Sawadee Chiang Mai

Top L-R clockwise: Deep fried tofu with spicy tofu&chilli dip; vegetarian spring rolls; crispy pig skin with spicy pork dip; pork&basil on rice; chiangmai sausage; crispy fried pig skin or kaeb mu; crispy curly noodles with curry chicken or kao soi

Yes we went on a food rampage as soon as we landed in Chiang Mai. We ate everything we could lay our hands on, including bamboo worms, pork burger at McDs, and everything pork! A list of must-eat northern Thai dishes was our mission.

Wat Prathat Doi Suthep was one of the many temples we visited. To reach the temple, we had to climb up a dragon staircase of 306 steps. Yours truly is pretty fit, so the steps were peanuts effort! The golden chedi and the courtyard were pretty amazing sights. Unfortunately we couldn't see much of Chiang Mai from the top of the mountain. The thick haze prevented us from a good view from up above.

Chiang Mai has a rather small gay scene, but very active. Hence, we decided to experience this open culture by going for a crossgender extravaganza. This cabaret featured an all male cast of she males and transsexuals. It was pretty exciting and outrageous at first, until a performance with a familiar chinese song halted our enjoyment. Guess we were expecting more Thai-related songs and performances. Overall, it was an eye-opening experience of exquisite faces, slender bodies, elaborated costumes, and fake boobs.

The next day, we travelled about an hour north of Chiang Mai to visit the Lisu and Akha hilltribe villages. There wasn't much to see, save for a few villagers dressed in their traditional costumes, dilapidated wooden huts, and a pig under a small blanket that was left to die before being slaughtered for a tribal party later that night. Mountain biking sounded pretty thrilling at first, until the uphill difficulty got the better of us. We were huffing and puffing, constantly looking out for the next downhill for that speedy exhilarating ride. This ride wasn't without much pain and energy. Details will remain a secret.

We also went on elephant rides, which is a must-do in Chiang Mai. Gie and I got an adult male elephant with the biggest private part ever! It looked as though the poor animal had five legs. Van and EL sat on a obviously distracted baby elephant that kept picking up rubbish and splashing dust on its body. The heart-pumping ride started when the elephants walked downhill along a narrow dusty pathway. We were holding on for dear life because our bums were starting to slide out the seats! Van took away the best gift from this ride - elephant snort on her face. har har. White water rafting down the Mae Taeng river was the best! Exhilarating! Lots of bum-bumping work! After this, we were too exhausted and wet to bike back to our starting point. We took the songthaew (small pickup truck with seats along the sides of the covered bed) back instead.

Markets are big things here. They sell everything under the sun and moon. Just be careful you don't get ripped off. Some markets cater for tourists, which explains the overly priced items. After a tiring walk in these bazaars, we indulged in thai massages. Most of the ankle aches and body pains were banished after an hour's work of kneading, pushing, and pulling. I laughed the first time I went for it, trying extremely hard not to giggle by grinding my teeth and thinking of sad memories. It was exhausting! The second time round, I was much more relaxed and knew what to expect. Ahh the invigorating experience of a Thai massage. Highly recommended!

Are you game to try some insects? We had a go at the bamboo worms. Honestly they weren't too bad!