Land of Smiles: 2011

Here and There

Thailand is motorcycle heaven. I have rented several in the past few weeks and taken them on rides in the north west of the country, generally between Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and east of Mae Hong Song. I don't carry much with me. All of the following were taken with a little digi camera.

Me and my friend Vic, who owns the black Kawasaki Versys. He was with me for some of the road trips. I rented the orange Kawasaki ER6n.

That's me. Looks like I'm standing still, doesn't it?

Doi Chiang Dao (Chiang Dao Mountain)

Northern Thailand is dotted with many places to stop for coffee, like this one.

I can't ride much more than 45 minutes without stopping to give my body a break. So, out comes camera. The following are some pics taken here and there.

Monday Market

You've probaly heard of those legendary Bangkok traffic jams. Here's a Chiang Mai traffic jam. It's Monday Market time.

My neighbors Larry, Norman, and Jar walking to the market.

Entering the market is chaos, but after you've been there a few times you know where to find you favorite things.

I remember going with my mother to buy groceries. Looks like it's as boring now as it was then.

My favorite vendor sells sushi for 5 baht each. I usually buy a dozen from him. Sushi is exotic and popular food in Thailand so if you want any you have to get there early.

Bargaining for mushrooms.

Salad anyone?

Shopping for DVD's. These cost about 40 baht, or slightly more than a dollar. You have a 50/50 chance that it will work. There are no refunds.

Cha Music is slow music - the drippy sweet romantic stuff. Notice that's it's all girls at this booth.

You name it; you can probably find it at the market.

If you shoot me with your camera I'll shoot you with my squirt gun...

It's a good bet dad doesn't know about this leaky diaper...should I tell him?

We returned home just before it rained. This was a gorgeous site but I wasn't good enough to capture the beauty with a camera. Lucky for us to be there to see it live.

Lucky Shot

I have been wanting to take this photo for months but the water is usually murky brown. Today was my lucky day.

A few things you aren't likely to see in the US

Northern Thailand is a dream come true for coffee lovers. If you can zoom in on the picture you'll see that this is a very complete coffee menu. Never mind that it's on a lonesome stretch on highway between Tak and Kampang Phet, which is similar to Hwy 395 in California between Lone Pine and Bridgeport.
The espresso was sooooo good that I had a second cup.

I was hungry when I arrived in Kampang Phet. There was a shopping mall near my guesthouse so I took a stroll looking for something to eat. I found this place where all you have to do is point to the pictures, and the waitress will enter your selection into her hand-held computer, which transmits the order to the kitchen.

Also at the mall. I told them my name was Skippy but no one believed me. But I could still go in if I paid the fee.

So who needs a station wagon?

Oh my Buddha! Not exactly the ascetic lifestyle for these monks.
Picture taken at Wat Doi Saket.

Skip's coordinates

Some people have asked for map coordinates of my trips. At the moment I don't own a gps device and most likely won't for a while. However, I have managed to put the route to Wat Prabath into a Google Earth Places file format (.kmz). If you want to follow the route on Google Earth, and/or put the coordinates into your gps device I can email the file.

Wat Phrabath Sii Roi (Buddha's Foot Print Temple)

I was fortunate to be able to take another motorbike ride into the mountains with someone who knew the way there, and back. This time we traveled north and west of Chiang Mai.
Once you get out of the city and into the Thai countryside everything becomes very green and bucolic.

As always, you will pass at least one large image of the Buddha. We stopped here for a short break. That's my ride in front, which is dwarfed by my friends Kawasake Versys, which has a 650cc engine, compared to mine which has only 110cc. There are time when I think it won't go any farther up the mountain. So far that hasn't happended. Praise Buddha?

This river has been blocked and diverted to create a fish pond. When you buy fresh fish in Chiang Mai it has come from a place like this.

Imagine taking a ride into the foothills of California, and continuing into the mountains. Evetually the roads would get narrow, then more narrow, turn to dirt, and this just disappear. This mountain road ended at a huge and magnificient wat, or temple. Following is a glimpse of the temple. I think this might also be one of the places where westerners go for meditation retreats.