PART 2: ZIPLINING IN LANNA

24-25 July 2013. Days 8 & 9 of 15. 
Chiang Rai (White Temple), Chiang Mai THAILAND (Pratu Chiang Mai sothern gate, Wat Chedi Luang, What Phan Tao, Wat Phra Singh,  Chiang Mai Womens Prison, Wat Chiang Man, Eagles Trail Ziplining near Phong Hai). 
Overnights in Chiang Mai THAILAND and overnight train to Bangkok. 

Another 5:30am rise to leave 6am - what holiday! Seriously it was worth it to maximise our time in Chiang Mai. What a place - more on this in a minute. Just when you thought you'd seen all the best temples in Asia, the "Wat Rong Khun" or "White Temple" (as it is called by westerners) comes along and blows all the others out of the water! This temple is the Asian equivalent of Goudi's "La Sagrada Familia" in Barcelona. It is in its 16th year of construction and is expected to take another 44 to 74yrs to complete!

Wat Rong Khun is being designed and its construction supervised by Ajarn Chalermchai Kositpipat, the most successful and famous artist in Thailand. He was born in Chiang Rai, where his temple is located and has always focused on giving Thai art a distinct Buddhist overtone and making it known internationally. His exhibits his art worldwide and produced approx 200 works per year. Now he only produces 10 and with a team of 80 (mainly students and monks) he works constantly on this temple as his contribution to Thailand. He has also set up a trust to complete this work after his death since he is in his 60s.

The temple is actually one of a number of buildings in the complex and one is called "The Golden Building" and features toilets on the ground floor. These are the cleanest public toilets I have ever seen. There are permanent staff there that clean every time someone uses them and they supply slippers that you must wear to go in. Unbelievable. This was intentional by this artist. This temple is 1.5hrs from Chiang Khong and it was another 3.5hrs to Chiang Mai. We stopped in between to see real cashew nut trees and buy some.

The coffee in northern Thailand is unreal. Our guide tells us that it is a craze up here and people take it seriously. Unlike the rest of Indochina, there are dozens of cafes and every one of them has an espresso machine. I paid $1.50AUD for a latte that took 5min to make - the barista ground my beans fresh and cleaned the machine as they went. Delicious coffee - just like Sydney. We arrived in Chiang Mai at 11:30am and quickly took care of laundry and booked our "Zipline" tour for tomorrow - more on this later.

Then I was off solo into the old city which set up exactly like Xien in China. The old city is inside a square that was surrounded by a wall built 700 years ago - only the corners remain and there is a moat (more like a dirty canal) that is also just outside the walls. It is 7km all round because I ran this on both days we were here just like I ran the 10km wall in Xien. I entered the old city through the south gate called "Pratu Chiang Mai" which is where the food stalls are located. Chiang Mai (pop 174,000) is famous for its Wats (temples), hill tribes and many adventure style outdoor activities such as hiking, elephant riding, quad-wheel biking and the latest craze "Ziplining". Chiang Mai was also the capital of the ancient Lanna Kingdom. The wall was built to defend against Burmese invaders in the 14th century. The city is surrounded by mountains and is hot and humid.Thailand's highest mountain, Doi Inthanon, at 2,565m is only 60km away.

Aside from the beautiful temples the rest of the old city is very grubby and ugly with the signature masses of wires gracing the areas in front of buildings above what is left of the pavements. "Wat Chedi Luang" was the first temple I visited and it as my favourite. The main temple is not too ornate but the interior is stunning with several golden Buddha's and gold leaf metal strips hanging down from the ceiling. The famous Emerald Buddha (now in Bangkok's Wat Phra Kaew) was originally housed here in 1475.

The other interesting feature of this temple is the ruins of a huge stone "chedi" or stupa built in 1441 and partly destroyed by fire between the 16th and 18th centuries. It looks ornate now with several elephants attached and two gold Buddha's at the top, one facing east and one west. The next temple "What Phan Tao" is mainly made of teak! It would cost a packet to build this now but back in 18th century this wood was abundant. The outside is very plain but the polished teak interior is impressive with huge columns and beams. "Wat Phra Singh" is the most famous and nicest on the outside. Famous because it contains the Buddha after which the city was named and is its protector. It is also the best example of ancient Lanna architecture and was built in 1345. Before my next temple I passed by the infamous Chiang Mai Womens Prison.

The compound itself is old and decrepit but the front entry has a colourful mural made by the inmates with statues on either side. I am told that the inmates are allowed to make an income by offering massages to tourists which are always booked out! From here it was a short walk passed the Culture Museum and the Statues of three Kings outside on my way to "Wat Chiang Man". This temple is famous for its two "Crystal Buddhas" which are supposed to have the power to make it rain! The building outside is very nice and set in a garden that contains a Chedi and school. The inside is not stand-out. All the temples worth seeing are inside the old city and within easy walking distance of each other.

I saw all of this in 2.5hrs but was dripping in sweat due to the sun being out and the humidity. From here I took a tuk-tuk back to south gate so I could get a run in before dinner. I stocked up on wine and new sandles ($6AUD) to replace my trusty old Colorado boating shoes which shed their undersides in Luang Prabang because it reached 38C that day.

Call me ridiculous but my heart broke to leave them behind in Chiang Mai - they had travelled with me to many places in the world including my dad's last visit to Greece in 2009. I should have started a "hall of fame" for my shoes just like I have my cozzies but it is too late now - I have left too many shoes abroad since they are too bulky to bring back. My run that arvo was tough but very scenic and enjoyable - I got to circle the entire old town. I joined the others for a beer or two for dinner at a restaurant in the night markets since I wanted to try the food stalls at the south gate later. We organised to meet at the hotel at 11pm for drinks so I headed to the food stalls whilst the rest went shopping. The food stalls were as basic as it gets. I picked out various Thai dishes already cooked in large containers and served by local women into small clear plastic bags tied at the top with string. I also picked up a BBQ chicken leg from local guy. I had 5 dishes for $5AUD.

I ate back in my room and decided to lie down to watch a movie until our drinks at 11pm. What a bad mistake. I feel into a deep sleep and stirred at 2am to have a wee and turn off the TV. Apparently Guenther came around at 11pm and knocked on my door - I was dead to the world. I was up at 5:30am the next morning to make a work call at 6am. People are already knocking at my door but I am not too sure that I want to work again! I think I will become a professional traveller instead! If someone paid me to blog and film, I would do it! Lucky for me I did not go out the night before since during my call, two of our girls walked in at 6:20am and came over to sing on my call! How would I ever explain this to the people at the other end! Thank goodness they did not ask! Last night's food stalls were now making there presence felt. After two bouts on the dunnie (toilet) it was off on a morning run at 7am. The third came half-way through my run. Bugger. I held to the end but it was painful!!!

After blowing up the dunnie Guenther and I were off at 9am to our "Ziplining" adventure at 9am (with the company "Eagles Trail"). It was 30km out of town, near the village of Phang Hai, in the middle of the jungle, full of water falls and rice paddies in the distance. On the way Guenther told me all about the huge drinking evening that finished for most at 2am and for some at 6am! Lucky I did not go - there is no way I would have made my 6am work call! There were 7 of us Ziplining including Desi, an ozzie from Bundaberg. Ziplining is the art of attaching yourself to a cable via harness and sliding from platform to platform through the jungle canopy some 30 to 60 metres above the jungle floor. It is fantastic and well set up.  

Two guides constantly hook you to safety rails on the platforms and onto twin cables - one is a backup. All the gear is imported from a French mountaineering climbing company. Except for one item. The "hand break" - this is a piece of Thai bamboo, the size of a small hammer that has a hooked end that you scrape against the cable to slow yourself down as you speed into the opposite platform. Very high tech indeed - I thought they were joking at first but hey, it works! You travel at around 20km/h and you can rotate, spread out your arms and legs and fly like a bird. It is exhilarating. My only fear was actually jumping off the edge of the platforms! Once in flight it is unreal. We spent a total of 90min sliding along 9 segments across 20 platforms. We also abseiled down three verticals, the last was scary at 40m straight down. Somehow I managed to brake too hard on one of the runs and stopped 10m short of the

platform and just dangled above the forest. One of the guides had to come on the other line and pull me in - reminded me immediately of Stallone in the movie "Cliffhanger". On another run I was coming in way too fast and by pure instinct reached up and grabbed the cable. Boy what a mistake. My hand quickly heated up and I let go! The guide screamed from the platform - "no, let go, let go!" Two stuffups, noth at least with happy endings. Poor Guenther got a sore arm using his bamboo brake since he is heavier and therefore travelled faster.

There were also four "novelty" runs of walking rope bridges and across tall tree stumps - all with harness, of course! All this and a buffet lunch too for only $60AUD. A great way to spend the day and see some of the jungle that typifies the north of Thailand. We were reluctant to leave but had to get back in time for our 4pm departure to catch the 5pm overnight train to Bangkok. After a quick shower we were off in tuk-tuks for 20min to the railway station which was well set up with Thai food shop and 7-Eleven for last minute supplies for the train.

We departed on time. The train was in significantly better condition and cleaner than the Vietnam train of Part 1. The set up was also different. There are two seats on each side facing each other which the staff turn into flat beds on request. One sleeps on the bottom and the other on a fold out bed above with a width double that of Vietnam. There are also curtains to create privacy. Clean sheets and pillow-cases all round. Lots of staff making beds and constantly cleaning the toilets - Vietnam - take note!!!

The cabin is also air conditioned. Terrific. It was a great place to blog Chiang Mai, drink wine and nibble on garlic mini-toast and processed ozzie sliced cheese - the only thing I could find at 7-Eleven. The scenery outside was terrific. Wide rice paddies with distant jungle covered hills and a thick jungle with tunnels until sun-down. The feature of the train journey was my first ever bottle of Thai wine! Yes - you read right - wine! They have started making it in the north east and only in certain years if the rain and temperatures are down. I enjoyed a 2011 Shiraz from Khao Yai Winery in a little place called Nakhonratchasima. It was great. Lots of chocolate and plumb coming through. What a pleasant surprise. I did not even touch my backup bottle. Well done Thailand.