I 
traveled by VIP bus from Sisaket to Chiang Mai, after a very sad good-buy to the teachers at the school. For those considering traveling in Thailand, the VIP buses are great, lots of leg room, blankets and food and movies. But they are (at least at night) unbelievably cold! I actually used the winter jacket I brought to help stay warm on the bus (though it was a bit heavy).
I slept most of the way, but woke from time to time to see a completely different countryside. Where PK and surroundings are very flat (Jacob's joke from the Netherlands applies to the south of Issan, too: if your dog ran away, you could still see it a week later! Except that the trees would get in the way a bit). The north has hills! -- Its a strange topography really. Very flat (flatter than I have ever seen. Flatter than the Midwest, for those who think the Midwest it flat!) and then suddenly hills! Up thrusts or something from ancient tectonic activity. --And because it was so much further north, and so much higher up in elevation, the weather was much cooler! At least in the early morning I was comfortable for a few hours (in PK I was all sweaty at 8am, before the day had hardly begun, in CM I didn't get too hot until about noonish).
Chiang Mai is a very touristy town. But still small enough to manage on your own. And much more laid back, they tell me, than Bangkok. It was so much more hectic than PK or Sisaket, that I didn't notice that aspect of it. It is also full of temples! Tens, if not hundreds, of temples within the old city wall (which enclose about one square mile).
My first full day there I went on a trek. I had wanted to go on a 4 day trek, but one had left the morning I arrived. So no go. Instead, I went on a two-day, one-night trek. The driver and group leader picked me up and then went to collect the rest of the group: two British couples, and two German dental students. The seven of us drove up to a waterfall and splashed around for a bit. It was very beautiful, but full of Farang watching the Thai people bathing, fully clothed (as is the Thai style). Then off to a hot springs -- very hot water! My poor white legs were very pink from soaking in the pool! though it felt great, once I got used to the heat. The water was warmed from geysers a little way up the hill. We met some monks coming down as we went up, and me in my American-Thai manner struck up a conversation with them. All about Thailand and the differences between here and home. And specifically Issan and my time there!
Then we hiked, through the forest, into the hills. We stayed the night in a Hill tribe village.
Not really interacting with the Hill people or each other very much. But enjoying being out of the city. It was very strange for me. Hard to get used to being surrounded by Farang, and eating Farang food, after 6 weeks being Issan Farang and living with, and as, a Thai person. Also strange, but cool in a disturbing sort of way, was the fact that the people were burning the forest. Before planting the tradition is to burn the fields. The burnt vegetation clears the field and acts as fertilizer. But the fire also burns the low underbrush of the forest. Creeping along as a low red flame down the hills until it eventually stopped at the river that separated us from the forest (an in which we had bathed earlier that evening).
traveled by VIP bus from Sisaket to Chiang Mai, after a very sad good-buy to the teachers at the school. For those considering traveling in Thailand, the VIP buses are great, lots of leg room, blankets and food and movies. But they are (at least at night) unbelievably cold! I actually used the winter jacket I brought to help stay warm on the bus (though it was a bit heavy).I slept most of the way, but woke from time to time to see a completely different countryside. Where PK and surroundings are very flat (Jacob's joke from the Netherlands applies to the south of Issan, too: if your dog ran away, you could still see it a week later! Except that the trees would get in the way a bit). The north has hills! -- Its a strange topography really. Very flat (flatter than I have ever seen. Flatter than the Midwest, for those who think the Midwest it flat!) and then suddenly hills! Up thrusts or something from ancient tectonic activity. --And because it was so much further north, and so much higher up in elevation, the weather was much cooler! At least in the early morning I was comfortable for a few hours (in PK I was all sweaty at 8am, before the day had hardly begun, in CM I didn't get too hot until about noonish).
Chiang Mai is a very touristy town. But still small enough to manage on your own. And much more laid back, they tell me, than Bangkok. It was so much more hectic than PK or Sisaket, that I didn't notice that aspect of it. It is also full of temples! Tens, if not hundreds, of temples within the old city wall (which enclose about one square mile).
My first full day there I went on a trek. I had wanted to go on a 4 day trek, but one had left the morning I arrived. So no go. Instead, I went on a two-day, one-night trek. The driver and group leader picked me up and then went to collect the rest of the group: two British couples, and two German dental students. The seven of us drove up to a waterfall and splashed around for a bit. It was very beautiful, but full of Farang watching the Thai people bathing, fully clothed (as is the Thai style). Then off to a hot springs -- very hot water! My poor white legs were very pink from soaking in the pool! though it felt great, once I got used to the heat. The water was warmed from geysers a little way up the hill. We met some monks coming down as we went up, and me in my American-Thai manner struck up a conversation with them. All about Thailand and the differences between here and home. And specifically Issan and my time there!Then we hiked, through the forest, into the hills. We stayed the night in a Hill tribe village.
Not really interacting with the Hill people or each other very much. But enjoying being out of the city. It was very strange for me. Hard to get used to being surrounded by Farang, and eating Farang food, after 6 weeks being Issan Farang and living with, and as, a Thai person. Also strange, but cool in a disturbing sort of way, was the fact that the people were burning the forest. Before planting the tradition is to burn the fields. The burnt vegetation clears the field and acts as fertilizer. But the fire also burns the low underbrush of the forest. Creeping along as a low red flame down the hills until it eventually stopped at the river that separated us from the forest (an in which we had bathed earlier that evening).The 
next day, we woke up early and had TOAST! for breakfast. I think I ate 6 pieces! plus two eggs (scrambled with tomato!) and pineapple and a banana. I ate everything in sight! Everyone else hardly touched their food (for the entire trip actually) while I ate like a horse! Mook would be proud of me! (she was always telling me to eat more.) After breakfast we hiked "up and down" until we reached a town with elephants and bamboo rafts. We sat and watched the make the rafts while we waited for them to find and round up the elephants. The raft making (as with everything else that is made here) fascinated me. They tie the rafts together with strips of ... Bamboo?... starting at one end and working their way to the other. But as they go, the other end gets more and more "cattywompus" with poles sticking every which way. So that the final lashing of poles takes much more talent than the first end (as far as I can tell). But all fascinating!
The elephants are amazing, too! They look so sad, in a way. Very sad eyes, I think. They clearly have personalities and characters, and are curious about these tiny little people who clamber on their backs and necks and ride them for a while.
Elephant backbones stick out from their backs -- which I never knew -- and so the seats are very well padded (on the under side) to protect their spines. And their skin is very strange too. Very dry. With bristly hairs sticking out every inch or so. I rode with the two German girls. At first I sat in the seat, but about 2/3 of the way through we switched places and I got to ride on the elephant's neck! All of it was an experience of a life time! Riding on the seat was great. It felt a bit slippery, but also very POSH. The neck was amazing! I want to say it was like riding a horse, but it wasn't. The neck is much fleshier than I thought, and rocks back and forth, from side to side, as the elephant moves! A bit unstable! The elephant kept flapping it's ears. Which would come back and hit my leg with a "whap!" Occasionally it would turn it's head, pinning my leg in place with it's ear. All in all, amazing. I have always appreciated elephants, but that appreciation has grown even more after this!
After the elephants, we floated down the river on the bamboo raft. It rides just below the surface of the water which was nice as it kept us nice and cool. And the park we floated through was beautiful! High green hills rising on either side. Wow!
Back in the city I spent most of my time just being lazy and wandering around from temple to temple. I actually spent a lot of time talking to the student Monks. They have what they call "Monk Chats" in the afternoons at several temples. It is a great opportunity for the Monks to practice their English and for the tourists to interact with, and learn about, Thai people.
One day I rented a Tuk-tuk and rode up to Doi Suthep (a beautiful temple on the hill) and the Kings Palace (full of the smell of roses! I wished I could have bottled it and saved it to smell any time I wanted it. My favorite, though, was the rose they called the Chicago Rose (Beautiful! Though I loved the fact that it named after my home.)
Another day I had a bit of an adventure! The guide book talked about a town about 20km away that art (history) enthusiasts would not want to miss. No public transport there though. So I rented a motor cycle (as recommended by the book). It was Great! Though a bit scary as the last time I rode a motorcycle (excluding the half hour or so Jacob spent teaching me on the running track at PK) was almost twenty years ago! (Man do I feel old!) But off I went. I got out of CM with only one minor incident (when my helmet flew off my head!) and actually enjoyed cruising down the beautiful tree lined road in the country. I made it to the temple and back alive. As did all the Thai people I encountered. I have to say this, though, for anyone considering a similar adventure: The rules of the road in Thailand are really just suggestions. Motorists (mostly motorcycle riders, but also cars) will slow down, and even pause at red lights. But if there is no one coming, then they go again, without waiting for the light to turn green. And merging into traffic requires a great deal of faith that things will go well. Actually, in the two months I've been here, I've only seen one accident (though I have heard of about 3 or 4 more).
It reminds me a bit of what I have heard of driving in the US in the early days of the auto. The early cars did not have rear-view mirrors and very small back windows because drivers only worried about what was in front of them. They let the people behind worry about themselves! I would actually recommend renting a motorcycle and cruising around CM on your own in the first day or so that you visit. And it would be the thing to use to go up the mountain to Doi Suthep and to get around the zoo.
I stayed longer in CM than I intended. A full week (though two of those days were on the trek). Very restful in a way. And totally different from PK. A good break I guess. Ironically, on my last day there I met up with two future traveling companions. So I guess that is why I stayed -- to meet them!
next day, we woke up early and had TOAST! for breakfast. I think I ate 6 pieces! plus two eggs (scrambled with tomato!) and pineapple and a banana. I ate everything in sight! Everyone else hardly touched their food (for the entire trip actually) while I ate like a horse! Mook would be proud of me! (she was always telling me to eat more.) After breakfast we hiked "up and down" until we reached a town with elephants and bamboo rafts. We sat and watched the make the rafts while we waited for them to find and round up the elephants. The raft making (as with everything else that is made here) fascinated me. They tie the rafts together with strips of ... Bamboo?... starting at one end and working their way to the other. But as they go, the other end gets more and more "cattywompus" with poles sticking every which way. So that the final lashing of poles takes much more talent than the first end (as far as I can tell). But all fascinating!The elephants are amazing, too! They look so sad, in a way. Very sad eyes, I think. They clearly have personalities and characters, and are curious about these tiny little people who clamber on their backs and necks and ride them for a while.
Elephant backbones stick out from their backs -- which I never knew -- and so the seats are very well padded (on the under side) to protect their spines. And their skin is very strange too. Very dry. With bristly hairs sticking out every inch or so. I rode with the two German girls. At first I sat in the seat, but about 2/3 of the way through we switched places and I got to ride on the elephant's neck! All of it was an experience of a life time! Riding on the seat was great. It felt a bit slippery, but also very POSH. The neck was amazing! I want to say it was like riding a horse, but it wasn't. The neck is much fleshier than I thought, and rocks back and forth, from side to side, as the elephant moves! A bit unstable! The elephant kept flapping it's ears. Which would come back and hit my leg with a "whap!" Occasionally it would turn it's head, pinning my leg in place with it's ear. All in all, amazing. I have always appreciated elephants, but that appreciation has grown even more after this!
After the elephants, we floated down the river on the bamboo raft. It rides just below the surface of the water which was nice as it kept us nice and cool. And the park we floated through was beautiful! High green hills rising on either side. Wow!
Back in the city I spent most of my time just being lazy and wandering around from temple to temple. I actually spent a lot of time talking to the student Monks. They have what they call "Monk Chats" in the afternoons at several temples. It is a great opportunity for the Monks to practice their English and for the tourists to interact with, and learn about, Thai people.One day I rented a Tuk-tuk and rode up to Doi Suthep (a beautiful temple on the hill) and the Kings Palace (full of the smell of roses! I wished I could have bottled it and saved it to smell any time I wanted it. My favorite, though, was the rose they called the Chicago Rose (Beautiful! Though I loved the fact that it named after my home.)
Another day I had a bit of an adventure! The guide book talked about a town about 20km away that art (history) enthusiasts would not want to miss. No public transport there though. So I rented a motor cycle (as recommended by the book). It was Great! Though a bit scary as the last time I rode a motorcycle (excluding the half hour or so Jacob spent teaching me on the running track at PK) was almost twenty years ago! (Man do I feel old!) But off I went. I got out of CM with only one minor incident (when my helmet flew off my head!) and actually enjoyed cruising down the beautiful tree lined road in the country. I made it to the temple and back alive. As did all the Thai people I encountered. I have to say this, though, for anyone considering a similar adventure: The rules of the road in Thailand are really just suggestions. Motorists (mostly motorcycle riders, but also cars) will slow down, and even pause at red lights. But if there is no one coming, then they go again, without waiting for the light to turn green. And merging into traffic requires a great deal of faith that things will go well. Actually, in the two months I've been here, I've only seen one accident (though I have heard of about 3 or 4 more).
It reminds me a bit of what I have heard of driving in the US in the early days of the auto. The early cars did not have rear-view mirrors and very small back windows because drivers only worried about what was in front of them. They let the people behind worry about themselves! I would actually recommend renting a motorcycle and cruising around CM on your own in the first day or so that you visit. And it would be the thing to use to go up the mountain to Doi Suthep and to get around the zoo.I stayed longer in CM than I intended. A full week (though two of those days were on the trek). Very restful in a way. And totally different from PK. A good break I guess. Ironically, on my last day there I met up with two future traveling companions. So I guess that is why I stayed -- to meet them!
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