I arrived in Chiang Mai bus station at around 7am and took a taxi to get to Rux Thai Guesthouse which cost ฿80 (Rs. 118/$2.6/€1.8). Rux Thai is a place I stayed last year as well. It’s located just off Loi Kroh road, which is essentially Chiang Mai’s tourist-filled area with the Thapae Gate at one-end and Ping River at the other.
Since I was going to be spending 3 to 4 nights, they gave me a room I requested on the ground floor (because they don’t have a lift) for ฿450 as supposed to the rack rate of ฿490 (Rs. 700/$16/€11) — which includes Wi-Fi. No breakfast included, but they have a restaurant on the ground floor which offers a decent menu at reasonable prices.
American breakfast costs ฿90 (Rs.133/$3/€2)
After a hot shower, I took a nap as I barely got any sleep in the bus (as is the norm for me in any bus journey). I got up as it neared lunch time, unpacked and took out all the camera equipment I had bought.
Credit card abuse for 2010
Though I did test out the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 lens and the tripod before I purchased them, I didn’t get to play around with them as much as I wanted.
The tripod & ball head can easily handle the weight of the Canon 7D and the lensMy first shot with the Canon 70-200
I loaded the equipment into my backpack and left the room at around 2pm.
This is Loikroh Lane 1 Road
Other budget hotels on this lane are Centerplace Guesthouse, where you get single rooms starting from 200 baht onwards. Vipa House (the one with yellow board pictured above) is right next to Centerplace and is priced about the same as Rux Thai. (Maybe I should check out Vipa next time).
Though there was a cookery class near Rux Thai, I had already booked myself into another cooking class (which was one of the things I would be doing in Chiang Mai).
I crossed Loi Kroh road and walked pointlessly through the alleyways on the other side.
Lazing in the afternoonWat Saen Fang (‘wat’ is Thai for ‘temple’)
You can rent theseBut the more sexy the bike looks, the more expensive they are to rentI walked all the way around and got to Kotchasarn Road
I chose to eat lunch at the same cosy small eatery I ate at last year.
Run by a mother and daughter duoIt’s inexpensive and the food is goodSpicy prawns and calamari with rice, ฿40 (Rs. 60/$1.3/€1)
After lunch, I rented a moped from the travel agent in front of Vipa House and decided to go on a drive around Chiang Mai.
I highly doubt itI parked on the other side to click a few photos
The poster (I’m guessing) was confirming that Loy Krathong celebrations were definitely November 20th to 22nd this year
Though, I did ask around to find out when exactly the release of the hundreds of lanterns at once was going to be. From research online, I did learn that the event was something that is held at some University grounds at a place called Mae Jo, but when I asked the people at Rux Thai, they weren’t sure about anything. (Communication is a bit of an issue in Thailand, despite how touristy this country is)
Chiang Mai gate
They had floats in the canals which children were riding and jumping off of
I got back on my bike and moved on
I planned to ride up Doi Suthep on the outskirts of the city, which wasn’t too far away. The route is quite simple really, plus I had done last year. Chiang Mai city isn’t as complex as say, Bangkok. As I got towards the road leading up to Doi Suthep hill, I stopped again to take photographs.
The name of this place? Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University (try saying that fast)
I wanted to drive up the hill as I loved the ride last year. I wasn’t planning to drive all the way up to the temple, just up until the last view point before the temple.
Stopped at a small temple on the way
There’s a small waterfall up here
Doi Suthep is very popular among speed cyclistsBikers, cars, superbikes… you’ll see everybody enjoying the rideThis was my ride (฿200 for 24 hours)It was starting to get darkPanorama comprised of 10 shots
It was at this hairpin bend that the viewpoint was located.
You can’t actually see the sun set from this side
I set up the tripod because I knew I would be pitch dark soon.
It was a full moonShot at 200mm & cropped
As it neared 7pm, I packed up and left the viewpoint. I drove back down and this time, I took my jacket with me… because last year, I froze!
Once back in the city, I parked on the side when I saw some beautiful decorations in front of Saun Dok Gate .
I headed back to Loi Kroh road.
After parking the bike in front of the hotel, I stepped out again, this time choosing to go by foot.
Walked down Loi Kroh roadIf you want your 5-star fix, there is Le MeridienAt the end of Loi Kroh is Changklan roadPlenty of restaurants, hotels and stores here
I walked to Chiang Mai’s night bazaarPlenty of good seafood restaurants here
The night market sells the usual gamut of clothing, accessories and home decor
I wasn’t hungry and wanted to know where all the major Yi Peng celebrations in Chiang Mai would be. I was told that the major gathering point would be along Ping River.
I walked away from the bustling crowds near the night marketI could already see lanterns in the skyI ended up taking a turn back to a main roadTo be frank, after 15 minutes of walking, I didn’t know where I wasPing Nakara Boutique Hotel & spaWalked towards this big templeI was bored of walking, so I went in
Devotees were slowly trickling in to the temple to float Krathongs
As I walked out, I saw a ‘roti’ vendor on the way out and decided to eat something as it was getting late.
‘Roti’ in Thailand is commonly referred to sweet pancake batter filled with banana and other fillings
As I walked back, I realized I took a much longer route as the temple itself was not to far from the night market.
I just needed to walk through the food court and come out the other end
I walked to the bridges over Ping River
Loi Krathong celebrations had already begun… for someFirecrackers are very much a part of the celebrationsI went from one bridge to anotherThere are several bridges all along Ping River
Chiang Mai’s youth were all out to enjoy the festivitiesLined all along the streets snacking, singing and having a few beers with their friends
The banks of Ping river saw its share of revelers tooMoved to another bridge
No surprises there
Flowers, lots of flowersThe markets were still bustling at this timeHad to get down to ground level for a closer lookSwitched to the Tamron 28-75 f2.8 lens for the next few shots
These are ‘krathongs’The base is made using a thick slice of banana plant stem
The Frenchman in the above photo and I got talking, though I don’t remember how the conversation got started. Maybe I was wearing my ‘It’s Football, Not Soccer‘ t-shirt which has my website’s logo at the back and so he gave me his blog’s domain as well.
That is a *lot* of slain pigs
Paper lanterns on sale (prices ranges from ฿20 to ฿60 depending on size)
I called it a night after this and headed back to my room.
Can’t wait to see what the city has in store the next three days
I had my dinner from a rather nice joint on the same lane as Rux Thai. Lovely pork spring rolls and a can of beer (came to ฿200). I hit the sack early because I needed more sleep. Tomorrow was going to be any early morning, for I had to get ready to learn how to make Thai curry!
Last November, I decided just a few weeks earlier to go back to Thailand. The main purpose of this trip was to witness the Loi Krathong (or Loy Krathong) festival, one of Thailand’s most beautiful festivals and one that I always wanted to cover. Although it’s a national festival, Thailand still doesn’t get a public holiday for it.
Usually falling in November, I first booked my flights in October via Cleartrip.com which had a really good offer: a return ticket from Thai Airways (direct flight) + 2,000 hotel voucher + 1,000 worth of credit for a Uniconnect Thailand SIM card + an entry to DreamWorld theme park… all for 16,742 ($375/€262). Awesome deal if you ask me!
But, one week prior departure, I won the chance to go see Linkin Park in Abu Dhabi! So I delayed my departure by a few days, and then again after I read Jay Park was going to be performing in Bangkok. I left for Dubai on a Friday early morning and returned to Bangalore late Sunday night. I then went to office on the following Monday and then left for the airport in the evening for my early morning flight on Tuesday!
The flight wasn’t full, so I had an entire row to myselfThe Thai chicken curry meal was yum
Unlike my first visit to Thailand, in which I tried to cover the entire country in 9 days (I did it, but I didn’t quite enjoy the experience), this time around I was only going to focus on North Thailand. Most of my time would be spent in Chiang Mai covering the Yi Ping Festival (as Loi Krathong is called in Chiang Mai), after which I planned to go to Chiang Rai & then a day in Pattaya before heading back to Bangkok.
Arrived in Bangkok at dawnHello Suvarnabhumi!Sigh, the many travelators you have to cross…… to finally get to the visa-on-arrival section
Once I did get to the Visa-on-arrival counter, I submitted my form, showed them how much currency I was carrying and got my visa-on-arrival without having to pay the usual ฿1000. After that was customs and then collecting my bags. Last year, I took a taxi from the airport into Bangkok city which cost ฿320 but this time, I decided to take a shuttle bus.
The private bus going to Sukhumvit cost ฿150 (Rs. 222/$5/€3.5)
That’s Suvarnabhumi airportGetting near Sukhumvit took only 20 minutes
But then, Bangkok’s infamous traffic soon began. And my god did it last long! It took the bus nearly an hour just to get into Sukhumvit road.
I finally got dropped at Nana BTS station. I chose to stay at Thai House Inn, a place where I spent two nights at last year — because it’s 30 seconds walk from the metro station (literally) and its not far from all the malls. I needed to stay here because first on the list of things-to-do was to buy some camera equipment, so I had to have quick access to the shopping centers, especially MBK. Those whole followed my Singapore & Malaysia series must have read that I couldn’t pick up a good camera tripod while I was there. So this time, I just couldn’t go to Chiang Mai without it!
But first, I had to get some sleep! After a whirlwind trip to Dubai and then hopping on to another flight to get to Thailand, my body needed some proper rest.
I got up at lunch time, took the BTS SkyTrain and headed straight to MBK Center, one of my favourite malls in Bangkok.
From Nana, the Siam station is only 3 stops away; costs ฿25
MBK houses Fotofile, the store from where I bought my Canon 7D and other accessories last year. Fotofile also manages the official Canon store and two other stores in MBK! List of things to buy included a 70-200 f2.8 lens, another 16GB card, an interval remote, and a good tripod. I went to all of Fotofile’s stores, a BIG Camera branch and jotted down the prices for all that I wanted.
I had lunch from the food court which offers a lot of variety (though mostly Asian cuisine & fast food)
I left MBK and thought I’d check out some other stores.
I never walked on that pedestrian bridge below the Skytrain tracksThe traffic is like this from 8am to 8pmThe skywalk bridge connects to a lot of the malls along the Ratchaprasong areaI didn’t even step into Centralworld last time
I got down from the skywalk
I decided to head to the parallel Petchburi Road where Pantip Plaza is located.
The side section of Centralworld Mall
Amari Watergate Hotel is located on Petchburi RoadRight across Amari Watergate is Platinum Fashion MallPetchburi road is also famous for the Pratunam market area
I came to Pantip Plaza because none of the camera stores in MBK (and the Siam malls) sold tripods from the brand Vanguard. I had a particular model in mind but even after stepping into pretty much every Pantip Plaza shop that sold camera equipment, none stocked products from Vanguard.
I left Pantip Plaza disappointed
I wanted to try and buy everything I wanted from one store, so that I didn’t have to swipe my card three or four times and incur additional charges for each transactions.
I decided to head back to Sukhumvit roadIt was nearing sunset and my body was telling me 4 hours of sleep wasn’t enoughRatchathewi station is at the far end of Petchburi roadBy the time I stepped out of the train, it was already dark. The sun sets rather quickly out here.I decided to check one last mall before heading back
Centralworld is actually one of the biggest malls in Thailand
I looked up the store directory and saw that BIG Camera had a bigger branch here but unfortunately, it was in the part of the building which was under renovation.
After checking which ever stores were open, I left CentralWorld.
The one good thing I liked about the area I was in is that it’s actually full of Arab visitors, and therefore plenty of businesses exist catering to tourists from the Middle East and Africa.
Which meant, plenty of Middle Eastern cuisine for me to eat!Yeah, it’s *that* Gulf-y!
I picked up a beef shawarma (฿50) and a drink from a 7-11 and made my way back to my room. I had kept the air conditioner on for a while to ventilate the room and rid it of the Bangkok ‘stench,’ which takes a little getting used to. (The ‘smell’ of Bangkok city is essentially the smell of fish sauce emanating in the air.)
I needed more sleep and I had to wake up early the next day. I assessed all the camera products and all the prices I made a note of. I had to pick up everything tomorrow itself and then leave early enough to get to Mo Chit bus terminal.
Next day
After waking up and breakfast at Au Bon Pain in MBK, I waited for the Fotofile stores to open.
Walked around the ‘street market’ stores on the 6th floor to pass timeI picked up an additional 16GB card, the interval remote and an extra battery for the Canon 7D from the Foto Thailand store on the 3rd floorLots of second hand lenses for sale
The telephoto lens I was keen on picking up was the Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS Mark 1. Unfortunately, that model was recently replaced by the newer Mark 2, which was obscenely expensive and thus made finding the Mark 1 a challenge.
So I ended up picking up a brand new Canon 70-200 f2.8 non-IS lens and using the substantial savings to purchase a good tripod instead. I needed one anyway.
I picked up the lens from the official Canon store managed by FotofileNone of these are for sale, just on display
The Canon store had a few Manfrotto tripods on sale and I considered the Manfrotto 055x Pro B but it was too pricey. I went down to the BIG Camera store and picked up a Sirui tripod for around 7k baht. The model was very good value for money and complimented my newly acquired 70-200 lens well.
With all my shopping done, I went to one of the two main food courts in MBK.
Fifth Food Avenue is the name of this food courtI was still on my Malaysia high, so I had Nasi Goreng (although they went overboard with the soy sauce) ฿160
After lunch, I still had some time to kill, so I went to Siam Paragon to find out where the Jay Park concert was going to be held.
Siam Discovery, which is the older and slightly more wallet friendly mallClever ad Siam Paragon mall is the more posh offeringThe Royal Paragon Hall was on the top most floor, near the cinemasHmm, interesting
After finding out where Royal Paragon Hall was, I made my way out.
Walked past the luxury car showrooms on the second floorLast year, they had a ‘No Photographs’ sign on the glass
So this time, I went in and got up close to the Lamborghinis. You don’t realize just how big these sexy machines are until you stand next to them. I spoke to the sales girl and I asked her how much the import duties for these cars are and she told me it’s over 100-150%, including the many taxes on these luxuries… making them super-expensive in Thailand. She wouldn’t disclose how many they sell a year but at such prices, I’m guessing not many. I hardly ever saw one on the road in the two trips I’ve made to Thailand.
Once back in my room, I re-packed my bags and checked out. The lady who runs Thai House Inn asked me why I was leaving so early and assured me there would be plenty of buses, but I didn’t want to risk not getting a seat. Going to Chiang Mai early is what I essentially came for.
I took the BTS all the way to till last stop, Mo Chit station, and from there I took a moped taxi (to Mo Chit bus terminal, which caters to North Thailand).
But when I got to the terminal, a lot of the buses to Chiang Mai leaving that night were already full! Especially the luxury buses, and I had to go from one transport company to another to find available seats. Fortunately, I got a ticket in a regular push-back seat bus — it was their last for the night!
Last year I got a seat in a luxury bus which cost me ฿700, for which I just showed up at the station and got my ticket. Of course, the sold-out seats today were due to the Loi Krathong weekend rush. So word of advice, if you want the luxury buses during Loy Krathong weekend, buy the tickets in advance.
Not that the bus I got was bad or anything, it was just one of those regular buses used on overnight long distance journeys, in my case an 8-hour journey.
A seat costs ฿403 (Rs. 597/$13/€9)
The bus made a rest stop for toilet break and for picking up dinner/snacks. In a few hours, I would arrive at Thailand’s second biggest city, and my second trip to Thailand officially begins!
This past April, I embarked on another journey. Given the circumstances at office (which I’ll explain later), I decided to go somewhere ‘interesting’. This time, a country which upon researching last year, I realized offered so much more than I thought. I’ll go into the details as to why I took the plunge to go as far as Philippines when I begin this series 2 months from now, but until then, here a few of the 5000-plus photos I took from this 2 & 1/2 week long trip.
Flew over the South China sea for the first time -- very pretty (Taken on my cellphone)
First day of sight-seeing: The Manila American Cemetery and MemorialWhere 17,202 soldiers, Filipino and American, are buriedA rainbow caused by the sprinkler and sunlightMet my reader (& now friend) Aimee who helped me a LOT in ManilaArrive in Banaue the next dayGo on a tour by trike through a region quite prone to landslidesEmbark on what became the toughest trek I ever didSeeing these villagers carry livestock and kilos of grain for nearly a 1km through terrain that I found *incredibly* tiring even with hiking boots on, made me want to never complain about corporate life ever again. Listening to pigs squeal (& the resulting echo in the valley) for more than half-an-hour also made me not want to have pork... (that day)After nearly 1 1/2 of trekking, the view I get in Batad. A village with no access via road and one that only got electricity recently.And since these children don't see new faces often (least of all an Indian), played with them for a bit as wellAfter a break, trek all the way back through tracks destroyed by landslides... but this time, with a local I hired to carry my bags. My body just couldn't take the load a second time.End the day with a view of the grand daddy of them all, the Banaue Rice TerracesThe sheer size of the Banaue rice terraces are a bit hard to capture on photographThe next day, take two jeepneys to get to the small town of SagadaA small, but beautiful town!Sagada is also famed for its limestone cavesWhich was an amazing 'first' experience for meSagada is also famous for this, Echo Valley. People laid to rest for years on the side of a cliff.Leave the next day and drive through beautiful terrains to get to BaguioThen, on Good Friday, arrive in the town of San Fernando in Pampanga district for the main reason I chose to fly to Philippines at this time of the year.Warning: The next few photos are going to be graphic in nature.I don't have to time explain what the rituals are about and why they celebrate it this way, but you can read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Pedro_Cutud_Lenten_RitesMind you, it was scorching hot that dayThe famed annual re-enactment ceremony of the crucifixion of Jesus ChristPeople volunteer to be actually nailed to the crossAnd in case you don't believe me...Taken on my cellphone because of number of people jostling to get a close up view(Also taken on my cellphone)The night mass with beautiful floats of... erm, Christian characters from the bible(?)Arrive back in Manila for a guided tour by Aimee. The Manila Chinatown was nothing special, but their fire engines were!Manila Cathedral in IntramurosI get everything... except the 'chicken' part. As seen in Robinson's mall in Manila.Arrived in Cebu to kick off the second leg of my journey. This was the ceiling at the oldest church in Cebu.Take a ferry to Bohol, hire a trike and drive one hour to see this: the Chocolate Hills1,776 hills that make for a phenomenal geographical formationSee Bohol's Tarsiers. An animal I think, became the inspiration for Dobby's appearance (from the Harry Potter films)Arrive in Sambang in Palawan island to visit the Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National ParkThe underground river is a 8.2 kilometers long but tourists are only allowed 1.6kms in. The place is in contention for the 'New 7 Wonders of the World' contest.Another interesting and never-done-before experience for me! Also, quite a challenge holding the light *AND* clicking photosTrust me, there's a LOT more photos from inside the cave but no time for me to work on all of them now.Once out, had lunch on Sambang beach.Wake up early the next day, take the local bus to the Northern most town of El NidoHave sandwich bun ice cream for breakfast (Rs. 15)Arrive at my guesthouse in El Nido beach. Sit out, stare into what's right in front of me...and do little else. (Taken on my cellphone)Go on an island-hopping tour the next day. Snorkel in a lagoon wearing a life jacket.....and attempt kayaking for the first time. It was a lot easier than I thought! (Unfortunately no photos of me doing all this because I was afraid to get my valuable camera equipment wet. I've had previous bad experiences with salt water screwing up my equipment)Stop on an island for lunchWhich was barbecued fish and porkKids on this island must be sick of drinking coconut waterWatch the sunset on Las Cabanas beachHave a 'home-cooked' dinner of lobster soup, grilled lobsters, fried tuna and rice, all for Rs.250Leave El Nido the next morning... and leave the island of Palawan at sunset, thereby concluding my sightseeing around Philippines.
Needless to say, I have many more photos to share and plenty of experiences. This was without a doubt, the best trip I ever made in my life (so far)!
I planned to ride up Doi Suthep on the outskirts of the city, which wasn’t too far away. The route is quite simple really, plus I had done last year. Chiang Mai city isn’t as complex as say, Bangkok. As I got towards the road leading up to Doi Suthep hill, I stopped again to take photographs.
I wanted to drive up the hill as I loved the ride last year. I wasn’t planning to drive all the way up to the temple, just up until the last view point before the temple.
As it neared 7pm, I packed up and left the viewpoint. I drove back down and this time, I took my jacket with me… because last year, I froze! 
I headed back to Loi Kroh road.
I wasn’t hungry and wanted to know where all the major Yi Peng celebrations in Chiang Mai would be. I was told that the major gathering point would be along Ping River.
As I walked out, I saw a ‘roti’ vendor on the way out and decided to eat something as it was getting late.
The Frenchman in the above photo and I got talking, though I don’t remember how the conversation got started. Maybe I was wearing my ‘It’s Football, Not Soccer‘ t-shirt which has my website’s logo at the back and so he gave me his blog’s domain as well.
I called it a night after this and headed back to my room.
