-Inexperienced people rent scooters
and don’t take a lesson.
- The bikes are unfamiliar from what people
may be used to. A lot of bikes are not in great condition due to the number of crashes. Mine had a number of zip ties holding pieces of it together. A couple in my hostel had one that was incredibly out of alignment and wouldn't go straight.
-People don't know where they are going direction-wise. Think about
when you drive a car to place you have never been before and multiply it by a
scooter
-There are many, many distractions. Beautiful scenery,
colorful signs, people weaving in and out of traffic, sand and the
aforementioned trying to figure out where you are going.
-People get overconfident while and some drive drunk.
Some these may seem silly but they are all entirely true.
Ride carefully and take a lesson if they are available and if you don’t know what
you are doing. You might think you would
never rent a scooter in a foreign land, that’s what I thought, but some places
it is the only way to get around.
My scooter rental. |
Pai is pretty small and most of the “attractions” are just outside of town. Motorbikes and scooters are very common there and it’s pretty much the best way to get around. I was bit disappointed by this because I really did not want to rent a scooter. I’d never driven one and doing it for the first time in Thailand didn’t seem like a good idea.
When I arrived in Chiang Mai, a number of people in my
hostel were talking about Pai. I literally had to look it up on the map. I had
never heard of it. But after a week of being in a hostel of people raving about
it, I found myself traveling there. I
found it incredibly odd that everyone and I mean everyone would review
something so positively all around. It just doesn’t happen. There is usually at
least one person who isn’t psyched about a place. The hostel I was in, in
Chiang Mai, Spicy Thai, had a sister hostel in Pai so the transition was
relatively easy.
There are so many things you can do in Chiang Mai that you could stay for months and not do everything. If you only have a short time, I suggest picking what is most important for you and going after those. Don’t forget to schedule yourself some downtime though! Strolling the markets and people watching is a favorite past time here.
Chiang Mai has many different types of activities to occupy
any visitor. Tiger Kingdom, Elephant rides and sanctuaries, temples, food,
drinking, walking, biking, scootering, yoga, meditation and cooking classes to
name a few. Only about half of the
things in that list interest me so when I arrived I booked a cooking class.
There are many different cooking schools within Chiang Mai
with half and full day options. I opted for the half day because I had heard
the amount of food was large and I know myself, I have about five good hours
before I start to zone out. I knew the half day was right for me. However, I
know a lot of people who did the full day and loved it. They even give you a
nap in the middle of the day!
Chiang Mai is the land of temples. I arrived into Chiang Mai from Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia by air. My ride between the airport and my hostel was a short 15-20
minutes (see Taxi Talk ), in that time I saw at least 5 temples go by without
even paying attention that much. Chiang Mai’s old city is encompassed in a moat
which makes the city very easy to get around. If you are at all good with
directions, you will be at ease. I
stayed just outside the old city on the north side in a pretty fantastic
hostel. I loved staying outside of the main tourist area because it made me
walk more and I was able to find plenty of things and places that no other
tourists were visiting. I even became a regular at a local noodle shop.
Petronas Towers |
I was feeling a bit out of sorts in KL. I couldn’t find my
balance, my center, myself. I wanted to sleep a lot, not talk to anyone, go
about my days and stay out of the heat. Heat makes me so sluggish, especially
the kind where the air is dense. With that said I did manage to do a number of
things I enjoyed in KL, I just didn’t make too many friends and I’m ok with
that. Sometimes I just like to be alone.
About Me
Sawrah
I travel for the love of it. The beauty, the smell, the food, the people, the sunsets. I blog when I can and like to offer detailed information that I wished I had had at the time. I teach yoga and enjoy photography, reading and exploring.