Our first full day in Thailand was quite interesting.
We went up to the Horizon Lounge for breakfast and besides bananas, corn flakes, coffee and pineapple slices, there was nothing else that we could say without hesitation that we could eat. I may not have mentioned it before, but most rabbinic authorities have told us that since you cannot trust government authorities in this part of the world, you can therefore not drink the local milk. So, before we left Hong Kong, we bought some long life UHT Australian milk, and brought that up to the lounge to have with our corn flakes. More on food and kosher later.
We had arranged with the concierge last night to go on a tour of the handicrafts markets today. Close to Chiang Mai, there are numerous factories and showrooms for the various handicrafts that are sold all over Thailand. And therefore on the scheduled tour route of most tourists, is a day visiting these factories.
In order to maximize our time, we hired a taxi for half a day (9 AM till 3 PM) at a cost of about $25 to chauffeur us around to all these places. Kung, a very nice young lady showed up as our driver and spoke English quite well. The only problem is that their pronunciation makes it quite difficult at times to understand what they are saying.The car was new and spotless.
She drove us to a Thai Silk factory, silver factory, wood carving factory, lacquerware factory, cotton weaving factory, gemstone factory and beautifully hand coloured material umbrella factory and a suit making factory.
Each factory had the same shpiel....first you are greeted when exiting your vehicle by a very nice young lady who greets you in the traditional Thai greeting, a gentle bow with both palms clasped together and the thumbs almost reaching her mouth (almost everyone you meet strikes this pose and bows....it is quite interesting that almost no one shakes hands as their form of greeting); then they take you on a very brief tour to explain how each handicraft is made, and then naturally, you are ushered into a showroom where salesgirls gently show you their wares and try to make a sale.
Some of the items were beautiful and while much of what we saw was not our taste, the quality of the workmanship appeared to be very good. We did buy a few things and all in all it was a very interesting experience and a day well spent.
On the way back, we asked Kung to drive us to Ringpin (pronounced Lingpin) , which is a very modern supermarket that carries many items of interest to westerners. So we saw many American made products with hechsherim, including, Haagen Daz, mayo, Pepperidge Farm cookies, ketchup, many cereals, herring, etc. We also stocked up on some more milk, this time from New Zealand.
Fran pulled a muscle in her neck last night, so on our return to the hotel, she booked a massage at a spa recommended by the hotel which is right around the corner...but, they pick her up and return her and charge about $20 for an hour long massage.
The hotel is magnificent and yet, it seems slightly out of place, given the fact that our suspicions in the dark last night proved correct once daylight hit. The entire town (except for a few luxury hotels and the inside of some of the better factory showrooms) looks like what you would imagine a third world country setting would look like.
There is a serious need for an overhaul of much of the infrastructure; roads need paving, sidewalks need repair, the town does not look well kept and there does not appear to be any regulatory force that would enforce bylaws; if any. And once you add the plethora of transportation options to the mix (car, taxi, shared taxi, motorcycle and motor scooter, tuck tuks, bicycles, trucks, etc), it begins looking like a bit of a balagan.
But I guess that is what gives it a bit of its appeal and color, ....and judging from the fact that our hotel is full and the number of people hitting the same handicraft shops as us, they do manage to attract many tourists.
Tonight, we are going to visit the Chabad House, which is in a storefront 5 minutes from here. While driving down the street today, we saw two stores with Hebrew writing (Habayit shel Rafi) and (Misadat Sababa). It is clear that there are many Israeli tourists here...I am sure we will bump into some along the way....why should this trip be any different than others that we have taken? After Chabad, we hope to visit the Night Bazaar Market which is a 10 minute walk from here.
Tomorrow, we have the same driver who will take us to the Elephant Sanctuary, the Tiger Kingdom, the monkey place, the orchid farm, the village of the Long Necked Tribe, and we hope to do all of this in one day....we shall see if we can fit it all in.....
I was having trouble downloading pictures but after consulting with the hotel IT guy, I did manage to get it done...so pictures should be coming your way soon. Btw, for those of you who have commented on my postings...thanks for all the feedback...
Hope all is well....
All the best
Fran and David
Nice! I really enjoyed reading your post. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work.
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