Tag: Chiang Mai

An Independent Trip To Northern Thailand & Vietnam, Part Six: From Chiang Mai To Hanoi, 18 March 1996

Rose very early – flew [from] Chiang Mai to Bangkok then on to Hanoi – arrived 1215. Fought through bureaucracy – got taken to hotel– Changed/freshened up…

Quite a fight it was too, on arrival at Hanoi. I cannot remember all the details of it, but it was to do with filling in a form upon which you declare the address where you are going to stay.

Given that we were to be staying at several places in the space of a week and I had the local tour agent, Vidotour’s, address, I presented the form with that. Not good enough. If we were staying at several addresses I needed to list several addresses.

So I tried to write several addresses on a tiny form. The official claimed he couldn’t read my handwriting. “Do you know who I am?”, I felt like saying, but didn’t. He was quite cross and suggested that I had deliberately written illegibly.

So he called a more senior official, who suggested that the name and address of our local tour agent, Vidotour, would do. Good idea, Sir.

Welcome to Hanoi, Sir, have a nice cup of tea (Indochine Restaurant, later that day)

I should add at this point that we had a marvellous time in Vietnam; that hoo-ha on arrival was the only inhospitable moment during our stay.

…went round Old Quarter and down to Hoan Kiem Lake – returned to hotel [I am pretty sure we stayed at the Dan Chu, formerly known as the Hanoi Hotel and latterly known as Hotel de l’Opera Hanoi] – then evening out at Indochine Restaurant – quite pleasant – early night

All the pictures from the North Vietnam segment of our trip can be seen on this Flickr album – click here or below.

=01 18 March 1996 - Hanoi Vietnam - old quarter, city gate NTV_G2 (18)

An Independent Trip To Northern Thailand & Vietnam, Part Five: From Chiang Rai Province Back To Chiang Mai, 17 March 1996

Rose not so early, 6:30 or 7:30. Left Baan Boran and headed west to Mae Sai

The border as seen from Mae Sai market

Looked round market and managed to wazz our way over the Myanmar border…

Scenes on the Myanmar side above & below, known as Thakhlek on that side

I should point out here and now that Janie and I did not jump this border. We are not serial border jumpers in and out of Thailand, you know.

When Janie And I Jumped The Border Into Thailand At Chong Mek And Then Blagged Our Way Out Of Thailand Again, 19 and 26 February 2001

In fact, the ability to get a temporary pass to enter Myanmar from Thailand at that crossing, just for the day, had been reinstated just the day before we arrived. We thought it only polite that we should take advantage and pop in.

Mae Sai monks

– on to a jade factory in Mae Sai then on to Doi Tung Temple etc…

Doi Tung Temple above and headline image at the top of this piece.
Vistas on the way down from the temple.

Arrived at the Chiang Mai quite late – changed – went around night market and got a light bite there – then returned (saw end of the cricket!) & slept

We stayed at the Dusit Princess if I remember correctly.

May 2021 Update: There is now a more comprehensive account of this day from a cricket perspective on the King Cricket website – click here or below.

A 1996 Cricket World Cup final match report

If anything were ever to go awry with the King Cricket site, you can find that article here.

All of our photos from the Thai leg of the journey can be found on Flickr through the link here and below.

=01 13 March 1996 - Jim Thompson

An Independent Trip To Northern Thailand & Vietnam, Part Four: From Chiang Mai Province To Chiang Rai Province, 16 March 1996

Chiang Rai Province – Akha People By The Mae Kok

[I have been pulling my journal notes together for Ogblog using a dictation app – no prizes for guessing what some of this piece looked like before I corrected the dictation]

Rose quite early – left Lisu village. 

The taller of the sweet children was a bit tearful saying goodbye to us

Headed north. Long drive – stopped for coffee on Mae Kok/Myanmar border.

Then on to Akha village [see headline picture and below]

…then Mae Salong (ex KMT people from Yunnan) market – [then] lunch at a good Chinese restaurant.

I seem to remember that Chinese lunch being especially good, with high grade barbequed meats as a centrepiece, but we obviously did not find Mae Salong (now renamed Santikhiri), or at least the part of it we went to, photogenic.

Then on to [a] Yao village in the mountains…

Yao people (above) and Kongburi explaining a Yao pipe’s purpose (below)

…then on to Mae Khong River near Chiang Saen – boat ride to Sop Ruak – Golden Triangle – Laos, Myanmar and Thailand…

I cannot see Mae Salong from here…perhaps they’ve changed the name.
Laotian people above, a shot of Laos, Myanmar & Thailand tri-point below

…on to Baan Boran Hotel for early night.

All of our photos from the Thai leg of the journey can be found on Flickr through the link here and below.

=01 13 March 1996 - Jim Thompson

An Independent Trip To Northern Thailand & Vietnam, Part Three: To Chiang Mai Province, Visiting Hmong & Lisu Hill Tribes, 15 March 1996

Set off early for Chiang Mai – met by Kongburi and driver L’Erm.

All right, orchid?

Butterflies

Set off, saw orchids & butterfly garden, then on to a Hmong village

Hmong Village (above) with Hmong people (below)

Then on to Tad Mok Falls.

Then Chinese lunch in Mae Ta – on through the market and then to Mae Taeng elephant ride fiasco followed by bamboo rafting.

I described the elephant ride as a fiasco, because I recall really feeling uncomfortable about the elephants, especially my one, who seemed unhappy and hungry. Mine kept wandering off to the side of the track to try to grab a nibble, only to be roughly discouraged from doing so by the dude at the front of the elephant. I note that if you Google “Mae Taeng Elephant Park” 25 years later, you find a lot of bad reviews and references to cruelty. I’m not surprised based on our experience.

Unusually for me, I found the raft trip afterwards more to my taste than the elephant ride, whereas I was expecting to feel more comfortable on land!

In the Lisu Village – Kongburi negotiating while I display the body language of indifference

Then on to Lisu Village – quaint Lisu Lodge – just us [staying the night]…

…the music and the giant flying roaches.

Showered washed and walked around village – got sold to – ate – got played at – then to bed.

I really should expand the story of our stay at the Lisu Lodge. It was a lovely but fairly rudimentary place back then. It is a fancy-schmanzy eco lodge now. Good luck to the place.

The Lisu people were sweet and gentle and very welcoming. They did seem especially keen to sell us their trinkets though.

We were the only guests that night.

Janie and I particularly remember the meal. We have just the one photo of me being served the food (above).

We had been looking forward to our private dining experience. However, we were joined more or less throughout the meal by a local who serenaded us with his traditional stringed instrument, which was probably a relative of the pipa or Chinese lute. He played pretty well and at first it sounded really nice, but after a while we were craving a little more privacy and a little less noise.

Then, out of the blue, came a giant flying roach (or beetle) which noisily landed right behind us and startled us both. The musician calmly stopped playing and gently removed the beetle in his hands. Daisy and I gave the musician a round of applause for removing the giant insect, which he took to be applause for the end of his set, so he bowed and left, taking the pipa and beetle with him.

Thus we spent the rest of our meal in quiet, tranquil privacy.

All of our photos from the Thai leg of the journey can be found on Flickr through the link here and below.

=01 13 March 1996 - Jim Thompson