Keep at it, it's an acquired taste...!!
Chiang Mai has been voted one of the best places to retire in, if you have a hankering to while away your latter years in South East Asia…
It is Thailand’s second biggest city, but only boasts a population of about 200 000 people according to Larry, who has lived here for the past 18 months… This does not include the million odd people who live close to the city and are part of the greater district…
The city lies in a valley amongst the highest regions in Thailand, and is supposed to be far cooler that it is down south in Bangkok, which is about 700 km away… Well if this was cool, I’d hate to see when it gets hot here…!!
Chiang Mai is draped on either side of the Ping River, fed by the streams that run down from the mountains to the west of it. It has traditionally been famous for it’s handcrafted silver jewelry and its woodcarving industry…
There are over three hundred Buddhist temples, known as “Wat” in Chiang Mai, and the most famous is the Wat Doi Suthep, up on the mountains high above the city… Willi an I spent two full days in Chiang Mai, and together with Larry explored the night market and restaurants along the riverside…
Willi and I get a foot massage at the night market...
We chose not to try this option, for fear of killing the fish...
Larry and Willi have known each other since their college days back in New York, and have kept in touch ever since… They had last seen each other the previous year when Willi toured the area on another scooter…
On our second day there, we went to visit the local BMW dealership and there met Mark Baldock from Melbourne in Australia… His 1200 GS was having it first big service, and we chatted together while he waited for it to get done…
Mark's 2010 GS has it's first major service... Out in the parking lot, a plaintive cry of "When do I get a service...?" could be heard...
Later that evening, he joined us for dinner and I showed him my intended route through Australia and explained the time constraints I had to deal with…
“Well, you‘ll just have to forget about riding around the whole thing, Mate…!!” he replied laconically, “Besides, there’s bugger-all to see here, here and here…!!” he said, poking a finger at vast areas that I had planned to cover…
Larry, our "Man in Chiang Mai", and Marl Baldock, the Australian biker we met at BMW...
A table full of food... Most of it Willi's... Only the soup was mine...!!
His advice has left me with more questions than answers, and I now face the very real prospect of spending far less time in Australia if I want to get to Alaska in time, than I had originally intended…
Not sure what this is, but I would have loved to give it a twirl...!! Don't tell "who know who"...!!
Thai salad bar... You choose your ingredients and the guys mix it all up for you...
Personally, I think crabs are just not worth the effort... Too little meat for too much hassle...!!
We had a great time after our meal, and went over to the walk-in arcade along Loi Kroh road, where a boxing rings had been set up and Thai Boxing demonstrations were taking place…
I was convinced that these were real fights, but our Thai driver explained that the guys were pulling their punches and not hitting each other as hard as they would in an official bout… Well you could have fooled me…!! One guy was knocked clear across the ring, and ended up flat on his back for a few minutes…!!
These girls enjoyed a game of cut and paste on the floor close to where we ate...
Rewriting fairy tales...
We stopped at many of the small bars that led off from the centre where the ring was installed, and enjoyed a few beers… At some point, Willi went missing, then Larry moved from his usual spot at the bar and was lost in the crowd…
I watched some more of the boxing, thinking that we would all end up here in the centre area before long, but after half an hour, I decided to call it quits and headed back to the hotel…
Mark had reminded me to remove my keys from the ignition of the bike, as he had seen them when he arrived at the hotel… When I went downstairs to get them, I saw Mark walk unsteadily into the hotel lobby, muttering to himself…
“I don’t think I can ride the bike right now, Mate…!! I need a few hours to get my head settled…!!”
We sat in my apartment until 2.00am, poring over maps and exchanging ideas on long distance riding…
Yes, but have you tried riding with Willi...??
He was planning to do a big circular route through South East Asia, and finish up back in Singapore where he did much of his business… From there he planned to ship his bike to Darwin and ride back to Melbourne via Perth…
We wished each other luck when we parted and made plans to hook up somewhere in either Laos or Cambodia in a few weeks time…
©GBWT 2011
I doubt Willi would like that strange bike – there’s no place for additional “stuff”, but then again knowing Willi, he would make a plan….
I’m from Melbourne Australia myself and I traveled around Australia with my father when i was 7, 23 years ago. I can tell you that Mark gave you good friendly advice. But I guess it all depends on what your after? Do you like the vast open plains and sometimes featureless deserts? Unfortunately the good places are scattered around which means almost enevitably you may have to continue with your intended route in any case.
Yip, it’s often forgotten that Australia is an entire continent. There is great beauty, but much is duplicated so you should be able to do the main things quite easily. Do you intend flying at all, or will it all be on your bike ?
Ok Ronnie, that is a lame massage!! I told you to get a yoghurt or honey massage… Chicken…!! And as for the fish thing, that looks gross, we spotted those spas in Chiang Mai today and I urged Trev to take a seat but he didnt fancy it, he thinks its a good business venture for home though not much investment to get started, a fish tank and some fish, after all you don’t even have to learn how! I need a new job when I get back home- ha ha..
Hey Guys…!! Well the Honey and Yoghurt massage sounded a bit messy, not to mention sticky…!! Make sure you make the ride to Doi Suthep…!! Not for you, but for Big Red…!! Have a great ride to the border, and keep your rain gear handy…!! R.
remember alaska does await. but also remember when worldrider arrived at the deadhorse and that would have been August 19th:
http://worldrider.com/blog/archives/2005/08/to_the_arctic_o_1.php
read it and weep. just as long as you get here in Socal by early (preferably 4th of) july. we’ll be good to take that fella up north
Working on a new plan to see if I can shorten the Australian leg to get there in time… May have to start in South America and work my way up to you in 2012…!! Rain here in Laos is eating up the time…!! R.