Chiang Mai Donderdag, 20 december, 2001 Well, I'm back in good old Bangkok with fast en reliable internet connections. You Casema-complainers have no reason to complain after you've been in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It has actually happened that I've spent 1 hour behind a screen: 20 minutes typing and 40 minutes of waiting for pages to load and re-establish the connection after it broke. No complaints however: I've had a great time in Chiang Mai for 2 weeks. On the train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai I met a great guy from Newcastle, England: Ian. We have spend quite some time exploring Chiang Mai and it's delights (the local beer we drink is called Chang, less bitter than Singha). Another example of how easy travelling around here is (after buying the train ticket as described before). On arrival at the train station I went to the information desk and asked them at what train station I was, just to check whether the tuktuk driver had brought me to the correct station. "Yes, yes, this is the station, and if you follow that man you get some free tourist information." Like I asked for that... However, I thought it was not very polite not to follow him so I ended up at the tourist office and this lady starts talking to me about a guesthouse in Chiang Mai. In the end I signed up for 2 nights: if I did not like it you can always move on and it gave me free ride from the Chaing Mai train station to the guesthouse. Ian had not signed up for the guesthouse but I said "just hop along with the free bus, we will see whether they have another room, it will at least get you into the city." No questions asked and Ian got his room. I am proud to say that I have earned 2 certificates: cooking course and massage course. The cooking course of 3 days was great fun, it is amazing how easy it is to cook great Thai food. The best part is: you get to eat everything you cook, that means 6 dishes per day. I have never been so stuffed for 3 days. The massage course was hard work: an entire massage of 2 hours takes about 110 steps divided in 3 parts. Each day we practiced one part and I had to do them the next day without the book. This ment studying for about 2 hours after the course itself to memorize all the steps. But, after all I succeeded and got certified. Now I need volunteers quickly to be exercised on in order not to forget the moves. I did not intend to do so, but in Chiang Mai it is almost a must to do a trekking: go up in the mountains for 3 days and spend 2 nights sleeping in a hilltribe village. One of the things that worried me about a trekking was the sheer amount of distance you have to walk up the mountain, carrying your own backpack. This indeed turned out to be true: heavy, heavy breathing and soaking up lots of energy. Luckily I did work out in my last 2 months in Holland, otherwise I would have dropped dead for certain. Anyway: the trekknig was great, it is so absolutely beautifull up there. Campfire at night, tour guide with his guitar etc. The next afternoon we had some elephants do the work for us: ride on the back end relax. Funny creatures those elephants: why the hell did this one animal suddenly push over an entire tree? The elephant I rode on definitly had a mind of its own: it kept on choosing a different way than the others, right through the bushes. Another highlight in Chiang Mai: the temple Doi Suthep. Yes, it is a beautiful temple high up on a mountain, but I'm talking about the drive up to the temple: even better roads to drive a motorcycle than the French Alps. This had to be done: last tuesday I hired a Honda NSR 150cc RC Racing: 6-gear, 2-stroke engine. I have been driving it up and down Doi Suthep all afternoon (it took 25 minutes for the bus, I managed to do it in 10 minutes). I could not get it up for more than 110 km/hour for two reasons: the road was not long enough to accelerate more, and the helmet. If you do wear a helmet overhere, it is a dodgy one: too big with a strap around your chin. At a certain speed the helmet starts going backwards and is only stopped from flying away by the strap around your chin. Fabulous driving! Mum, dad and John: no worries, I have been carefull and safe all the time. Now I'm back in Bangkok and what do you do in Bangkok after you've seen all the temples? Exactly: you shop (untill you drop). I have found CD's full with MP3-files (computerized music files), like 1 CD with all albums of the Dire Straits for 100 baht (less than 2 Euro). Of course you can download all these files for free, but the cost of a CD, the burning and printing of a cover label will cost you more! The other thing I need to find is a copy of Lord of the Rings (I almost finished The Hobbit). Oh yes sir, this photocopy of the original book is perfectly legal, we do not violate any copyrights! I changed the travel plan a bit as it turns out that I have plenty of time. This saturday I fly to Vietnam. I will arrive in Hanoi, travel south and fly out from Saigon (to Bangkok where I will meet up with Wendy who is coming over for 2 weeks). In order to go there I needed protection against malaria. No problem in Thailand: you just buy them in any pharmacy. I plan to spend X-mas on a little island just outside Hanoi. As I expect this to be a very quiet X-mas, I plan to be back in Hanoi and find a good party for New years. As I expect to find little internet connections in Vietnam, I will be quiet on e-mail and postings untill january 17.   ... back