From Eil's journal,

"Arrived in Chiang Mai by the overnight train all well and good. Went to the toilet first thing and got a shock when I saw the train tracks below me :o) No sanitation whatsever.

When the monks started chanting for prayer that's when we had to leave, or stay until they finished. The finished by going to the night bizarre to barter for goods - i'm getting better at that!! :o)"

True to Thai time, the train arrived mid-morning. We loaded our belongings on top of an open-but-closed "taxi" that was really a pickup truck with bench seats in the rear and a roof over our heads. These vehicles are made to transport 8-10 people at a time, but we crammed all 12 of us in. We arrived at the hotel and I promptly noticed they had a pool! While Chiang Mai is a bit cooler than the more southern city of Bangkok, the humidity and heat were by no means gone. So, we washed up and explored the city a bit. Much more manageable! Fewer, nicer people, more laid back-- we could tell from the get-go.

Tommy had another tour planned for us that afternoon, but after a chilly, well-lit night of "sleep" on the overnight train, I decided that my day in Chiang Mai would be fairly low-key. The pool looked rather inticing, and honestly, I needed at least a portion of a day away from people offering to sell me goods. Plus, I wasn't interested in factories! I wanted to get into the jungle, no matter how much I might come across a tarantula!

Pam (an older woman from the UK), Jordanna and I lounged by the pool all afternoon, had less-than-satisfactory Thai, and then waited for Tommy to pick us up for the temple part of the tour. Again, Thai time kicks in -- we waited almost an extra hour for the crew before we decided to take a tuk tuk to the temple.

Well, apparently you can't actually take a tuk tuk to the temple. The temple is up on a mountain about 30 minutes away.

We tried to explain to our tuk tuk driver that we didn't want any funny business, that we just wanted to get to the temple and not be passed off to any tailors or other businessmen, but he proceeded to take us to a taxi company that offered rides to the temple. Suspecting being taken advantage of again as in Bangkok, the three of us haggled and bartered and haggled and bartered until we got a reasonable price to the temple. We were convinced that we were not going to get ripped off this time.

Then, we sheepishly looked at each other 15 minutes into the ride when we were still headed out of the city. We started to climb an incline that a tuk tuk would have no chance of surviving, and that's when we realized that finally, we'd had a tuk tuk driver that was looking out for us. Or, at least helping us to find the right information so we could then help ourselves. Phew! Not all of Thailand is tainted!

Eil describes the temple well. It is the main temple of Chiang Mai, the temple of the white elephant - Doi Suthep. Covered with intricate paintings, gold work and engravings, it overlooks the city and houses the pagoda that the white elephant carried to the location before it fell over and died from the long journey. A service was in session, so the three of us stayed to listen and watch, something very cool for me as I'm studying some of Buddhism.

The one thing that really bothered me about all the temples we visited was how much they are overtaken by vendors, trying to take advantage of the tourist element. It was dreadful to see all the material goods being bought and sold before the very grand, 300-step staircase, lined with a beautifully decorated Naga (dragon). Sigh...

In any case, the night bazaar was fun -- managed to find many fun presents. And, tomorrow's the day! We leave at 9 am, or so Tommy says. We'll see what that translates to in Thai time.