Chiang Mai Adventures

It worked out that I would only have 1 weekend free while I was at Mirror so I decided that I would explore a bit more of the northern areas and head to Chiang Mai.

One of the other volunteers and I went together. We caught the VIP bus from Chiang Rai which cost a whole $12.50, it took three hours to get there but they fed us water and a bakery snack and the seats were the best - they reclined at least 45 degrees and I could have fit two of me on the seat. The tuk tuk that took us from the bus station to our accommodation was a fun experience - the fresh air in our face and the perfect view of the streets of Chiang Mai. 

We spent two nights at Darat's Guesthouse (located right near Tapae Gate). It was recommended to us by another volunteer - it wasn't the greatest but for $10 for two nights I thought it was perfect. The atmosphere of the city at night is fantastic - we walked past Tapae Gate and around the roads the water separated roads and it was absolutely gorgeous in the night lights. I am totally in love with this area - there are food places everywhere, taverns, lights and music, there's a reggae bar just down the road and it's only a few blocks to the night markets. Darat's have the best breakfast I've ever had - banana pancakes and hot chocolate.

Saturday meant it was time to explore, first visiting the Wats (or at least some of them) located inside Tapae Gate. Chiang Mai has the most wats per square km than any other city in Thailand - so there was definitely plenty to see. My favourite off all was Wat Chedi Lueng. It was enormous and reminded me of the kind of stone structure you would expect to see in somewhere like Rome or Greece. 

It was here in the grounds of Wat Chedi Luang that we found Mr Noi, who offered to be our personal taxi driver for the day. For 500b (approx $25) he would ake us to Wat That Doi Suthep, The Umbrella Factory and then back to Tapae Gate. Little did we know our trip would end up being somewhat of an adventure to WAYYYYY more places than we planned. 

Sticking to the game plan we went to Wat That Doi Suthep ('the wat on the hill'). It's one of the biggest drawcards of visitors to Chiang Mai and for good reason - it is absolutely stunning. Even with the 600 odd steps we had to climb to get to the top, it was everything I imagined it would be - but completely overrun by tourists (not that we minded much). There were people praying, essence burning, photos being snapped, bells being rung and tiny gold bells hung all over the temple grounds.

The start of the steps to Wat That Doi Suthep.

Next stop was the umbrella factory (or at least it was suppose to be) but little did we know that Mr Noi was about to take us coupon collecting. In Thailand many taxi and tuk tuk drivers not only make their wages from their travel fares, but they also receive discount coupons to be used on petrol and food by bringing their travellers to specific shops. We didn't have to buy anything for him to receive the coupons, however it was quite difficult to go into a shop when you really didn't want to spend your money buying anything. Here's where I should mention another thing about Thailand regarding shopping - in western areas we're used to being able to wander aimlessly through shops without being annoyed or pushed to buy anything. In Thailand its COMPLETELY different - as soon as you walk in the door you are bombarded by a salesperson and you can't even glance at an item without them trying to sell it to you and basically pushing you for your money. It's even harder to leave the shop you are visiting because they follow you everywhere and basically are throwing items at you until you have managed to get out the front door.

With that said our next stop actually turned out to be the International Fine Creation Co Factory - a huge jewellery store that took us about 45 minutes to get out of. They showed us the process of making jewellery before taking us into an enormous showroom. They had some gorgeous jewellery there (i'll give them that) but it's not a place that we really wanted to visit and I managed to keep hold of my money. I've now dubbed this experience 'Adventure for Coupon #1".

We did make it to the Umbrella Factory (which was next on our list). We watched the making of the umbrellas, including the enormous detail put into painting them, and then went through to the showroom. Many of the umbrellas and fans weren't as intricate as I expected them to be.. and that was Ticket #2.

To collect Ticket #3 we stopped at a lacquerware workshop and display (where we managed to get out in about 10 minutes - go us!!)

Ticket #4 was right next door at a silk shop, where we managed to get out in 5 minutes.

It was definitely lunch time by then and Mr Noi took us to one of his friend's restaurants. It was probably one of the best meals I had while I was in Thailand - the peanut satay and cherry smoothie were delicious and oh so cheap! (Somehow though I didn't manage to get the actual name of the restaurant)

Our next few stops saw us at a few more silk factories and outlets and we were exhausted. After our days worth of adventure, side tracks and coupon collecting we really did end up having a pretty good time. Mr Noi was a fantastic guide, making hilarious imitations of different accents and telling us all about the Buddhist religion.

We were told that while in Chiang Mai we HAD to visit the Saturday Night Bazaar. It was only a 20 minute walk from Darat's and was absolutely massive - filled with jewellery, clothes, bags, DVD's, silk scarfs and lanterns. 

Our main part of the Sunday in Chiang Mai was spent at the Zoo. Compared to an Australian Zoo it wasn't that fantastic and the animals weren't kept in anywhere near as healthy or humane conditions - but we managed to feed giraffes and see all the major animals. The zoo did have a few disadvantages though: 

- Seeing the Pandas, Adventure Park, or the Aquarium were an additional cost.

- The map was complicated and we ended up walking about 4km further than we needed to.

- I felt sorry for some of the monkeys that were kept in dusty cages with no vegetation and hardly any     space. 

I had my first ever Thai massage in Chiang Mai and had no idea that I was that flexible. We finished the day by walking around the Sunday Market (conveniently located right outside Darat's), and then caught the VIP night but back to Chiang Rai.

Chiang Mai has such a fun, relaxed and funky vibe - I would honestly come back to explore more of the city and chill out. 

Week in Mae Chan

We have spent the last week in Mae Chan (an hours drive from Mirror, located near the Thai/Burma border). We knew that we were going there for community development work; however what we didn't know was that we we would end up having one of the most fulfilling weeks of our lives (or at least for me anyway).

Before heading out into the hills for homestay we stopped at Mae Chan for lunch and a walk through the markets. I've never seen so many strange looking fruits, live fish waiting to be bought and eaten, and so many bugs (I couldn't bring myself to eat bugs sorry).

We spent the week at a 'homestay' area owned by P'Van. He had a huge area adjacent to his house that had a few different rooms for us to sleep in, as well as a common outside area (where we ate) and a kitchen. We had western toilets (yay), and there was even a gas powered hot shower (which was only hot if you could figure out how to work it). Six of us slept on a huge cement slab which was extremely uncomfortable and freezing cold for the first night. My hip ached and I couldn't get comfortable, but I ended up working out that it was a lot warmer and more comfortable if I slept ON my blankets - so I actually got some sleep for the next five nights.

The first thing we had to do while at Mae Chan was to cement parts of the playground at the childcare centre. This was basically P'Van's 'pet' project. He donated his own money to build the centre and playground and also provides the milk for the kids for the entire year. I absolutely loved doing some physical work and we soon worked out the easiest ways to get things done - like forming bucket production lines and getting all of us to lift the cement tub rather than trying to bucket it all out individually.

All of the cement works were done without the use of machinery (which was definitely an experience). To outline the cement and create a structure for it we used bamboo that we had to chop down, cut, de-branch, and then strip into pieces. We mixed sand, stone and cement mixture by hand rather than in a cement mixer, and we had to transfer everything by bucket. 

We had plenty of chances to play with the kids at the childcare centre. On the Wednesday and Thursday we taught at the school for a couple of hours; making pasta necklaces, colouring pictures and playing Bingo. They all loved the chicken dance and having their photos taken and we're the most gorgeous kids I've ever seen. I even got my butt kicked at table hockey. 

I washed my clothes just once while I was in Mae Chan - it took me about 40 minutes to wash 10 things because all i had was a tiny bucket the size of a saucepan. 

We had the chance to go down into the village and learn how to weave bamboo into baskets. It was definitely a team effort, with a local man helping us out. It probably took us 10 times as long what it would have taken him but we managed it eventually, even with a lack of communication skills. There was the cutest kid that watched us weave. He had the runniest nose, couldn't speak any English or Thai but was amazed by our cameras. I let him push the button on mine a couple of times which was a huge mistake because he became obsessed with the cameras and even tried diving into my bag to get to mine. 

We went on the most amazing drive through the jungle to get firewood and help P'Van lift a huge piece of timber he wanted to use in his house. We stood in the back of the ute and drove down streams and up into the mountains. There was barely a road and the the scenery was amazing. 

Movie nights became a tradition of our Mae Chan stay - all of us crammed into P'Vans house infront of the fire (it was freezing outside and he hadn't yet installed glass windows in his house). We somehow managed to fit 20 of us infront of a laptop and we sorted through P'Vans collectors edition action movies and managed to find something to watch most nights. We also feasted on pineapple cookies and coffee cookies - our one treat that we still talk about now (they were the best cookies in the world).

We managed to get through our concreting and construction duties fairly easily and the dam building that was planned for the end of the week was cancelled as doctors were coming to the village to do dental and medical check ups on all the village people. So for the last couple of days at Mae Chan, P'Van was kind enough to show us a few of the sites. 

The village is just a couple of minutes drive from the most amazing (and only) winery of Mae Chan. The winery (Doi Hom Fha) was so gorgeous, on top of a hill with beautiful views and everything was made in traditional and local wooden materials. Everything was so placid with water running down pots, Bhudda symbols, elephants and the bluest pool I think I've ever seen. I would honestly consider going back there for my honeymoon. 

On our final day we took a two hour trek through the hills to visit the local animal sanctuary. Unfortunately we could only get in to see the birds because the keeper wasn't there. The walk was all up-hill and my knees were aching by the end of it. 

The week we spent in Mae Chan really encompassed everything I dreamed this experience would be. It was a chance for us to help Mirror and the community and to get to know some amazing people from all over the world. 

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The funniest thing about being among people, all of whom could speak English, was the fact that we had more of a fascination with the English language than the Thai. We were more interested in the ways English based countries use different words. Every non-Australian wanted to know what a 'jumper' was, as well as a 'beanie', 'goon', 'doona', 'thongs' and 'pants'. 

Mirror - First week experiences

I arrived at Mirror on a Wednesday, which means that my first week here is a very short one! This week I've been lucky enough to be one of the first volunteers to arrive so I got thrown straight into duties (not that you can really call them that). A few of us jumped in the back of P'Aye's ute and rode the 30 minute drive up to Phu Koc childcare. The kids here are gorgeous and we spend an hour or so entertaining them. The basic childcare lesson consists of the 'Meditation Song' (a song we would learn to love), outlining of the letter-of-the-day, the alphabet song, a craft activity, a book (if we have one that they haven't read), dances like the chicken dance and hokey pokey, and about 15 minutes to play outside with the kids.

There are around 20 of us volunteering at the moment, a few have or are leaving at the end of this week, others are starting next week. We had orientation this week which pretty much informed us of what we would need to know whilst we were at Mirror, what was expected of us, and we were also given information on the homestay that we will be doing at a later date.

We have started our volunteer week at an interesting time. This weekend many of the Mirror staff are going away for the week to an annual Mirror Conference and so the volunteers and thai interns (L, Kate, Tip and 008) will be heading to Mae Chan on Saturday and will spend a week there doing community development work. When I signed up for Mirror we could either chose to help out with the Community Development program or the Teaching English program. I signed up for Community development, however the two projects have been combined depending on how many volunteers there are and what opportunities are available. Needless to say I am extremely excited about getting to do some physical work whilst I am in this beautiful country.

My first (half) week at Mirror finished with the regular Friday night trip into Chiang Rai. All the volunteers and interns are taken out to a local restaurant for dinner. I had a delicious pork and rice dish paid for by Mirror (even though it was only 30bt it was a bonus). They took us to a local supermarket called Big C's - it's pretty much a mixture of a Westfield and a Big W (if your Australian like me), or a WallMart. Toilet paper was of course high on my priority list and we also needed to buy childcare supplies to take to Mae Chan with us. Finally we were spared about an hour to wander around the Chiang Mai night markets and buy beautiful hill tribe handicrafts and silk products.

The Magical Place called Mirror

I reached Chiang Rai by flying from Don Muang airport in Bangkok, where I was met by Thellie and Kate, as well as Tip, Charlene and Louise (two other volunteers starting at the same time).The purpose of my going to Chiang Rai was three fold - 1) I wanted to travel 2) I wanted to volunteer with the Mirror Foundation and help the hill tribe people, and 3) I really just wanted to learn more about myself.

The Mirror Foundation is about a half an hour drive by ute or songthaow from Chiang Rai. The area is so beautiful. I'm living in the middle of the mountains, surrounded by timber and concrete houses. The people are so relaxed and friendly.

We eat together in a tiny little outdoor area where we all sit on mats on a raised concrete floor. The water is cold, there is no toilet paper (you have to buy your own if you want it), my bed is hard and the mattress is only about 3cm thick, we wash our clothes by hand, flush our toilets with buckets, and hang our clothes on a bamboo clothes line - but I love it here. 

Arrival in Bangkok

The first day of my adventure to Thailand and I ended up arriving ridiculously early at Sydney airport, got through customs at record speed and had about 2 and a bit hours left to chill out.

I flew with Thai and they were amazing - awesome food, great service and everyone was really nice. I somehow managed to score myself a window seat and complete row to myself so I could spread myself out and relax. 

At Bangkok I stayed at the Indra Regent (which is where I'm booked on my way back through Bangkok as well). It's pretty fancy. I've never been to a hotel where they carry your bags and open doors for you so it was all a little foreign (ha ha ha.. nice pun). The Indra is close to all the shopping and sky train and is really great for me cause I like the security seen as i'm travelling alone. 

My first breakfast in Thailand will be a story that will last forever.. and be laughed at forever. I paid 465bt (which is a TOTAL rip off) for a buffet breakfast. There were no prices displayed so that is what I chose to have and when I got the bill I decided that I was officially going to boycott the hotel all by myself and refuse to buy anything there for the rest of my trip.