Day 9 - Monk Chat

Sleeper train update part 2 - I had a pretty good night's sleep although the train was very cold and quite noisy. There was a very shouty man chivvying us along no matter how quickly we moved. I managed to get down from the bunk using the steps of the bunk, door handle and sink so the trip continues.

We got one of the Red Cars to the guest house that we're staying at. The red car is an odd thing. They shove as many people in as possible before they leave so you're crammed in the back going in a similar direction but not to the same destination. The guest house we're staying at is run by Paul, his wife Ay, nephew Ta and daughter Freya who's 3 and runs around getting you to play. We had a quick omelette to try and wake up then headed out to check out Chiang Mai. CM is very different from Bangkok. Much more laid back, easier to cross the roads and simpler to navigate. I eagerly checked out more temples, Matt hit the tired wall and was temple fatigued after one place so he went back to sleep and I ploughed on.

One of the nicest temples I've been to is Wat Chedi Luang. Every temple has strict dress code instructions, especially for women. One of the little temples here wouldn't let woman in at all as we evilly menstruate. There were also wax (I hope) monks which were uncannily reallstic - see photos. On the way out of this temple I spotted a sign for Monk Chat (a scheme set up to both allow people to learn about a monk's life and for the monks to practise their English) and after hiding round the corner to decide if I was ready to face my monk phobia I went and chatting to monk Nochanh from Laos. He's been a monk for 6 years but thinks he'll quit next year to get a 'real' job. He told me about his typical day which as well as doing the expected meditating/chanting includes studying other subjects and free time spent 'looking at facebook'. We had our chat whilst he drank an ice coffee, he told me he doesn't sleep enough so powers through on caffeine - like the regular folk. I'm so happy I went to chat with him cause whilst I'm still terrified of 'bumping a monk' it made me feel I could sit a metre away without fear of being struck down.

After the Monk Chat I went back to find Matt and we went to the nearby Kat's cafe where they proudly display only non-professional photos of their food. I had Kao Soi. Like a Thai curry with crispy noodles on the top. It's a northern Thailand speciality and who am I to not embrace the culture by eating all the food? (As a side note I think my clothes were shrunk at the laundry as I swear they're getting tighter) We hit up one more temple, Wat Phra Singh but it was so hot that even I got temple fatigued by this point so we went for cold beers and booked our next few days.

Following a much needed warm shower to de-grub we sat in the bar of the guest house and chatted with some of the other guests and the family whilst eating. We ended up going to the Night Bazaar with Teresa and Rob, a couple from Australia/Papua New Guinea who are post-kids and travelling indefinitely - life goals! It was great fun checking out the stalls and having a few more beers. The street we walked down changed in the time we spent at the market from a normal, chilled place to banging party tunes and many girls wearing very little trying to get us in so we figured it was time to call it a night. Elephant sanctuary tomorrow 😀Read more