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!
After a great first day in Langkawi, today morning we were up and ready for our island hopping tour.
For breakfast, I had ‘roti canai’ which is similar to Kerala parota, but fluffier. To drink, Milo, which is waaaay more popular in Malaysia than it is in India.
We were picked up by the tour operator at 8am and dropped off at a pier where other tourists were gathered as well.
These were the kind of boats we were going to be driven around inIt was a lovely sunny day to be out on a boat tripAll the tourists were divided into groups and we got into our boat
Given my past experience going on a similar trip in Krabi, I was more careful this time in protecting my camera equipment
Our first stop on the tour was to get a glimpse of the Pregnant Maiden Island, called so because it looks like a lady lying down with a pregnant tummy.
Took me a while to make out where the ‘pregnant maiden’ wasThis is a panorama comprised of 6 shots. See if you can find her. (Hint: Head is on the right)We moved on
Soon after, we arrived at our first major stop on the tour
We were at the Dayang Bunting Marble Geoforest Park, which is located inside the Island of the Pregnant Maiden.
Our welcoming party. The monkeys, not the old guy.
Needless to say, there were going to be a lot of monkeys here
The stop was for us to check out a lake inside.
But I was more amused watching monkeys
The lake inside is famous because despite being in an island located in the sea, the lake’s water isn’t as saltyYou can also swim here… or jump in, like Loi didThere are also paddle boats for hire
They also have one of those “fish spas” here with small catfish ever ready to nibble away at your feet’s germs.
Plus it’s freeThe water is cool, but the nibbling at your feet can be ticklish… and slimyBut when people throw bread crumbs near your feet…. it can get a *little* too much!We had nearly an hour to spend hereThey have changing rooms for men and women here itself… but it kinda helps to know English
45 minutes in, we made our way back to the pier
Like I said, lots of monkeys here
You have to be a bit careful though. Yes, they are more afraid of you than your are of the monkeys. But if they see anything enticing in your hands — like juice bottles or food packets — sometimes they will come at you and just grab it. Also, I saw some idiots throw things at them. Please don’t do that.
2 seconds ago, that Coke bottle was in that old man’s hands. He didn’t fight for it back… because that would make human race look inferior.
We got into our boats and moved on
Our next stop was a short trip away.
Next up was a fish feeding farm…… which was also a restaurant. Hmmm.
The thing was, you had to pay to feed the fishes. This isn’t exactly included in the package.
But we didn’t go for it
We didn’t opt to feed the fishes because, 1) all 3 of us weren’t interested 2) the concept of paying to feed fishes, fatten them up and who then (possibly) end up on the restaurant menu didn’t sound right to me.
Boring huh?Fortunately it was only a 30 minute stop, so I continued clicking
We moved onOur boat driver, smoking
We rode up to what looked like a mangrove forest, where we would witness an eagle feeding session.
Langkawi gets its name from eagles. Malay word ‘lang’ = eagle, kawi = reddish brown colourThe island is inhabited with a lot of eagles of that colour
The eagle feeding session works as such. The boats all float apart from each other and the drivers/guides throw some eagle feed (bread bits or some meat) into the waters, and the birds of prey come sweeping in with their beaks ready to eat.
Problem was, I didn’t have the right lens for this part of the tour. The most zoom I had was with my Tamron 28-75mm f2.8, which as a macro lens is great, but isn’t much when it comes to photographing fast moving birds.
Here are a few shots Ramesh got using his Canon 55-250mm telephoto lens.
(Photograph by Ramesh Iyer)(Photograph by Ramesh Iyer)
After the eagle feeding session, we moved on to our next and final stop on this tour.
Beras Basah islandIf you wanted to swim in the sea or just hang around on the beach, here is where you are allowed to do itWe were all keen to hit the water!But I didn’t feel like leaving my camera on the beachSo I took it with me into the water! But I trod very carefully so as not to get a drop of water on the lens.Loi and Ramesh found broken coralsSo I asked them to make use of them and pretend to be reindeers!Because you know, reindeers in water are… ermm… Couldn’t help but turn this into an ad Attempting the ‘head floating in water’ shotAfter some time, we made our way back to shoreOvercast skies in the distance
Not sure if this was a hotel or notAfter drying ourselves up, we headed back to the pier
Monkeys inhabit this island tooAmazing how they survive on the island, considering there are no human residents here.
We left Beras Basah island
We got a bit of rain as we neared the pier from where we set off in the morningPretty cool looking resort
The rain was mostly a drizzle once we got back. They were selling memorabilia plates of everybody who went for these boat trips and since they were only RM10, we all picked up our respective plates.
This was a half-day island hopping tour and it only cost us RM30 (Rs. 450 approx.) per person. I’ve done a similar tour like this last year in South Thailand. Of course, that trip didn’t start of well, with my camera getting wet and all, but I doubt I’ll ever get sick of seeing clear blue water and less crowded beaches far away from civilization.
As we were walking to our vans, Ramesh and I were talking about visiting the Langkawi Underwater World, just when one of the Sri Lankans who was on our boat overheard us. He turned back and advised us against it, saying that the Aquaria KLCC in Kuala Lumpur is “much better”. So we decided to take his word for it and dropped the idea of going to Langkawi Underwater World.
The lobby downstairs at Sweet Inn MotelOne of the many cats that visit Sweet InnIt had just finished raining
We stepped out again, this time for lunch.
We stopped by a restaurant to quench our throats first with some chilled beer. I tried SKOL which I never had before. It was average in taste.
Unfortunately, looking at the menu, it offered very little in terms of vegetarian for Ramesh. So after beer, we sought some other restaurant.
So we went further down Pantai Cenang road to check out other restaurantsThis is Underwater World LangkawiWe sat down at a restaurant in front of Underwater World after Ramesh found something he could eatBut the food wasn’t particularly good. I didn’t like my chicken curry rice.
Post lunch, we checked out some Duty Free stores. Langkawi is a Duty Free shopping destination, so one would assume you would find some great bargains. But as we hopped from one shop to another, that wasn’t the case. Especially with electronics. We walked into the Canon store at a mall adjacent to Underwater World and found the prices to be far higher than that of Singapore. We were aware Malaysia isn’t as cheap as Singapore when it comes to electronics, but still, the prices we came across were a bit exorbitant. Some even higher than prices back in India.
I feel Langkawi businesses were taking advantage of the “Duty Free” label and jacking up the prices because you never know, some less-informed tourist would buy into the whole gimmick and assume they got a good deal here.
At this point, Ramesh and Loiyumba wanted to head back to our hotel in Langkawi for some rest. This being our last day on Langkawi, I didn’t feel like resting, so I told them I wanted to roam around a bit more.
I was contemplating heading to Kuah, Langkawi’s main town, just to see what that side of the island had to offer. But since we had already walked quite a bit, I decided to head further on and visit Pantai Tengah beach. In the process, also share some more beachfront hotel options on Pantai Cenang in case you wanted to know where to stay (I highlighted some places in the previous post).
Durian (similar to Jackfruit), is the national fruit of Malaysia (I think)
Head straight down this road to get to Pantai Tengah beach
This is Pantai Tengah beachIt isn’t as big as Pantai Cenang… and the sand isn’t as soft eitherIn fact, the sand was mostly broken shells. Not the best for walking barefoot then.At this point, it began to rainFortunately, I had my umbrella in my backpack. So I walked back instead of taking cover.This nice looking resort isn’t open to publicUpon research, it belongs to a bank and is meant only for its employees. Posh.Debbie’s Place Irish pub on Pantai Cenang
There’s a laundry shop very close to Sweet Inn, very reasonable rates for service
I went back to the room to drop off my laundry, and to see what the other two were up to. Ramesh and Loi were taking a nap and so, I decided to step out again.
I wanted to explore the area behind the motel
Some of the houses here have been turned into budget accommodation for tourists. Good income for villagers.
Apparently all water buffaloes do is stare at you
I had reached a main road at this point
I saw this market by the main road…… and since there was a lot of food on display, I had to check it out!I forget if these were fish balls or cheese balls… or fish balls with cheese powder coatingApom Balek, sweet stuff. I sampled a few of these. (‘apom’ sounds like India’s “appam”)
‘Nasi’ is Malay for rice and ‘Beriani’ is well, biriyani (RM 3.50 = Rs. 50)Seemed like this was some sort of weekend market, not a mainstay
Guess I knew where to bring Loi for dinner
Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables on offer
Dried fish… lots of it!‘Cempedak’ is a type of fruit, ‘goreng’ I’m guessing means friedNot sure what these wereAll these colourful juices made me thirstySo I had corn milk juice. Weird choice, I know. But I didn’t come all the way here to strawberry milkshake.
You got budget accommodation out here as well
After spending some time at the market, I knew I was coming back here for dinner. Great street food at very low prices — who am I to complain? I headed back to let the other two know about my ‘discovery’.
Once I got back to the room at around 6pm, Loi was still napping. So we forced him to get out of bed and get ready. We set out by 7:30pm.
It was pitch dark and there weren’t any street lights on this route
‘Susu’ is the Malay for milk (yup); ‘kelapa’ means coconut and ‘air’ is water (seriously)Wondering what this is?It’s potatoKeralites, looks familiar?Puttu! Albeit, a slight variationThis is how they make lots of itThis is fish apparentlyI ordered a seafood mini-pizza from hereMostly crab meat and prawns; RM 5 (Rs. 75) for one
A lot of the food was already sold outYou take the basket and tongs, pick up whatever you want and you will be charged accordinglyAfter you choose, you cook it in boiling water… even stuff like this (Yuck)
Picked up some chicken samosas and vegetable spring rolls (RM 2 = Rs. 30)Was tempted to get some fried chicken too but I didn’t want overeat Picked up a beef burger as well. ‘Daging’ = beef, ‘ayam’ = chicken, ‘benjo’ = egg (RM1 = Rs. 15)
The night market was a lot more crowded than earlier
Unfortunately, everybody except Ramesh got what we wanted. There was very little in terms of pure vegetarian on offer at the night market. So we headed back to the main road so that Ramesh could pick up his dinner from a proper restaurant.
Since this was our last night in Langkawi, we hit the beach to the feel wet sand on our feet one last time.
This is the restaurant from where we had lunch yesterday and breakfast today morning
After checking out a few restaurants, Ramesh ended up picking up a vegetarian pizza from Italian coffee chain illy Cafe, which cost as much as all the food myself and Loi picked up from the night market.
While we waited, Loi petted stray kittensAs it is this post has over 200 photos, might as well squeeze in one of me. (Photograph by Ramesh)Wonder what animal this cat fought withBack at our motel, this guy was hooked on Hindi moviesDinner!
And just when you thought we had seen enough cats for one day…
This came to our door. We had to share our food with it too.We kept referring to the cat as ‘it’. So, Loi felt the need to check. It was a ‘she’.
Dinner and drinks done, I ended the night satisfied with all that I saw today. Actually, I did want to head to Kuah town after we came back from our island hopping tour. But given that it ended up raining in the afternoon, it’s a good thing I stayed put in Pantai Cenang.
With 208 photos and over 2000 words, this is the largest post I’ve worked on. There were still some more photos I felt like using because they looked good, but in the end decided not to.
It was good day today, but tomorrow onwards, it’s four days in Malaysia’s capital — Kuala Lumpur.
The next day, I woke up and checked out of Rux Thai by 8am. I left my bags at their store room as the first thing I needed to do was to get a bus ticket to Phuket. I took a pick-up taxi (unlike Bangkok, few Toyota Corollas here) and headed for the Chiang Mai bus terminal (cost me 50 baht).
Unnnnnfortunately, when I got there, I was informed that the buses to Phuket go via Bangkok — (“Oh crap” moment #4) — which meant a one-and-half day journey.
Disappointed as hell, and it felt like hell given the heat, I went to a internet cafe nearby and tried again for flight tickets. There was the option of train but apparently even that goes via Bangkok — meaning, one really long journey. I would have taken the train if I had the time because I would have loved to see the country side, but time was not on my side. All the budget carriers were full and the only flight that was available from Chiang Mai to Phuket the next day was with Thai Airways. Even though it cost me around 5900 baht (Rs. 8,300), I had no other choice, I had to go for it.
I booked my flight, printed my tickets and headed back to Rux Thai Guesthouse by pickup taxi. In a way, I was kind of happy that I now had another day in Chiang Mai. But now, I had to find another room to stay in.
Just before I picked up my bags from Rux Thai, I stepped into an adjascent guesthouse called City House. They had rooms from 200 baht, 300 baht and above (!) Since it was already noon and I was going to be checking out by early morning, I opted for the single room w/fan (200 baht/Rs. 270) plus 50 baht (Rs. 69) for their WiFi service.
Small room, but it was clean, had the basic frills and it had a working hot shower (important to me). Overall, a very good deal given the location.
I freshened up, planned where I needed to go next and then headed out for lunch.
Which was at a small family-run restaurant…
Run by what looked liked a mother & daughter duo
… and I had the sea-food curry rice meal. At just 40 baht (Rs. 55), it was filling — and good.
Sea food Thai curry & rice — a staple diet for me while I was there
After lunch, I walked around the area and looked for a specific bike I thought I’d rent to go to Doi Suthep.
Tempting… but not what I was looking forA canal that stretches throughout Chiang Mai cityTo the left is Thapae gate
I crossed the road and walked to the other side and… just kept walking. The bylanes all housed small hotels and casual bars making it a ‘quieter side’ compared to Loi Kroh road.
Freedom Bar, a popular reggae joint in Chiang Mai
After having checked out a few rental bike shops, I realized time was going by. I stopped at a travel agent who was renting bikes for 200 baht (Rs. 270) a day. He didn’t have the bike I was looking for (which damn bike? That I shall talk about in a later post) so I opted for a Honda Click — a 110cc regular automatic scooter.
The Honda Click I got
Tip: It’s advisable to take photos of whatever vehicle you rent in Thailand, be it a a bike, car, jet ski etc. There so many cases of scams or renters accusing you of a damage you may not have caused and seeking a lot of money. I’m not saying this agent looked like he was going to pull one on me but you never know. At least having evidence in your hands helps.
I rented a bike because I needed to go to a temple called Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai’s most famous temple. I also knew it was a bit of a drive there and taking a taxi would have cost me 600 baht/Rs. 830 or more (that’s what they were quoting anyway). So renting a bike seemed like a better option.
But what I didn’t know was that it was perched on top of a hill and that it was 17kms away.
So I set off quickly after getting a few directions and filling up a litre of petrol (40 baht/Rs. 55)… and then some more directions after taking a few wrong turns.
Only a few (mostly family) will get the reference
I was finally on the right path and I drove past Chiang Mai Zoo and the Night Safari to enter the foot of the hill. What I also didn’t know was, how beautiful the drive was going to be!
I absolutely loved it! Tall trees on either side, the sunlight barely making it through the trees, dried leaves on either side of the road, professional cyclists biking their way up hill… it was just lovely. The road was divided into 2 lanes going up and 1 lane going down. There wasn’t much traffic going up as most people were on their way down. I really wished I had stopped to take a few photos but I just couldn’t! It was already 5pm and I had to drive 7kms uphill on a 110cc scooter before it got too dark. (Not taking photos of the uphill drive was one of my biggest regrets of this trip but I’m definitely coming back to Chiang Mai to do it right.)
By 5:20pm I finally reached my destination. Took a left, went a bit downhill to the parking area, then walked back up and then saw I had even more climbing to do.
(Taken on Nokia E72)
I was quite knackered after I took a few steps with my camera bag and the tripod on either shoulders. Panting for breath, I stopped for a while…
Took me a while, even though it wasn’t many steps
… took a few photos, drank some water and then made my way back up.
Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep (‘wat’ in Thai means temple)
There was a sign board pointing to a ticket counter for tourists, but when I went there, nobody was to be seen at the counter. I didn’t wait as it was already late, so I went inside the temple after leaving my shoes outside (as is the requirement).
Some renovation work was going on
There were a lot of Buddha statues at Doi SuthepAn emerald statue of Lord Buddha at Doi Suthep
By the time I had gone around the temple, the sun had nearly set. After I felt I had clicked enough, I went down, got my shoes and stepped out of the temple.
Taken at 6:20pm
I was dreading the ride back downhill as it was quite chilly on the way up. And the fact that I was only wearing a T-shirt and shorts, it was only going to get chillier on the way down with the sun all set.
But I braved the chill factor and still made my way down in the dark. Until I saw this…
Chiang Mai city at night
I drove a bit further down to an observation deck.
It was a hassle setting up the tripod in pitch darkness, not to mention changing lenses too. I played around with the camera’s settings to try and capture the starry sky.
This is the best I managed with what I knew of the camera so farPlaying around with long exposure shots
By the time I slowly packed up all the equipment (it was dark, so I had to be careful) and left the observation point, it was 7:30pm. It was a pain to carry the camera tripod around but I wouldn’t have been able to take these shots had I not used it.
I made my way back down and by then, the evening had come alive with locals thronging the side streets. I stopped on the side when I saw a fairly large ‘food court’. It’s something I saw a lot of in Chiang Mai. Community eating. A stretch of food stalls serving a variety of dishes at very economical prices with enough tables and chairs for the groups of people — from school kids to young adults — who throng to such places.
I saw a ‘dosa’ stall but it was nothing close to the one I’m used to having with curry. These ‘dosas’ (some here even call it ‘roti’) are mostly sweet and can be filled with all sorts of delicious high-calorie stuffing.
I chose a banana & egg filling(Photo on the right was taken on Nokia E72)
The batter is fried (margarine was used here) and then folded in with the filling, cut into squares and then topped with condensed milk and sugar if you want. I said ‘I want’
At 20 baht (Rs. 27), there’s enough for two… but I enjoyed having it all. I tried to get back to Loi Kroh road after that but being new to the city, ended up taking a few wrong turns. Not that I was complaining, I loved Chiang Mai. It looked lovely with the lit up fountains in the canals that divided roads. Again, I regret not stopping and taking photos.
As I did near Loi Kroh, I stopped at another road with food stalls lined up by the canal.
Just after I took the above photo, I hastily packed up and set off. And then I hear something fall onto the road. I quickly moved to the side of the road and I knew the tripod bag had fallen off because I had placed the strap on the open hook the Honda Click had below the seat. But just as I was about to turn — “CRRRAACCKK!!”
A car ran over it. I quickly ran towards it as the vehicles slowed down seeing this dark long object on the road. I picked it up and I could already feel pieces move inside the bag.
I reach my hotel room and instantly assessed the damage…
Yup, it’s broken alright
… “Oh crap” moment #5
It was beyond repairable. So I just trashed it in the bin.
The irony was, I was thinking about picking up a really good tripod as the Canon 7D is a slightly heavy camera but decided to manage with the one I was carrying for two reasons. One, I had already spent enough and two, it would have definitely been heavier. But now, I had to get one!
It’s like God heard my thoughts and assumed that’s what I wanted. (God, if you are reading this, thanks — but this is not exactly the way I wanted it to happen!)
Instead of dreading over my loss, I went out for dinner. Back to the Night Bazaar it was. I had seen some very tempting fare the previous night so I decided to eat from Anusarn tonight.
Anusarn market, near Night Bazaar
Dinner: Honey baked duck and a glass of Chang beer
I also had a bit of deep-fried crab cakes. They were okay, nothing exceptional. The duck was nice though.
After dinner, I checked out the Night Bazaar one last time (photos in previous post) and then called it a night as I had to wake up early to first, give back the bike and then, waste precious time looking for a new camera tripod.
A lot of the internet cafes there serve alcohol
(Something I saw on the way back to my hotel room)
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.
