Chiang Mai Day 4: Rafting, Riding, Roping

So the Action packed day is about to start. Woop! Woop!
We arranged with the Travel Agency to leave out all the boring stuff and just get more of the action. So a day with ziplining, elephant riding and whitewater rafting is ahead.




Elephant family


We are sharing the Minibus with an Australian family with 2 cute kids and seems they booked quite a bit of a different itinerary. And seems we are in the their itinerary. So essentially we are getting all we booked with more thrown in, all the boring stuff we wanted to avoid, but hey, if it's a free add-on. 

Orchid Farm

The day starts with a visit to a Butterfly and Orchid Farm. There are almost no butterflies to be seen but the orchids are pretty. That's all to be said about that pitstop. Guess just a regular tourist trap that's included in all itineraries in this direction. But at least it doesn't cost extra and nobody forces you to buy anything.



Check out the unchewed banana collection in there ;)




Next up is another really exciting event. Bamboo rafting. Woohoo! Sit on a bamboo that sloooowly makes it down a river. Left and right there's

Bamboo rafting

 plenty of greenery to be seen, nice sight but the one in China was more exciting. Once down there they lift the Bamboo rafts with a truck out and deliver them back up to where it started. The road is so muddy you would easily sink in above your ankles. But we get such a 'comfy' pick-up truck to take us back. And then... a nice elephant ride. Over a swing bridge we go and jump on our elephant taxi. It's bumpy up and then and it's freaking hot but the elephants are soooo cute. There's even a baby elephant tagging along behind his 

Sturdy bridge ?!

mummy, holding the tail and carefully watching what's happening around. And the hungry ones eat small bananas out of our hands. We even get to switch from the top chairs to the neck of the elephant. Which is even hotter, sitting right on the skin but that ride is exciting, especially when it goes down a steep slope. Holding on tiiiiiight!



Double zipping

And then the waiting game starts. There's a nice buffet lunch but we need to wait and wait for other minibusses to show up and then wait some more for the Ziplining to start. Seems they are taking everyone there together, makes sense since they need a few people on the platforms to get you all across. Since we are about 20 people now ziplining it takes a long time to get everyone geared up, walked to the start and from platform to platform. The ziplining itself is great fun. The scenery is not as nice as in Belize, it's freaking hot and one of the guides accidentally totally bumped in my back, telling us how important breaking is when you are going too fast but not doing it himself. Ah well, the fun makes the pain go away. You can even do double ziplining. Rapelling is still not my favorite thing to do, but hey, they do all the work so essentially you just have to sit there. The waiting though sucks. For everyone to move around from platform to platform. Gives you plenty of time to get soaked in your own sweat. Last zipline goes over the river. Which is really sweet. I could have gone some time longer.

Really happy that Whitewater Rafting is next on the schedule. Wooohooo! To get there it takes a long, bumpy ride in a pick up truck but it's scenic and fun. And glad that after all the sweating we are getting drenched in the waters now. There's some waiting again as the rafts are just being brought by trucks as well. Seems they don't have too much equipment around. Talk about Just In Time Delivery. The life vests are mandatory, unfortunately mine is waaaaay too big and once in the boat I am barely seeing out of it. After a short introduction on what to do at which commando we take down the river on two rafts. Getting soaked within the first few seconds in the easy rapids feels fantastic. It really doesn't get much better than this. Even 

Waiting....

when the rapids get a bit stronger the guide on the boat knows exactly where to steer and when we need paddling. Easy enough. We dive underneath the rapids a few times but luckily never turn over and at one pond in the river can even get out to float alongside the boat. Sweeeeet! That is over waaaaay to quickly. I want more and more and more of the rafting. So sad it's over. We get on the pick-up again drive through beautiful scenery and get the choice. Seeing a hilltribe, walking to waterfalls or do both. Since the Australian family is tight on time, they are getting picked up that evening, and we are not keen on hilltribes we just opt for waterfalls. The Hilltribes are on the 1000 things to see before you die list but I hate the idea of going to a village and gawking at people. Kind of like a zoo, just with humans. And I did hear some sad stories about that too, so don't necessarily want to support that cause. Interaction should be minimal, well down to the exchange of money if you buy something there. If anyone's been, comments are appreciated. The waterfall is relaxing. Lots of water pressure almost throwing me over the edge so off to a quieter spot to enjoy. Bumpy ride back to the starting point and off to Chiang Mai we are. What a great day, can we do that all over again (only the exciting part that is).


Yeeha



Shower and then dinner in Chiang Mai and some more 'shopping' at the Night Market. It's more like window shopping only for me. Udo puts on a nice fashion show for us with the suits he had made there. Elegant I can say!  

3 Ladies walking home alone we are taking the shortcut, which leads us by the Chiang Mai Pub Street more or less. It's fairly quiet but disturbing nonetheless. Maybe just because it's so quiet you notice all the young Thai girls and boys waiting around for tourists to buy them a 'drink'. Sad sight actually. As soon as one white man enters the bar there's at least 5 women jumping on him hoping to get at least a drink out of it. And every one is in on the action. Little boys selling flowers etc. That's a scene we would like to leave as quickly as possible. Massage parlors and little corner bars, all practically empty line the way. But as women you are way safer than alone man walking around.


cozying up in the Pick-up truck



Back at the Guesthouse the small Iguanas are crawling all over the ceiling, somehow especially in front of our room. Just talking about the fact to be careful that one may fall down on top of your head, one actually does just a few cm of Laura's head warranting a nice scream and a laugh.

Last day in Chiang Mai tomorrow and cooking class is on the schedule. Get your hunger on coz this is gonna be deliciosoooo!





Chiang Mai Day 3, Pooling and Spirituality.... through shopping?

So it's been a while but with a broken Laptop it's a bit hard to keep the world updated on what I've been up to. Chiang Mai is over two weeks ago and soooo much has happened since (like a Cambodia trip and a few crazy party nights in Bangkok) but I don't want to sacrifice the chronological order so just read the adventures as they happened.


Prison Shop & Massage



Some temple

Chiang Mai Day 3 was a bit to relax since we have a tight schedule for the next two days. It all started with some pool time, breakfast, more pool time with a nice book and nice company. So what's the plan for the day. Well half of us had off to get a Prison Massage. Yes, you can actually get a massage opposite a prison by inmates. They are bound to get out in the next few months and can earn some pocket money by running a restaurant and doing massages. Supporting the good cause seems like a fabulous idea but apparently a lot of other people think so too. There is a wait time of about an hour to get the prison massage and they tell us they are busy every day and most of the time you need to wait. So seems they don't need our support after all. Since we are short on time there's no incentive for us in waiting and there's plenty of other ladies waiting to massage us at the Weekend Walking Market in Chiang Mai.



My rub is really, really hard. That old Lady has sooo much strength in her fingers its incredible. Talk about a head massage, it almost gives me a headache. Ouch. Massages are so much cheaper in Chiang Mai than they are in Bangkok, especially on the Weekend Market, less than half the price. Sweeet!



Monk chat

Next off is an interesting stop by a local temple. They do have monk chats there where you can just sit down and chat with a Buddhist monk about God (Buddha) and the world. So the three of us chat with monk Jimmy for about two hours about pretty much everything. Jimmy's is on Facebook and Twitter, and sends e-mails and got a Laptop and a cell phone. Quite unusual but apparently monks here are allowed to have possesion, unlike somewhere else. And as he studies at the Buddhist university he needs those tools too.

His plan is to become Thailand's next Prime Minister or Ambassador in another country. That would be pretty cool! You really can ask him anything and he answers very honestly. About life as a monk, what's good and not so good about it, religion, world politics and social media. I never expected so much honesty and direct contact. And they do it voluntarily out of interest and to practice their English skills. There should definitely be more programs like that. Kind of eye opening too.



Anyone hungry?



After that stint into spirituality there's an attempt at therapy. Retail therapy that is. The Weekend Market in Chiang Mai extends throughout the inner city and is gigantic. They have set up shops everywhere and there are many different things to buy. Mostly handicrafts, handmade things from Northern Thailand. Woods, Fabrics and all other stuff. Very interesting to see and watch but then again what would I do with the stuff back home, or how would I even get it there? So for the shopping part I mainly stick to trying different street food here and there and it's pretty fantastic. A sight I haven't seen in Bangkok before is blind ladies walking through the market with a microphone and speakers, singing for donations. One of them sings pretty good so that warrants a few Baht. There's also handicapped people sitting in the middle of the market singing or playing instruments, Ladyboys looking for donations to their cause and many, many other agendas are all represented here. And most of it is cheaper than in Bangkok. So fantastic shopping to be had in Chiang Mai.



What do you get when you pair a Panda with a pink poodle?

Me and the Girls!

Fantastic waffles

Walk, shop, walk, shop, walk, shop till the stores close or your feet don't make it any more. We are gonna sleep good tonight might as well since we have an early start tomorrow. Action filled day is coming up.

Nina & Joonas

Jenny fanning off the crazy heat

Chiang Mai Day 2, Temple and Night Safari

Expert posing

Groooooowl!

In order to get some energy for climbing the 'mountain' to the temple we meet early for breakfast. It takes forever to get there but it tastes good and that's whats important. We get a private car pick-up for the 6 of us to go to Wat Doi Suthep. It's one of the most important temples in the North of Thailand and apparently really beautiful and worth a visit although it's practically impossible to get there via public transport. Well no public transport for us. The car is fully decked out with DVD and music player and big comfy seats. Since the drivers selection includes Thai music - my ears haven't gotten acquired to their tones yet - we opt for a quiet ride insted. The ride up to the temple is on a lovely paved road (I expected it to be more bumpy) actually better in shape than some Austrian mountain roads. But apparently Thais don't know how to drive up the hills, everyone drives soooo slow. I mean, our Minibus takes over Mercedes' and BMW's. What's up with that. Back home we would have been up there in less than half the time I assume.

Group pic!!!

Anyway, nice ride, good views and dropped off right in front of the entrance. The hawkers run up to us expecting to sell us all sorts of stuff and they do get lucky. Joonas gets a little bell with a heart attached to it. You are supposed to write your name, or your family, friends etc. on there and hang it at the temple for good luck. We put all our 6 names on there and it does look pretty cool.

Back at you!

Now we have two options. Take a funicular up there for 20 baht (50 ct.) or walk up the hill. Since it's higher up the weather is really pleasant and we opt for the walk. After all it should help you to enlightenment when you take the difficult path up there.

Baby Buddhaaaaa

Difficult may be the wrong word. What sounded so hard - as in several hundred steps - was really not much more than climbing up to my lovely 5th floor 'Penthouse'  apartment. What happens on the steps is the interesting part. There's little girls, fully dressed in hill tribe clothing posing for pictures with 'farangs' (white foreigners). Upon taking a picture they hold up their hand and yell 'Give me moneeeeeey'. Ok that's not so cute.
One girl poses as if for a professional photoshoot and literally jumps Udo. She is a Pro at this and having fun doing it. And there's some great pictures coming out of it. Damn she is so adorable, Brangelina should adopt her.

Wat Doi Suthep

The Temple is really beautiful and the views over Chiang Mai are breathtaking. And there are a lot of worshippers here actually praying, not only tourists taking pictures. You can see that it is a very important temple for the locals. While on the outside we do make a few crazy pictures with stupid poses, enjoy the view but act all proper inside the temple. The golden Stupa is just wooow. Really enjoying this here. And since we got our private driver and not a tour bus we can take all the time WE want. Loving it! Decorations with baby buddhas, kid buddhas and other buddhas are everywhere and sooo cute. That would be something different to our garden dwarfs ;-)

Our lucky bell in the temple

On the way down we get to do some souvenir shopping. And I can't tell again coz it's.... yep, gifts. Let's just say I haven't lost my talent for bargaining.
Our driver is patiently waiting for all of us to finish our shopping and takes us back to the Guesthouse. Now the hunt for food starts. For whatever reason so many restaurants in Chiang Mai are closed. It's not easy finding a place to eat. We walk down Soi (small Lanes, sidestreets) after Soi, after Soi till we finally find a place that's open and... drumroll please... is asking reasonable prices. This will be our refueling stop for the next few days. The rest of the afternoon is relaxing at the pool till we get picked up (same private VIP car again) for the Chiang Mai Night Safari. It's a bit outside town and supposedly the 2nd best Night Safari in the world (after Singapore - I will confirm that after my midterm break).

Temple

At the Night Safari there's two routes you can take with an open kind of Buggy Bus. They drive you either by the animals in their enclosures or right through them if they are friendly ones.
The South Tour is pretty darn great. Best moments are when Zebras and Giraffes come up so close you can actually touch and pet them. A few passengers bought snacks so one Giraffe actually pokes her head right in sticks out a reaaaally long tongue to grab some food of them. I get to touch a Zebra walking by and actually pet the Giraffe. They are more casual and there's no danger of them biting of your fingers. There's some deer related animals walking around in the open too, forgive me if I forgot all their names. Sweet moment is also driving by the Hippos and actually seeing them open their mouth fully to catch some bananas.

Baby girl forthcoming....

In the 'main terminal' of the Night Safari you can get your picture taken with a white baby tiger for 300 Baht which we don't. There's another option of getting a picture with Pandas. But that's unfortunately photoshopped only. I have no idea how much I would have paid to actually hold a Baby Panda. Darn! The drive through the North enclosures is not as exciting but nice too. Few animals walking up, few animals to be seen. But yeah, a zoo.
Later there's also a water show with music and you can walk by some enclosures around the fake Swan Lake. So you get by some white tigers, alligators and the like. The walk is sveltering hot, although it's pitchdark already. Pictures generally turn out really crabby. For the health of the animals there's no flash allowed, which I guess may work as well for the wellbeing of the visitors but there's really no way of capturing a running Zebra in the night without a flash. Another sweet moment on the walking tour is when we get to the Jaguars. A zoo guard (or whoever) got two jaguars really close to the fence so if you dare you may reach in through the tiny holes and get to touch them. And I have to say a Jaguar's paw is just sooo much softer than it's regular fur. I spent the next minutes ripping out long stems of grass and tickling the Jaguar with it, and I think he/she really likes it, and gets playful at that too. Yeah, I can be that brave with a strong fence between us. A baby one of those would have been adorable for sure too!
The star of the night is however a tiny owl. It is soooo cool, it actually turns its head and stares at you the moment you say 'Owl'. Seems it knows that you are calling it. And it turns it's head 180 degrees. Cuuuuute! So you know, that evening was just owlsome!

Chiang Mai Day 1, eating and shopping (so what's different to BKK anyway?)

What's the reason to get up really early to make it to class before you are flying out on your weekend vacay, if they just tell you there, that the class has been cancelled. Sitting around in the coffeeshop waiting for Udo to get out of class. At the airport we meet up with the other 4 lucky people who did not have class today.

Chiang Mai Airport - lovely welcome

Flying AirAsia is a breeze. Got the boarding passes preprinted and with our tiny backpacks we are breezing through security and just chilling till the flight comes. Bad thing for airports is... the food prices are insane. Even water costs more than triple than outside. Arrrgh! Nothing you can do. There's a prize mafia and if you are hungry or thirsty you just gotta shell out the dough.
Arriving in Chiang Mai we get free Sim Cards for foreigners. Would be very nice but unfortunately I already got one. Catching taxis to the guesthouse is also a breeze. And it makes a good first impression. They are nice there, speak good English and run jokes. When we decide not to book tours with them straight away they aren't as nice anymore. But we can deal with that.

Pool chairs ;-)

So what's the plan for the first evening in Chiang Mai. Let's start with fooood. Everyone's starving and we find a sweet little place close by that's really nicely decorated. And there it is... the second power outage of the day. We had a short one before in the Guest House. But it all seems very harmless, light is coming on again shortly after.

Fooooood

Walking through Chiang Mai it appears to be really, really quite. There's not much going on here on a Friday late afternoon. We read something about a Monk Chat at a Wat in the city and that's where we are headed now. By the time we get there the Monk Chat is already over but we witness all the monks praying in the temple. Since we are 'inappropriately' dressed we slip on the robes provided and it makes for some great photo ops. The temple is nice, just like aaaall the other temples I've seen so far. Far more impressive is the giant hill, forgot the proper name for it, behind the temple. Looks fab, especially with the sun setting over it. If it wouldn't be for the howling and fighting dogs the scene may even be somewhat romantic.

I am sooo hungry I could eat a monkey!

All dressed up for the monkcasion

What's one of the bigger attractions in Chiang Mai? That's right the famous Night Market. Since it started to rain we hop in two Tuk Tuk's and off we are. One Tuk Tuk driver actually offered to take all 6 of us in one Tuk Tuk. It would have been interesting to try, but I am not sure we would have made it. It's a fun drive anyway. What differentiates the Chiang Mai markets from other markets in Thailand is the fact they don't mainly sell clothes but lots of handicrafts too. There is everything from homesewn, stitched, woodcrafts, iron and whatever else you can imagine. Most of them look really good too, and sooo cheap. Since I really don't need stuff but am so tempted to buy something nice I get a few gifts. I can't let out what though, coz I wanna surprise a few people. Check your mail folks ;-)

Monks

Temple Hill

Tuk Tuk ride

Just before heading back to the Guesthouse I peek in a Travel Agency that's by the end of the Night Market. And lucky us... their prices are more than reasonable. After bargaining - after all it's for 6 people - and bargaining and discussing and discussing we manage to book 4 trips alltogether for around 50 €. Since the price got cheaper the more we booked we just fill up our schedule for the next few days. So booked the following: Morning Trip to Wat Doi Suthep, most famous temple near Chiang Mai on a 'mountain' with great city views. Evening trip to Chiang Mai Night Safari. Full daytrip to go Elephant riding, ziplining and whitewater rafting. And a full day cooking course. Since we've lost one group member who is nowhere to be found and not reachable via phone (a very common theme over the next few days) we decide to book everything for all of us anyway and it should turn out to be a fantastic decision.
 More on the trips during the next posts.

Bangkok - shopping dream or shopping nightmare?

I always wonder... why do people come to Bangkok of all places to shop. I mean, I've shopped in New York, Hong Kong, Dubai, Shanghai and quite a few other cities, all shopping meccas in their own right. And now Bangkok. I was about to discover what's so truly special about shopping in Bangkok that there's quite a few, national and international that undertake, usually twice yearly, trips just to buy stuff.

Mall luxuries

Most of the action happens in Siam district. One Mall is neatly stacked next to another, next to another, next to another. It's pure insanity and a worth a pilgrimage for every serious shopper. Our day started out in some gigantic Macy's style department store and resulted with us fleeing the highly overpriced food court seeking refuge at the street vendors outside. Ah, what would the cash strapped student be without the street vendors.
While continuing from one mall to the other we forget the reason why we came to this area in the first place (to visit some famous shrines) and just indulge in all the glorious food, snacks and well, let's just call it stuff, there is on sale.
There's mall for everything. For Western style clothes, furniture, books. For Thai style clothes, furniture, books. For Chinese style.... you get the message. So whirling through stores and stores and stores and floors and floors and floors haggling to get a fair price, you actually don't wonder why the 'Ladies that Lunch' keep their physique. Trolling through hundreds of shops is more exhausting than a two hour workout in the gym.
The malls are as luxurious as the ones was used to in Dubai. There's some water fountains in the middle, some green spaces and cleaning ladies everywhere to make sure it looks spotless. The more prestigous the shops the more lavish the decoration. From Big C to Platinum I and II and back to Centerworld Mall. On the way there are quite a few really busy street vendors with tables and chairs set up.

Live fish

They sell whole fish stuffed with Veggies and herbs, rubbed in what I guess is salt. Looks really tasty but there it is, the shocking food moment I did not want to have. Some of the fish are still moving. While on the grill. Watching closer they are taken out of a bucket, rubbed in salt, stuffed with Veggies and thrown on the grill. Alive or half alive I can't tell. What I can tell is that some of them are still moving frantically. I am a huge fan of fresh food, but that, is too fresh. It's really scary and I stare at it about two minutes in other awe. Watching him put more and more, moving fish on the fired up grill. Gheez, and that right next to a busy street. Welcome to Bangkok.

There's a shrine around the corner, maybe to pray for those tortured animals.... but the luxury of Centerworld let's you forget what just happens outside. In sub-zero airconditioning there's some more shopping to be done and the admittance that Bangkok shopping beat us. We only made it through a few floors in a few malls and there's just sooooo many more. The choices are endless, the prices are cheap to reasonable (with a few exceptions of course) and the feet are burning. Go Taxi driver whisk us home so we can book our spontaneous weekend trip away.

Tuesday is lazy day and chores day. There's some pool time to be had, some laundry to be done and some grocery shopping to be taken care off.

Rushhour craziness

This evening there is a nice get together planned from a few students in a hyped restaurant called Somtam. There are three tiny tables there, we reserved for a party of ten and then to everyone's surprise really make it happen that 12 people actucally fit and it there. Ordering food is a chaos, no one speaks english, everyone is confused and it takes forever. Service is spotty and the food leaves more than a little bit to be desired. Why it's gotten rave reviews is beyond me. While the food is disappointing the company is quite the opposite. We've got 12 people from 8 nationalities, which does make for a fantabulous evening. To round it all off a lovely dessert at the excellent tasting (but unfriendly staffing) Mango Tango right next door. Then again what does the location matter if the company's right.
Off next are a few uneventful days of classes. And then the next info will reach you from Chiang Mai... Northern Thailand. 4 day weekend getaway. 

Backpacker's adventures - Grasshoppers, Fish Spa, Boat Trips, Japanese costumes and stuff

There are days, like many days that you spent holed up in class where you have nothing to report. And when there is action you do not have time to write. Kind of a vicious circle but I'll make that work anyway.
So after three rather unexciting days in class, one day spent with massage and relaxing I went all out on what you could call a Backpackers day.
Let's see how that started out. Sleeping in late and then be lucky enough to catch Hester, who I met on Koh Samet, online. We scheduled to meet at Siam Paragon.
What I didn't know than was that there'd be thousands of people crowding the place. A Japanese Fest was going on at the square outside Siam Paragon and there were hundreds of kids dressed up in crazy cartoon style outfits. Thinking of my friend St.A. who will be spending the next months in Japan and may end up looking like that at some point. Can't wait for pictures. So sifting through the crowds for half an hour we end up finally finding us. The foodcourt is so overcrowded its nearly impossible to find a seat. The rest of the Mall, where all the expensive shops are is comparatively quiet and peaceful.

My Bruck ;-)

Bad thing for my wallet.. I find an English bookstore that's got a great selection. I only buy the bare minimum... a book on Thai streetfood and the latest edition of the Shopaholic series, of which I devoured all the previous ones. Just out of curiosity I pick up the Lonely Planet Austria Edition. And which page does it automatically open to. Three pages of recommendations on what to see, do and eat in my very hometown. I didn't even know we had so much there ;-) That makes me think a lot about my folks back home and all the events I am going to miss (once again) while I am away. You can put your tissues away now, it's not gonna be a sad story about homesickness.
Up next is an interesting stroll up and down Siam Square. Thousands of little shops, every cm of space filled with people, street vendors, hawkers and other stuff. It's amazing. A touristy sightseeing spot nearby is Jim Thompson's House, on the way there we pass by a half a dozen more giant shopping malls. Just wondering... who buys all this stuff? Consumerism is really trendy here.

Jim Thompson's House

Jim Thompson's house is solid wood, dark red. He was an American who settled down in Bangkok and established the Thai silk trade. Lots of small woodden houses with a distinct charme and a garden in between them. Quite cozy here if it weren't for the mosquitoes. And... my student ID gets me discount for the ticket, gotta love that even more. Jim Thompson is apparently loved throughout Thailand, although there's few of the silk weaver families from back in the day left, apparently just living across the river. To see the house there's a compulsory tour included in the ticket, but it's arranged very nicely and worth a visit if you have some extra time.

Klorng Boat

We don't make it across the river, but we do make it ON the river. A few minutes walk from the house is a Klorng boat stop that takes you on a little waterway through town (think Venice), the fastest and cheapest way to travel through Bangkok. There's too few Klorngs left though, I guess only this one that has regular boat service, so unfortunately won't get to use that too often. It's lot of fun. You actually have to jump on the boat at the 'stop' where they merely slow down but don't really stop. It's an adventure anyway and for 9 B each we get within walking distance of our next destination... Khao San. The Klorng boats final stop is close to one of the old forts and the Golden Mount, which are both closed for the day. By some magnificent temples and along the grand boulevard we head to Khao San Road, the backpacker haven.

Democracy Monument

Walking along the Klorng

Whenever you are starving there's some great street food to be had and on Khao San there's many 'safe' options for you. The ubiquitous Pad Thai stalls cater to cash strapped backpackers, and for today us too. Yummyyyy. What do we need now? Right, a foot massage would be in order after all the walking today. The streets close by are also jampacked with tourists and a friendly lady and a gentleman (first male masseur I've seen) tend to our tired feet for the next 30 minutes.
There's more shopping to be done and I am looking for a backpack for my upcoming travels. After hard bargaining one lady calls me stupid for not buying it at the price, saying that 100 B is nothing for me and I should just be paying more. Some insults later I leave her standing there, I am definitely not going to buy anything from someone that calls me stupid just because I want a fair price. Helloooo! Where did we end up here? After more unsuccesful shopping for me, but succesful shopping for Hester there's a challenge ahead of me.

Fish Spa

I almost fell of the chair at the foot massage coz it tickled so bad. And now... special offer for the Fish Spa. The fish look hungry and the offer is cheaper than in other places. So what to do... go for the dreadful experience to have little fish nibble some skin of my feet or just keep walking?
I guess you all know the answer. Of course I tried but only after getting the minimum amount of time spent in there from 15 min down to 10 minutes. Makes me feel better. It takes me a few seconds to get the courage to put my feet in the water... I am waiting for Hester's reaction first. Once I finally get myself to do that it's not as bas as I expected. It's somehow inconvenient, though it doesn't hurt but luckily it's not really ticklish. Otherwise I would have quit after 30 seconds or so. There's so many of the tiny fish and after a short moment you can literally only see black swarms surrounding our legs nibbling away. Good thing is, the moment you move they swerve away but only to return a few seconds later. Under great personal effort I manage to stay in there for the full 10 minutes while Hester is truly enjoying it, even a while longer and daring to stick her hands in there too. My feet don't feel any different afterwards but it was worth it for the experience. Would I too it again? Hmmm... maybe, maybe not. For the 10 minutes in the Fish Spa I can get a half hour foot massage, so go figure what I'd rather do with my money.

Eating a grasshopper

There's succesful shopping for me ahead as one vendor decides to give me my desired backpack for my desired price. Sweet. All prepared for Midterm break in October now. Let's just hope the original copy bag doesn't fall apart once it's full with my stuff.
One Chang beer later it's bag to Khao San Road. Now did I say before there's safe food to be had? Well there's also the other kind. And since some friends tried themselves through all the stuff from frogs to cockroaches and everything else and passed the info to me that grasshoppers taste the best, I am brave and grab one. The new saying for the night... You survived the Fish Spa, you can survive anything. And guess what. It doesn't taste that bad. Well it doesn't have much taste at all. It's mainly just crunchy. So go for it, I dare you to try grasshoppers too. It was a bit more difficult to convince Hester - and several bystanders - to try one, but one by one they all did. Not telling you how many spit it out again, but none of them said that it was really bad. Do we have the problem of lack of protein for the 7 billion population solved now? Guess not, but it's one small step closer.
This needs to be washed down by another Chang for sure. And on a whim we decide to dance those beers off at a nearby club. Carrying a giant backpack full with shopping. No problem. Being sweaty and sticky from a full day of walking around. No problem. Dancing the night away. No problem.