North Thailand
I was pretty stoaked to find some good veg cafes and authentic Thai culture in the lovely city of Chiang Mai. We had hoped to arrive in time for the famous Sunday Night Market, but our flight from Phuket was delayed and we arrived at 12.03am, just in the nick of time to check into a room before they shut up for the night.
We spent a quiet few days exploring Chiang Mai, including an interesting meditation session with a quirky monk. Meditation is harder than it looks.
Hamish had stayed in with a dodgy tummy, and thinks he picked up some salmonella from chicken we where served down south, and it lingered for several weeks. Then it was my turn to be sick, and I got dengue fever (as diagnosed by my travel health book). We moved on to a trendy little town called Pai and stayed at some comfortable mud brick earth houses to rest and recover.
After 3 lazy days in Pai, Hamish was eager to get moving on two wheels...He had hired a Honda Phantom motorbike and was keen to ride the loop route on highway 1095, approximately 500km long, that travels over mountains and through the countryside back to Chaing Mai. I'd be sitting on the back, a good idea in theory...
The first day of riding was spectacular. The scenery was absolutely stunning and Hamish was in heaven rolling through the perfectly sealed, curving roads. Something I hadn't considered though, was how sore my bum would get on the passenger seat! But kiwi ingenuity to the rescue on the next day, as we duct taped a frilly cushion to my seat and all was good again. But after the second day, despite the view and the cushion, I decided a bus would be a better idea, and Hamish happily completed the final 180km by himself. Next time I'll have to get my own bike I think.
We met back up in Chaing Mai in the afternoon, in perfect time to visit the Sunday Night Markets.
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