16th of October, 2023.
Hitchhiking in Thailand: Chiang Mai
Camping in Thailand
When I am walking to my hitchhiking spot, someone calls me. It is the lady with whom I talked on the phone last night, before talking with Jake and Kwan. Funny. I quickly explain to her what happened and then start hitchhiking.
A lovely family stops for me: Ribbin, her husband Albert from the Netherlands, and their daughter Tui, who looks like 17 but is actually 29. They are going pass Chiang Mai.
We chat a lot about many things. The views and the roads keep on surprising me for its beauty. We stop so they can buy some avocado and Ribbin also buys us some bamboo sticky rice. Yummy!
I have an idea of where it will be better for me to get out in Chiang Mai and that’s where they drop me off. I will have to walk for a while to get to the old town, though. But right now, it is burning hot, and the sun is strong. Because my clothes are still wet from last night, I decided to take some time in a shade, while letting them to dry, so I don’t need to walk all over the old town with my clothes hanging around. I also manage to change myself (don’t ask me how) in the alley, so I am more protected against the sun.
Luckily, it gets cloudy when I start walking, so I don’t suffer much. And also, soon enough, a young tourist offers me a ride on his scooter. Denis is from Germany, and we chat a little while riding to the Old Town. He has been in a kind of Sabbatical, doing only what he enjoys and not what society tells him he needs to, which is very nice. He seems pleased on meeting me, and suggested I stay at the same guest house of his.
From the main old gate of the Old Town, Tha Phae Gate, I walk towards the two most famous temples in town: Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chedi Luang. I mean, I get there, but Wat Ched Luang you need to pay 100 THB for visiting, so no-pe! And Wat Phra Singh is just OK and I don’t see anything aesthetically remarkable about it. Although, there is something which surprises me…
While travelling all over India and Nepal, visiting many Buddhist Temples, I have never seen any sign asking people to dress “appropriately” to visit them. But here in Thailand it is in every temple. I am used to this kind of behaviour in Catholic churches and Monasteries in more conservative countries, but I have never imagined that in Buddhism something like that could also happen. Honestly, I cannot imagine Buddha worried about that while getting enlightened under the bodhi tree, but that is just what I think. And what does it mean to dress “appropriately” anyway? Since when shoulders and knees are inappropriate parts of our body? And why the hell a woman should fucking wear a skirt or something around her waist and the men not? These double standards always piss me off!
Irritated with all of this and the fact that the “Old Town” doesn’t look old at all apart from the many temples here and there, which you cannot actually know for sure if are genuine or not, I decide to leave Chian Mai right away. It doesn’t matter to me that all people say you should see and visit Chiang Mai if you are in Northern Thailand, it is simply not my kind of place.
I get a bit lost while trying to get out of town, so I ask help in an Indian shop. A lovely guy from Kashmir helps me, only by telling me where to go and not using his smartphone. Finally, someone smart and capable of doing that in this world!
I have to walk a lot! Bahut! But I finally manage to arrive to a good spot for hitchhiking. Unfortunately, it is quite late already, and it will be dark soon. As nobody stops until gets dark, it seems even more difficult for someone to stop after dark. I am not scared of hitchhiking at night, though. I don’t know if it is because I am in Thailand or is because I am toughing up after all these years. But I am getting tired, and I would love to eat something and go to sleep. I have walked over 9 km to get here, so I am actually exhausted.
Right in front of my hitchhiking spot there is a temple called Sureepornwanaram, so I decide to go there and ask for a place for camping.
I ask a couple who is exercising if I can go in, and they tell me I can, and walk me around, showing me where to go.
The temple looks more like a holiday structure than an actual temple. The buildings are new and fancy, and the temple per se is the first one I see which is opened air.
Talking with the monks, I am told I can pitch my tent inside of the new temple, a more conventional one, which is under construction. The young monk with whom I talk is very calm and diligent, showing me around, the bathrooms and the actual place where I can “camp”.
There is a nice market right by the temple, Mae Kuang, so I decide I will have some dinner there and come back for a shower later. It is just after 7 now.
At the market, I have some nice tofu and vegetables with rice. I am extremely surprised with the ability of a young lady, who is selling fresh soy milk, served hot. She is so fast! You can have your fresh soy milk with different flavours / toppings like black or green tea, chia seeds, ginger juice, red beans, etc. I get one which is a mix of chia seeds, red beans and millet, but plain, without any tea or juice. It is so delicious!
Back at the temple, a surprise: the bathrooms are so fancy! Super clean and neat, like they were built yesterday. There are actual showers and I believe there is even hot water, but I had a cold shower to refresh myself. There is even toilet paper! And a nice soup by the sinks. Everything looks very new and tidy, for my astonishment, of course. As I mentioned before, all the temples I have been camping lately, seem quite abandoned. But not this one! It is the top of the tops, number one temple in terms of cleanliness I have ever been!
In the morning, after packing and being almost ready to leave, when I am at the toilet, rain starts pouring. I sit by and decide to have my breakfast. Smashed bananas with cereal, cinnamon and soy milk. By the time I am finished and have washed my dishes, the rain stops, and I resume my journey towards Chiang Rai.
10 Years Around the World 