Laos Bound!

I am finally leaving Chiang Mai! Tomorrow (keeping my fingers crossed), I will be headed to Chiang Khong and, from there, to Huay Xai, in Laos. I will be taking a two-day slow boat on the Mekong River down to Luang Prabang. Laos' claim to fame: the most heavily bombed country! It's also known for being very laid back and cool.
I can't wait!

Kicking the GONG!!!

(No, I did not actually do this.)

Just to let you know that I was able to get that photo CD from April to work. You can check out more photos I've posted from my days in Singapore, Malaysia, and Krabi (including the Songkran celebration) at my flickr site.

Chiang Mai soi canopy

Something I've done while I've been in Chiang Mai is upload a lot of my photos from the past few months to my flickr site. There should be a few hundred of them there, many of them not on this blog. That site can be accessed through one of the links on the right-hand column of this page (see "LINKS") or directly through: http//www.flickr.com/photos/whereruericliu/sets/

You can download larger sizes of some of them if you "log in" to flickr, which happens to be free.
The photos are organized by location. I don't have the photos from the first part of my trip as I have mailed those home, and the photo cd from April is messed up so I can't show you all the photos from Singapore, Malaysia, and Krabi. Oh well. Nevertheless, enjoy!
Also, feel free to comment on the photos or this blog, as it is the only form of feedback I get on what you find entertaining to read about or see. You can do it anonymously without having to sign in.

Great food for 50 cents a plate!

Although I am a fan of the weiner and pretzel stands in New York City, these food stalls beat them hands down! And they're cheaper too!

Roadside food stalls appear at night

This is where you can get the most bang for your bhat around dinner time in Thailand. These stalls can serve up your favorite rice and noodle dishes for about 20 BHT, or 50 cents. And the ice water is free!

The city moat

Endless traffic inside the moat travels counterclockwise, and outside the moat, it goes clockwise.

Sunsetting over Sunday Market

As you have figured out, I am a sucker for dusk skies. This is the Tha Phae gate plaza, facing the wall.

Tha Phae gate and the Sunday Market

Tha Phae gate was the main entrance into the city center. This is the plaza in front of it, facing out. That sign above the square is what we call in the literary circles, "foreshadowing".

The Sunday Market goes on and on!

And yet again, another Sunday, and I find myself at the Sunday market, where I find I overpaid up to four times for stuff I got in the night market earlier that week. Doh!

Highest point in Thailand!

This was a long motorbike trip. The roundtrip took over six hours from Chiang Mai. Doi Inthanon is the highest peak in Thailand at 2595 meters. It was a great day for a ride, until the last 10 km when I was in the clouds, mist, and rain. It was freezing! I almost turned back, it was so cold! All I could do was take this lousy photo and turn around! (NB: Fisherman clothing -- not made for cold rain.) On the way up, I passed through pine forests with banana trees -- it was a reminder that I wasn't in North America.

Top of the water fall

I thought this was pretty cool. The top of the waterfalls wasn't a big river or stream, but just a gentle, harmless-appearing cascade over some flat rocks.

Mae Klang Waterfall

Just a big gush of water on the way up the mountain. There are quite a few of them in the surrounding area. This was the only one I checked out, since it was going to be a trek to get up to the top.

Flooded fields

Incredibly, I am STILL in Chiang Mai. I took a road trip this Sunday to check out Doi Inthanon, the highest point in Siam. I was told it would be a day trip. It was. It too over an hour for me to get to the start of the mountain, and then a couple hours to get to the top. I stopped to take this photo on my way to Doi Inthanon National Park.

Cooking in a boat

I ate at this place a couple times because it is close to my guesthouse and cheap. This dude climbs into a miniature longtail boat and cooks his noodles and meats for you. This is the kind of wierd image that you take for granted after being here for a while.

Chiang Mai night lights and the moat

A blurry shot taken from the back of the motorcycle (three on a bike! -- a piece of cake after doing this in Mae Sot for two months).

Faster and Faster

A tuk-tuk races under its propane power through the streets of Chiang Mai at night. There are no public buses around here so either you take a tuk-tuk or hire a motorcycle.

Friends at Smile Guesthouse

Solo traveller? You're never alone. Everyone in this photo left their home alone. Moron (an Israeli just out of the Air Force a week into his year of travels in SE Asia), me, Emily, Peter, Sonya (a German who had just arrived into Thailand for six weeks of travel), and Sandra (a Berliner 9 weeks into her 12 week holiday in Cambodia and Thailand).

Emily and Peter enjoying hot pot

That ringed pan has a dome in the center (with vents) for grilling foods. The shallow moat around the dome has a broth in which you can boil the vegetables, noodles, meatball products, tofu, and meat. You then dip the food into your sauce of choice. The green one has the sweet taste of cilantro, green onion, sesame, green chili's. The red one has red peppers. This cost 90 BHT a person. I love Thailand!

Hot cauldrons...

Eerie purple light in buckets. These were buckets of coals and ceramic brickets that were placed under the hot pot through a hole in the table. I can't imagine how great it would feel it the bucket dropped on our toes.

Pile on the goods...

How this works:
First you go to the long table and gather up an assortment of raw food on trays. There were raw meats, vegetables, glass and green noodles, seafood, and some meatball products. You bring this all back to your table to cook. All-u-can-eat. Mmmmm...