Communication will be sketchy at best but we'll look for an occasional internet cafe to check our email and let you know how we're doing!  Facebook is blocked in Vietnam so personal email will be the only way to reach us.  As always, our hearts are with all our people back home.  Much love from Amy and Jim

I’d been working hard…pushing forward on the book as well as finishing up the drawings for my upcoming exhibition in June.  Time for a break.  Jimmy and I decided to head out of town for a weekend getaway to the town of Chiang Dao…an hour and a half due north.  We rented a couple of scooters from a place just up the street and although it’d been raining on and off almost every day, we decided to take our chances.  I’m getting more and more comfortable riding a scooter but just for extra insurance, I put on my silver necklace that holds a lock of my mom’s hair.  Somehow it makes me feel safer…who would dare to mess with Honey’s daughter?!  Unfortunately, it failed to protect me from Jimmy’s red hot tail pipe and I got a nasty burn on the back of my leg while we were gassing up.  We rode on anyway.  It was my first experience driving in the city of Chiang Mai.  How can I even begin to describe this?  First of all, the lanes mean absolutely nothing.  Cars, tuk tuks, song thaows, bicycles, and of course scooters move forward like this organic mass….a swift flowing river of form weaving in and out, back and forth.  The scooters in particular do not follow the “rules.”  They stream around anything and everything in their way, sometimes on the sidewalk…or in the wrong direction!  I had a death grip on my handlebars but I lived to tell the tale.

Outside the city limits, the traffic mellowed but it started to rain.  It wasn’t too bad…just a light shower, but on a motorbike those harmless little droplets become missiles stinging your face and neck.  We pulled over at a cute little coffee place and waited it out.  Sure enough, by the time we finished our cappuccinos, the sun was out again.  Finding ourselves in new territory, Jim and I had fun pointing out things to look at as we whizzed past on our bikes ..sometimes I was in the lead, sometimes he was.  We stopped at one what that looked particularly interesting.  The  20 or so "demons" guarding the front gate were awesome!  Each one had their own individual personality…my favorite had “mother earth” in his mouth.  Was he eating or rescuing her?  I have no idea.  Very cool.

Up, up into the mountains and we finally arrived at Chiang Dao.  It turned out to be a charming and quiet little village which is exactly what we expected.  Our guest house was called “The Nest,” and all the little bungalows were surrounded by beautiful trees and flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

Compared to Chiang Mai, it was very quiet and we looked forward to a restful night.  Laying on the big soft bed, I felt as if I were sleeping inside of a basket.  That night, we had an exceptional dinner served right at The Nest’s restaurant which we could see lit up just across the grounds.

 

 

In the morning we got a map from the proprietress as well as some suggestions as to where to go and what to see.  First off…the wat with the five hundred steps!  We figured we should do this one before we got too tired.  Motoring down the sleepy little roads, Jim and I felt happy and relaxed.  Shortly thereafter, we arrived at a charming wat surrounded by wooden huts where all the monks lived.  There were also some amazing outbuildings…one was some sort of Chinese shrine and the other, an assembly hall with a vivid red interior.  It was all so lovely…but where were the five hundred steps?  After a few minutes we realized that we were in the wrong place.  Only in Thailand can you find amazing things no matter which road you choose.

At last we found the steps…guarded by two Nagas with the most amazing Mohawks!

They led us up and up through beautiful jungle and we could see the golden stupa shining above through the trees.  When we arrived at the top, we discovered that the assembly hall was actually built into the side of the mountain.  I couldn’t go in with my bare knees and shoulders but Jimmy checked it out and took some photos.

Next stop:  Chiang Dao Cave.  We weren’t entirely sure what to expect and I for one am not at all comfortable with small enclosed spaces.  No spelunking for this girl.  The area around the entrance was your typical Thai gorgeousness with yet another wat and a fish pond.  After paying our 60 baht, we walked up some concrete steps and felt the cool air emanating from inside the cave.  The spaces turned out to be vast and wide, housing many sculptures and shrines built right into the rock.  When we got further in, there was an additional charge if we wanted a “tour” through the interior…led by a friendly Thai carrying a hissing gas lantern.  Naturally we agreed.  This was great!  We walked through one chamber after the next seeing unearthly rock formations and creepy shadows created by our lantern.  Our  tour guide would occasionally point to some stone configuration and tell us what it looked like…an elephant for example, or a papaya.  Other than that, he spoke very little English but thanks to our Thai language classes we were able to carry on a decent conversation.  He told us that Thais like to “gin kung khao!” meaning “eat the bats!” which were hanging out on the ceilings all around us.  I thought it was a joke, but he insisted it was true.  A few times we had to crawl through some small spaces but thankfully they turned out to be “doorways” rather than tunnels.  We came across shrines inside the cave where locals were praying and saw monks in their orange robes passing by… into and out of our circle of light.

 

Back on the road, we searched in vain for a waterfall  and hot spring.  (We actually had no intention of going into a hot spring…I mean, come on!  We’re in Thailand.)  No matter, we were totally enjoying the ride.   Our directions were to take “the beautiful road,” and it lived up to it’s name.  We stumbled upon yet another beautiful road leading up to a national park…and the scenery was breathtaking, the color and light beyond description.  Later on, we tried to take an alternative route back to The Nest  which led us up into the mountains.  We didn’t get too far before realizing we were on our way to Burma.  Not the plan!

Exhausted and happy, we took a dip in the little saltwater swimming pool, played some ping pong in a cabana, and ate another good meal.  Before hitting the sack, we sat outside and watched as heat lightning lit up the sky.

 

 

 

 

 

Next up…Vietnam and Cambodia!