Back to Thailand! - Chiang Mai
We kept hearing of places that just suck people into staying longer than planned for various reasons. Everyone is travelling for different reasons, and so we hadn't been found our spot until Chiang Mai. The plan was to fly from Phenom Penh to Chiang Mai and spend a week or so climbing before heading off to explore the rest of N. Thailand and then eventually busing to Laos and Vietnam. However, for a myriad of reasons, we didn't leave Chiang Mai for three solid weeks and we're still planning on returning.
We only had three main objectives in Chiang Mai, climb, work on visas to China/India, and take a cooking class. I'm sure most of you have been to a good Thai restaurant at some point. Why not learn how to do that at home? Also, we hadn't been climbing consistently for a while and a crag near CM offered more of that muscle bursting overhung limestone climbing that I've started learning to yearn for. Also, CM was one of the few places we'd planned on spending some time in that had consulates to both China and India
After we figured out the crags location, we rented a motor bike for 80 baht (about $2.50) for the day and cruised into the country side. The climbing area is 35km east of town on the "superhighway." Personally, I don't think it was that super since I was passing everyone with the throttle maxed out and us cruising at a very non-blistering 85 km/hr. Not that I was driving like a mad man, mind you. The road was mostly empty outside of town, and it seems like a lot of locals drive slow. I'd guess it's to keep gas consumption down.
When we rolled up, luckily the local climbing school was already there and there were people to ask about route information. We hit the "main" crag and realized that the crag was much smaller than expected and the quality didn't match hopes. Don't get me wrong, it's still a good place to climb! However, it by no means is another Krabi (Railey/Tonsai). We climbed for the day, getting the muscles back into shape, and then headed back to town zipping down the side of the road on our little scooter.
Next up, cooking class! Unfortunately, much of the cuisines here in SE Asia are based on each other. While we learned a few new dishes, Nath had already learned 5/7 of the dishes in previous classes. We did still learn "khow soi" a wonderful spicy noodle soup with coconut milk in the broth/curry found only in N. Thailand. It's sooooo good!
Returning to the crag, we paid for luxury. A ride in the back of one of the "red truck" taxis with the local climbing school. A return trip including water and hot fresh food brought to the crag from a local restaurant was a lofty 200 baht each ($6)! Life is good....
We'd been hearing rumors through the backpacker grapevine that getting a visa to China was rather difficult due to the Olympics. Somewhere in there, we managed to take a day off of climbing and run to the Chinese Consulate. Unfortunately, despite being during the week, they were closed due to Thai holidays. We should have just taken the hint.
More climbing lead to us both improving. We were regaining some of our strength. The routes still weren't anything super, but there were definitely some climbs that brought huge grins to our faces. Most of the rock is more vertical than overhung, I found out, but there was one wickedly overhung 7b that I decided to work on. I eventually worked out the moves, and on my 3rd lead attempt I redpointed the route by a desperate direct finish that I later found out locals don't do. Our last day of climbing rolled around, and while I spent some time working on a 7c that won that battle, Nath worked on and redpointed a bouldery 7a route nearby. Earlier in the day she managed to onsight a gently overhung beautiful 6c pitch that was one of the better pitches we climbed. We definitely had some strength back by the time we left.
Somewhere in there, we headed back to the Chinese consulate for some punishment. We made it through the gate easily enough, but upon entering the room where we apply for visas we had more foreshadowing. There was a white guy arguing with the Chinese guy behind the glass quite loudly in very fluent Chinese. After about 10 minutes, he left. As he left, we asked him what was wrong and he said that even though he had lived and worked in China for 15 years and was planning on taking a bus into the country through Laos they were requiring him to show them a plane ticket into the country. This boded poorly since we were busing in ourselves! When we reached the window, we luckily talked to a different person. While she seemed helpful at first, she turned out to be completely the opposite. She told us that we could bus in since we had written out a detailed itinerary and had a letter from the English school we wanted to teach at in Yangshuo. Despite our obtaining this letter in good faith (it's not required at all and it contained what address, phone number, and even what room number we'd be at for our entire stay in China) the woman behind the glass arbitrarily told us that we couldn't get into the country unless we had an original copy of the letter, as well as a copy of the school's business license! We would also be required to show a ticket of departure from the country, which I didn't think was too unreasonable. Before leaving, I asked "what if the next person we talk to requires us to have a ticket into the country?" I thought it was a good question, but she either didn't understand it or pretended not to. We had to leave without an answer. More foreshadowing...
We contacted the English school first thing via e-mail. Our contact informed us that it was not possible for him to send us an original copy of the letter within a week. He also informed us that the requirements for entering the country seemed to be changing daily. Since the visa application takes a week itself, we didn't want to be stuck in Chiang Mai forever waiting for a visa we might not get. Still foolishly hopeful, we returned to the consulate a few days later to see if we could work something out. When we got to the gate, the guards immediately stopped us. They new only two words of English. "Air Ticket!!!" Without showing a flight ticket in and out of the country, we couldn't even talk to consulate representatives! At this point, I gave up. It was obvious they just didn't want us in the country and really were keeping people out. Why? Because they don't want protesters at the Olympics. As soon as the Olympic games end, they plan to ease the requirements for entering the country again. Note, we were planning on applying for a visa for AFTER the Olympics. Who decided to let China host the Olympics anyways!?! Oh well, there goes a once in a lifetime opportunity to climb in Yangshuo and meet locals while teaching English.
We would have climbed more, but after taking the cooking class and talking to some others staying in our guesthouse taking classes I realized that while climbing is fun, I can't take it home and share with anyone. Nath and I both loved the Thai massages that we were getting for the bargain price of about $3.50/hr, so we decided to spend around $100 each and learn how to do it ourselves! We signed up for "Level 1," a full week 30 hour class of Nuad Bo-Rarn, Ancient Northern Thai Massage. After the class started, it became very apparent that we would have to take level 2 if we really wanted a more complete knowledge of the very technical and difficult form of massage. We didn't have time, so instead we changed around our itinerary and now we're planning on swinging back through at the end of September to finish our schooling. By the time we finish the next class, we should be proficient to give up to a 4 hour amazing massage that bases itself in Indian yoga and medicine. Most of the people in the class were professional masseuses, and to say the least they half-assed the class. I'd go as far as to say that I actively wouldn't want a massage from any of them. Nath and I however stayed after class almost every day asking questions until they kicked us out, then practicing back at the guesthouse. We're not perfect yet, but I like to think that we're pretty good and getting better! If you're our friends or family, life is good!
Chiang Mai is a great town too. It's much cheaper than southern Thailand, with meals as cheap as $0.50! The people don't hassle the tourists nearly as much, and everyone we dealt with was extra friendly. This was the Thailand we'd heard about... Bangkok, and even Krabi hadn't lived up to expectations as far as all that went. Chiang Mai even has multiple amazing markets. Day markets, night markets, even a Sunday night market! The Sunday night market is something to look forward too. Food flowing freely from the street vendors, crafts, clothing and wares of all kinds for sale at dirt cheap, and thousands of people roaming the street looking for the best deals. Are you feet tired from all the walking up and down the 2km market? Stop for a foot massage at about $3/hour! We had a wonderful cafe we ate breakfast at every day, and the rainy season never really kept us from doing anything we wanted at any point. It was great fun, and a town that shouldn't be missed if you're in Thailand for a while. We never even did the legendary trekking in the mountains or any of the other myriad of tours offered, but we'll be back in late September for "Level 2!"
We'd been hearing rumors through the backpacker grapevine that getting a visa to China was rather difficult due to the Olympics. Somewhere in there, we managed to take a day off of climbing and run to the Chinese Consulate. Unfortunately, despite being during the week, they were closed due to Thai holidays. We should have just taken the hint.
More climbing lead to us both improving. We were regaining some of our strength. The routes still weren't anything super, but there were definitely some climbs that brought huge grins to our faces. Most of the rock is more vertical than overhung, I found out, but there was one wickedly overhung 7b that I decided to work on. I eventually worked out the moves, and on my 3rd lead attempt I redpointed the route by a desperate direct finish that I later found out locals don't do. Our last day of climbing rolled around, and while I spent some time working on a 7c that won that battle, Nath worked on and redpointed a bouldery 7a route nearby. Earlier in the day she managed to onsight a gently overhung beautiful 6c pitch that was one of the better pitches we climbed. We definitely had some strength back by the time we left.
Somewhere in there, we headed back to the Chinese consulate for some punishment. We made it through the gate easily enough, but upon entering the room where we apply for visas we had more foreshadowing. There was a white guy arguing with the Chinese guy behind the glass quite loudly in very fluent Chinese. After about 10 minutes, he left. As he left, we asked him what was wrong and he said that even though he had lived and worked in China for 15 years and was planning on taking a bus into the country through Laos they were requiring him to show them a plane ticket into the country. This boded poorly since we were busing in ourselves! When we reached the window, we luckily talked to a different person. While she seemed helpful at first, she turned out to be completely the opposite. She told us that we could bus in since we had written out a detailed itinerary and had a letter from the English school we wanted to teach at in Yangshuo. Despite our obtaining this letter in good faith (it's not required at all and it contained what address, phone number, and even what room number we'd be at for our entire stay in China) the woman behind the glass arbitrarily told us that we couldn't get into the country unless we had an original copy of the letter, as well as a copy of the school's business license! We would also be required to show a ticket of departure from the country, which I didn't think was too unreasonable. Before leaving, I asked "what if the next person we talk to requires us to have a ticket into the country?" I thought it was a good question, but she either didn't understand it or pretended not to. We had to leave without an answer. More foreshadowing...
We contacted the English school first thing via e-mail. Our contact informed us that it was not possible for him to send us an original copy of the letter within a week. He also informed us that the requirements for entering the country seemed to be changing daily. Since the visa application takes a week itself, we didn't want to be stuck in Chiang Mai forever waiting for a visa we might not get. Still foolishly hopeful, we returned to the consulate a few days later to see if we could work something out. When we got to the gate, the guards immediately stopped us. They new only two words of English. "Air Ticket!!!" Without showing a flight ticket in and out of the country, we couldn't even talk to consulate representatives! At this point, I gave up. It was obvious they just didn't want us in the country and really were keeping people out. Why? Because they don't want protesters at the Olympics. As soon as the Olympic games end, they plan to ease the requirements for entering the country again. Note, we were planning on applying for a visa for AFTER the Olympics. Who decided to let China host the Olympics anyways!?! Oh well, there goes a once in a lifetime opportunity to climb in Yangshuo and meet locals while teaching English.
We would have climbed more, but after taking the cooking class and talking to some others staying in our guesthouse taking classes I realized that while climbing is fun, I can't take it home and share with anyone. Nath and I both loved the Thai massages that we were getting for the bargain price of about $3.50/hr, so we decided to spend around $100 each and learn how to do it ourselves! We signed up for "Level 1," a full week 30 hour class of Nuad Bo-Rarn, Ancient Northern Thai Massage. After the class started, it became very apparent that we would have to take level 2 if we really wanted a more complete knowledge of the very technical and difficult form of massage. We didn't have time, so instead we changed around our itinerary and now we're planning on swinging back through at the end of September to finish our schooling. By the time we finish the next class, we should be proficient to give up to a 4 hour amazing massage that bases itself in Indian yoga and medicine. Most of the people in the class were professional masseuses, and to say the least they half-assed the class. I'd go as far as to say that I actively wouldn't want a massage from any of them. Nath and I however stayed after class almost every day asking questions until they kicked us out, then practicing back at the guesthouse. We're not perfect yet, but I like to think that we're pretty good and getting better! If you're our friends or family, life is good!
Chiang Mai is a great town too. It's much cheaper than southern Thailand, with meals as cheap as $0.50! The people don't hassle the tourists nearly as much, and everyone we dealt with was extra friendly. This was the Thailand we'd heard about... Bangkok, and even Krabi hadn't lived up to expectations as far as all that went. Chiang Mai even has multiple amazing markets. Day markets, night markets, even a Sunday night market! The Sunday night market is something to look forward too. Food flowing freely from the street vendors, crafts, clothing and wares of all kinds for sale at dirt cheap, and thousands of people roaming the street looking for the best deals. Are you feet tired from all the walking up and down the 2km market? Stop for a foot massage at about $3/hour! We had a wonderful cafe we ate breakfast at every day, and the rainy season never really kept us from doing anything we wanted at any point. It was great fun, and a town that shouldn't be missed if you're in Thailand for a while. We never even did the legendary trekking in the mountains or any of the other myriad of tours offered, but we'll be back in late September for "Level 2!"
posted by Josh H. @ 8:24 PM
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