19 July 2012
Another scenic moped adventure. We pick up our sweet Italian-style mopeds at eight in the morning and have breakfast at our favorite cafe across the street from our hotel, Angels Secrets. This place has warm homemade chocolate croissants that are better than what I had in France. Their ice coffee is equally inspired. Our lovely hostess at Rama has provided us with a map and advice on what we should see for the day. We are on our way with happy wind-in-our-face smiles to the temple built into a mountain: Doi Suthep.
The temple is named after the mountain it sits on. The road curves through green jungle all the way up the mountain and a fine mist descends upon us as we climb higher. According to local legend the temple was ordered to be built by the King after a sacred white elephant mysteriously died at the site, carrying a relic of Buddha's shoulder bone.
The temple is surrounded by a cool mist and all we can view of it is a massive brick staircase steeply climbing the side of the mountain. We pass the two golden bejeweled dragons guarding the foot of the staircase and climb toward the temple. When we reach the top we are breathless from the climb and stunned by the blindingly bright gold pagoda emanating from the temple. We proceed beneath an ornate white and gold stucco arch, past more dragons to the temple courtyard where we all leave our shoes in a pile with the rest. The temple is crowded with tourists and locals alike. Patiently we wait to push our way into the temple's interior courtyard. The gold pagoda is surrounded by a square path, which the locals follow with flowers in hand mumbling a sacred prayer. Everything is beautiful; golden, warm, welcoming. There are several small gold statues of Buddha surrounding the gold pagoda and a red and gold tiled floor paving the inner courtyard. A steel basin of oil is in front of the Buddha statues, with a small ladle to scoop oil into steel lotus flowers that hold fire - a wish you are igniting. There are two large temples, with small brass bells jingling from the roof eaves, on either side of the central pagoda. Chris waits in line outside one of them to be blessed by a monk in traditional saffron robes. He goes inside and kneels on the floor in a "wai" (hands make a temple in front of your face and you bow slightly, keeping your head below the monk's) with twenty other people as the monk chants and sprinkles holy water from a collection of branches. He then waits to be given a special prayer for "success in everything" by the monk himself, who seals the prayer by tying a piece of cotton on Chris' wrist. After this special blessing we have some coffee and wander the outer ring of the temple, taking in the views of Chiang Mai far below.
On down the mountain we head, below the cloud cover of the temple, on the lookout for waterfalls. there is nothing like riding a moped through foreign lands. It is the best way to see the countryside and get an impression of how the locals live day to day - harvesting rice from the flooded paddies, sharing meals on hand carved wooden table sets in the front yard, washing dishes in big tubs on the porch, returning from the market weighed down by fresh fish and produce.
We pull over at a promising location and pause for lunch at a jungle cafe. Now, you might think its a cafe decorated with a jungle theme, but no, this is the real deal. We bend under a short ceiling and go through a dark passageway to get to a tree-fort patio in the back of the cafe. There are large cracks in the floor through which we can see our potential landing pad ten feet down should the floor give way, which it very well might. At least it looks soft. We gingerly sit at a table and try to interpret the Thai menu. We all decide on chicken pad Thai, because we know they will have it and understand our request. We are served Coca Cola in a strange, skinny bottle that has clearly been reused several times by the factory. While we wait for our food, we admire the jungle surround and listen for gibbon monkeys. All we hear is the dog at the next table chewing up the floorboards (which are scrap wood panels overlapped and nailed together). We take pride in experiencing this authentic jungle Thai cuisine and commend ourselves on a bold choice, even while we are the only customers.
The food arrives and is less than tasty, the spare sauces are full of ants. Chris is already sure this meal will be his undoing. We finish up and follow the trail nearby to a spectacular display of water. It travels down soft brown rocks, working its way through levels and eddies to its final pool 60 meters down. There are brown signs along the trail with elegant gold Thai script. We find two more waterfalls and spend a good two hours hiking around, and moped our way down the mountain.
Our last stop of the day is Huay Tung Tao lake. We pay a small entrance fee and arrive at the lake, which appears mostly deserted but for a few cafe owners and a handful of tourists. We park and make our way across the park lawn to the water, excited for a swim to wash off the sweat and grime of the day. After we jump in I notice how brown the lake water is, visibility is only a few inches. The lake is surrounded on many sides by a long row of open air bungalows on stilts over the water. You can rent these for shade on hot days, or enjoy a cold beer and some food at one of the cafes, which also have bungalows. Paddle boats and inner tubes are also available for your enjoyment. Across the lake we can see a white gazebo with red tile roof, and a large golden Buddha statue. Above Buddha is a large hill of thick jungle. Chris and Jake decide to swim across the lake, Toward the paddle boats. I occupy myself with a homemade swing set.
After our swim we head back to town and stumble upon a large street market. We park it, eager to wash down our meager jungle lunch with something more substantial. Let the fun begin! Jake's first stop is a stand selling barbecue squid on a kebab stick. It's marinated with a yellow curry sauce and placed in a clear plastic bag with a very spicy salsa verde. The squid is tough but the taste is amazing. We decide to share everything we get so we can taste as much craziness as any person can tolerate.
My first bite is a pork dish wrapped in grilled banana leaf sealed with two toothpicks. It reminds me of the Pepes Ikan I had in Indonesia - it is a spicy mixture of pork, corn, and tomato in a sort of square pancake. Very good. Chris selects a roasted chicken drumstick and a few spicy chicken kebab. Jake grabs a few pieces of fried bread, I go for a bag of sliced cantaloupe, Chris gets a mango coconut pineapple shake where the woman slices a white coconut pouring the juice straight into the blender before ripping out the coconut meat with her hand and adding it as well. The result is delicious. Now we all go big, I have been eying this stand with an array of fish covered in different beautiful sauces. I try to ask her what kind of fish they are but she's hot and impatient and doesn't speak English well, so I simply ask which is less spicy. She grunts and points to a small fish in the front drowning in a bed of breadcrumbs, topped with a single red chili. She places my choice in a clear plastic bag and I find a table to enjoy my crazy fish.
I think I just ate a piranha. Once the breadcrumbs are peeled away, there's a dark fish with severe fins and a mouth full of hundreds of tiny sharp teeth. A ridge of sharp points stand at attention like a mohawk along its spine. Despite a severe grilling, there are a few tasty morsels of white meat, and there's no option but to eat the skin as well. So here I sit like a native in this sweltering market eating a piranha, skin and all, with my bare hands and enjoying every minute! The boys have a few bites but are largely absorbed in their delicious roast chicken.
Each one of us feeling slightly uneasy we head back to our hotel for a rest. Whether it was the jungle food or the market kebabs, we're not sure, Chris has come undone and we spend the next few days not far from the hotel.
-Krissy
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