15 September 2008
Chiang Mai Trip
Day One
Met up with everyone at Changi Airport Terminal 2. Mummy, Daddy and Granny sent me off. The flight was okay. Smooth. Because all of us had to wake up early to meet up, I think everyone slept throughout the whole 2 1/2hr journey. We reached Chiang Mai International Airport at 11am Thai time (12pm Singapore time).
We were greeted by our tour guides and also this girl in their traditional costume or something who put jasmine garlands on us. We then went on board our means of transport, which was a coach; headed for our hotel, where we checked-in to our hotel rooms to put our bags down before heading for lunch. I got a triple-sharing room with Dian and Sue. Hee. Lunch was at this restaurant owned by one of our tour guides. We had 2 tour guides, Nok and Tong. They were very nice to us throughout the whole trip, and very friendly too. I am going to miss them. So anyway, after lunch, we headed for Tweechol Botanical Garden. It was 114 acres big and I have to say, the place was amazing. After taking a walk at this museum dedicated to the people who set up the Garden, whom were actually of royalty, we got to rent bicycles to go round the garden and take photos and such. There were a lot of sculptured bushes of different shapes, sizes and animals. The 3 of us, of course, took that opportunity to take lots and lots of photos with each other! We actually spent the whole day there, riding around the garden, exploring the different parts of it. We cycled so much I can still feel how much my butt still hurts from all that cycling. Hahahha. Since we still had some time before dinner, we headed to this supermarket which was near the restaurant, where all of us bought a lot of food stuff. Well, what to do? They were cheap!!! We all then had Khuntoke dinner, where just the appetizers alone made me full. I only like the sticky rice, which was like so sweet and nice. Hee. I should have had more of that. For the main course, all of us sat on the floor, the traditional kind and there was also a performance for us while we were eating. The performance was nice, except for this one part where there was a person wearing a white buffalo costume came out, kinda like lion dance. It totally creeped me out. Then he like suddenly came up to some of the girls, like rubbing against our arms, I was like totally really creeped out lah! Lucky it didn’t come to me, but it did go to Bel and Dian. Hahahahahaha. After that, we all headed back to our hotel, where we quickly took a walk at the shopping centre near the hotel to see if there was anything nice. We all slept kinda late. Our room ended up occupying 5 girls; Bel and Jiazhen slept over.
Day Two
I woke up early. Someone’s handphone rang too early. I am SO SORRY I WOKE UP EARLY. *trying to sound sarcastic* Headed for breakfast and then assembled at the lobby. We then headed for Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden. It was a long ride, but we were quite entertained by our tour guide Nok. Right when we arrived, we were greeted by a magnificent, breath-taking view of a beautiful mountain. Plus the air was cooling. The place itself was great. Lunch was at an Orchid Garden, but we were only there for lunch. After lunch, we headed to this temple which was located on top of a mountain. Fuuuuu. I don’t know if it was because of the after-rain or what, but the place was cooler. It had a nice air and we got to see a view of the whole of ChiangMai, okay maybe a third of it. We walked around the temple, ringing the bells that were hanging around the temple and taking photos together. We headed back to the hotel for a while before heading for dinner at another place. All of us got to light this huge lantern after dinner, which was said to bring away our bad luck. We then let it go, letting it float all the way into the dark sky, bringing along all our bad luck. On this second night, I requested that I sleep on the extra bed on my own because I didn’t really sleep well the previous night and I didn’t have much space sleeping near the wall beside Dian.
Day Three
We had to wake up earlier today and assemble at the lobby at 7.15am Thai time. We were going to Doi Inthanon (Mount Inthanon) today. Because it was a 2 ½ hr drive, almost all of us slept throughout the whole journey. Doi Inthanon was actually the highest mountain in Chiang Mai, so it’s definite it was going to be a long drive. When we reached the peak of the mountain, the air was so cold and foggy, that when all of us spoke, we could see the air when we breathe out. When I said it was cold, I meant that it was really cold. It reminded me of when I went to Australia. We took a lot of group photos too. We then had lunch at a waterfall not far from the peak of the mountain, but just thinking about going back down the meandering road was already making me feel dizzy and sick. The waterfall was spectacular and it was really nice to have our lunch there. Our tour guides played the guitar and sang for us as we sat and had our lunches. It was a really nice atmosphere and with our tour guides singing for us, they really made it into a nice picnic scene. Then it was another few hours’ drive to Chiang Mai University to see their facilities there. The drive downhill and towards Chiang Mai University was kind of smooth. All of us slept, including me. Hehee. After that, we headed back to our hotel to freshen up before going for dinner. But the girls, Jasclyn, Alisa and Khairul decided to go out as they saw this ice-cream place near the hotel. It was called iberry. I have to say the place was nice!! Real nice! The place is like a mix of Dempsey Hill plus Island Creamery because the place is like hidden but had a nice feel to it; and their ice-cream were made by their own people. I didn’t really get some because I didn’t feel too good; I was feeling dizzy, had a little stomachache and my feet were tired. Right when we got back to our room, I immediately took some panadol and a nap. Dinner was at the place where we had our first dinner, but this time with more varieties and quantity. Another reason why we ate there was because it was already near the Night Market and everyone was already psyched up to buy lots and lots of stuff. I didn’t really get to buy stuff the first hour of walking, but after that, I kept buying, and buying and buying stuff. I mean it’s not every day you get to just buy stuff at a whim without thinking through it. Thanks to Dian, we were able to get bargain for the good stuff. I mean seriously, she is like the bargaining queen. Basically I got to buy lots of stuff for myself and also for my family. I think I was a really tired but happy girl that night. When we got back to our hotel, we immediately had our baths and packed our stuff before going to bed. Fuuu, our bags were full I must say. We took our time to pack, eat and slept really late in the night. Most of us went back with another luggage or two in hand; full of the stuff we have bought. Now that’s what I call shopping.
Overall, the trip was fun. The trip was great. I got to appreciate the cultures of the people in Chiang Mai; I got to be more exposed to their language; I got to shop as much as I like; and the people were nice. Our tour guides were very nice as well. They were very friendly with us, shared jokes with us, talked and spoke to us like we were old buddies, showed us magic tricks, sang and played the guitar for us, and had fun. I am going to miss them. I won’t ever forget this whole trip. My first time in Chiang Mai, Thailand, was awesome.
look out for the photos in my next post. i am still waiting for the photos from the rest because i didnt bring my cammie..
the world will turn WILD.
3:07 PM
