Yesterday we finally visited AUM vegetarian food on TH Moon Muang, immediately south of Tha Pae Gate. I had the "Chiang Mai Curry" or something like that, spicy, with brown rice. It was good, plenty of fresh crisp green beans and spice. It was very good, although, I think May Kaidees is still better. I preferred the selection of choices at May Kaidees right away. It was nice, however. Price was about the same, 50baht or so per main, 15baht for rice. Afterwards we went next door to Black Canyon Coffee and had delicious iced coffee drinks made with coffee that was NOT instant Nescafe (ahhh!!) and Mikaes even had whipped cream. This was a nice experience, if just for the real coffee, clean toilet and air conditioning. We crossed the road afterwards, and heavily caffeinated we admired the Tha Pae gate. This is a portion of the original wall of the city that has been fully restored. It was definitely worth a look. I can't even imagine the inner moat area being walled. Its amazing.
At the moment, the front of Tha Pae gate on the outer moat side has a Christmas tree made out of glowing lanterns. Its beautiful. This is also the area to purchase fish food for, and feed the incredibly large and terrifying moat fish.
This is one of the five main gates to the old city of Chiang Mai, and a major
landmark as well. Each corner and each main gate of the old city faces the eight
main points of the compass, with one extra gate on the south side. Tha Pae Gate
faces east, and is endowed with the astrological faculty of mula or prosperity.
It was first called Pratu Chiang Ruak because it was situated near Chiang Ruak
village when it was built in the reign of King Mangrai in 1296. Today this
impressive looking Gate is a popular photo-taking spot for tourists.
We then decided that we should go to Carrefour and get some more groceries. Peanut Butter is cheaper at Carrefour than Tesco, and they have fresh baked goods. Mikae bought a cheese baguette which turned out to be sweet. It had cheese baked on top, but it also had a sticky sweet syrup under the cheese. The donuts had fillings like Green Bean. In my opinion, it beats Boston Cream, but Mikae wasn't thrilled. At one point I took a photo of some sushi being made, and a photo of me with a jar of Rotkohl to send home to my mom. I thought it was so funny, and I was having such a great time. As soon as Mikae takes off for a moment, this large Thai man wearing all pink and this ridiculous do-rag thing comes over and demands to see my camera. I don't understand, and he starts motioning to my pants pocket. I take out my camera and he makes me show him the photos. The photo is me, with a jar of red cabbage and the biggest grin ever. He makes me delete them, and hes getting furious that I am confused and don't understand what is going on. Now I am really upset, this incidence is likened to the man who yelled at me at the Grand Palace about "300 years of tradition" Because I didn't understand why I needed to rent a skirt (I was wearing pants already). At this point, I just wanted to leave Carrefour, and no amount of fresh 10baht kiwis could persuade me to stay, So i didn't get the full experience.
We went back to Riverside for dinner. I didn't have Margaritas and Mikae had a burger instead of Filet Mignon, so the bill was closer to $16. Mikae had deep fried shrimp and a burger with a large Singha, I had the Spicy Mushroom soup (so spicy, and so good) and Penang Curry with Brown Rice again. Oh, and two Whisky and Pepsi. We sat for several hours at a table right by the stage and watched the Acoustic Beatles cover man again, and then the Excellent coverband that came on afterwards. They sang mostly British Pop hits, like Mika, Lilly Allen and Dido, and some U2 etc. They were incredible though. Riverside usually has two bands playing at a time, one in each building.
Today we went to the Sankampaeng Hot Springs. We took the motorbike and the ride there was easy enough. We paid 10baht to park the bike, and went to the food vendors along the entrance. We found one that spoke English, well, that knew what we meant by "vegetarian", "fried rice" and "pad thai" and had a nice lunch along with some rowdy tour bus-Thais whose wives were no doubt basking in the hot springs while they polished off several bottles of Sang Som. The family running the place were friendly, attentive and amulet-clad. It was the last little restaurant on the strip, closest to the entrance of the hot springs, and the food was really nice. There were some entrails roasting on the grill on the way in, but we bypassed them, for now.
Entrance to the Hot Springs was 30baht, or about a dollar. We purchased a basket of chicken eggs for 20 baht (Quail eggs are another option), and entered. The Hot Springs park is beautifully landscaped, with a mineral pool, restaurant, and a camping area. We waled directly to the hot springs area where two geysers spew hot water into the air, and lovely rainbows form. A 105 degrees C bath of water sits with metal pegs all the way around, for you to hang your basket from, and boil your eggs. After 12 minutes, our eggs were done. I ate one, it tasted like hard boiled egg. Mikae didn't want to try. We then put our feet in the hot springs, along with a large number of Thais. It was nice and warm. It is believed that this water has healing properties.
Sankampaeng Hot Springs is an ideal destination for those interested in health
and well-being. A natural spring emitting water with high sulphur content, the
spring is said to cure ailments and rejuvenate the body. The water has a
temperature in excess of 100 degrees centigrade and the area is so active that
there is ongoing research into how to tap the springs as a potential energy
resource.
We left the hot Springs as it was getting late, and we did not want to drive in the dark. I also wanted to stop at a silk farm on the way home. Just pas the town of Sankampaeng the bike starts to wobble violently, and Mikae pulls us over. Ah, the back tire has gone flat. After asking a few Thais where we can get it fixed (using charades, and Motorbikes as visual cues) we walk about 300m to the nearest bike repair shop. It took less than 10 min. How lucky was that. Now, all week, Mikae had said that he had a feeling about this motorbike, now his instincts were right, and we should have traded it in. Regardless, we get to the repair shop and the one English speaker high-tails it. Well, it is Friday at 5:30pm. We are just thankful the repair shop is even open. We had called Mr.Order, our bike rental place, and they had told us just to find a nearby shop to fix it - presumably because we are so far out of town.
So, the flat tire becomes (of course) a popped tube, faulty tire and faulty brake. The two of us just want the bike fixed, and we want to get out of there as soon as possible. It is getting dark, and we are tired and eager to be back in Chiang Mai. We both feel like we are being scammed, but there are three Thais working on the bike, tearing open packages and pulling out parts, and whirling around like a storm. They understand no English, and are speaking to us in Thai, showing us the "damage" on the bike. We are just both praying that it doesn't cost more than 1000 baht, or $30 which is all we have on us. Anyways, they fix the bike and the bill comes to 440 baht, or about $15. I am adamant about collecting every last part that has come off the bike including the popped tube, old tire and brake bit AND all of the packaging and a detailed receipt with the Shops name and number on it. So we ride back to town, with me holding onto a bike tire, and go to Mr.Order.
We get there, and of course, they don't want to pay for the repair. It's not their problem, we were scammed, we are tourists. Mikae explains that we could not negotiate anything as there was a language barrier and that all they were saying that made any sense was that the bike was not safe. How can he ride a bike that's not safe? (motioning to me, who islooking scared) Mikae goes on negotiating with the owner. We have rented for two weeks already with this company,and presumably we want another two. If they do not want to reimburse our money, we would like all of the parts we just paid for taken off and we will keep them, or sell them, and find a new rental shop. I hand over the old parts, which they don't really look at. The owner explains that these might be low-grade parts they have sold us etc etc. Finally, after Mikae continues to stress that he doesn't want to fight, he just wants to come to a resolution, they refund our 440 baht. We then have them look over the bike to make sure that it is safe, and we leave with it. The point is, that when the flat occured, we immediately called the rental shop. They did not want to send someone to come fix the flat, and they instructed us to go get it fixed at the nearest shop, and then keep them posted. We did what they had asked, and, ok, got hosed along the way - but that was to be expected. We don't speak any of the necessary Thai to get us out of that situation in a different way.
All and all, this experience could have been much worse. We were driving slowly, maybe 40km/hr when it happened, and we were in the motorbike lane which is directly closest to the shoulder. There was very little traffic, and we were very close to a town, and very close to the motorbike repair shop. Plus getting hosed here doesn't cost that much. Mr.Order put up a good fight, and they were justified, we had just expected our "insurance" we purchased to provide more. In the end, we continue to be happy with their service.
We then went to Durets Cafe for some stirfry and salad for me, and over to Mike's Burgers for a fish sandwich with fries and a pop for Mikae. Coming home, I was very worked up and could not sleep until well after midnight. What a long day.
We are still looking into Visa Run options. Our choices are Burma (or Myramar) which is currently in a bad state and not really an option - although it is the cheapest and fastest option. Laos, will be a several day affair, with stop-over in Chiang Rai, but we get to take the VIP Air conditioned bus. It would be worth seeing Chaing Rai as well. Laos visa will be $40, for Canadians.
Laos itself is not really a destination that I am interested in visiting at the moment. It is a calm, peaceful, natural retreat for all those who like those sorts of things. I am still terrified of travelling, even though I am here. I like International hospitals and airports, toilets and ATMs. We shall see. I might try one day, just to broaden my comfor zone a little wider. I was saving that for Cambodia.. Originally we were looking at flying to Kuala Lumpar, but that will be an expensive trip. Hotels will be at least $50 a night, plus flying there and back, and we miss out on a week in our apartment. Plus, Jake is coming here on the 14th, and who would want to miss a party with Jake?
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