Hereandthereclaire.com

Friday.

I got up nice and early for my Day Out! 

My pick up was between 8 – 8.30 but me being me I was downstairs waiting at 7.50 🤦‍♀️ I had a change of heart and went back upstairs and made a cup of tea! 

My mini bus arrived at 8.20 our guide and driver was a fab guy called B. The rest of the party consisted of 3 lovely young university students from Singapore,  a couple and their 2 children from Madrid and a couple from Belgium. Everyone seemed nice and friendly. 

We headed out of Chiang Mai, stopping at a large service station with lots of food outlets, to pick up snacks and have a wee! 

The lady from Belgium, who is Thai, very slight and beautiful managed to eat 5 meat sticks, a bag of rice, 3 deep fried bananas and some mango! I honestly don’t know where she put it! I was impressed and not a little envious 😍

The journey to Doi Inthanon National Park was pretty unremarkable, mainly along motorways. I could see the hills and greenery in the distance. 

We turned off and then started to climb up into the jungle. It suddenly becomes really lush, mossy and very green! 

Our first stop was at Wachirathan Waterfall. It was beautiful. 

We had a little walk up to the look out spot then followed the path through a little bit of jungle back to the car park. I’m pleased to say the the walkways were mainly non slip, except for the wooden bits, which were the really slippery! 🤦‍♀️ 

Back in the car park there were more food stalls, I bought some delicious fresh mango and pineapple. 

From here we drove higher up into the jungle and visited Sirithan Waterfall, again absolutely beautiful, not as high but very green and seemed wilder somehow! The viewing platform was wooden 😬 one of the kids slipped over, No injuries, I managed to stay upright! Go me! 

B showed us a plat called Tiger Leaf, which apparently can stop bleeding and is also a great mossie repellent! He also liked to point out the various mushrooms, some were edible some not, personally I won’t be eating any of them! 

From here we drove higher up to visit a small village that produces coffee. We get to try some coffee and have a short break. 

As we approached the village the jungle starts to give way to terracing, with rice fields and small villages. It’s so gorgeous.

Our small village was reached by driving up some very small, very steep little roads. 

When we got out of the minibus you could smell the coffee, yum! 

They produce by hand on quite a small scale, it was interesting to watch. They use arabica beans, which are more suited to higher altitudes. 

We had a table laid out with little cups and pots of Coffee, Coffee Tea and flower tea to try. I tried the coffee which was good, especially as I drank it with no sugar! 

The highlight for the students and the 2 children were the 2 little kittens playing around us. 😻 

Something I really liked was that the village also make these pretty candles in tins, with various designs and smells, mainly flowers or herbs. There also make some traditional wraps etc for sale, as well as the coffee and teas. However you are never pressured into buying anything, the items were around to smell, look at, to taste but no hard sell. I didn’t buy any coffee as I’d have no way of using it while I’m here and it might not travel well. I did buy a couple if the pretty candles. 💜

As we were leaving the village the heavens opened! We stopped to take a few photos and on the road and path were hundreds of teeny tiny frogs! You could barely see the, until they jumped, so cute. 

We were now going to our Lunch stop. The rain had stopped by then, or we had passed above the rain clouds one or the other! 

Lunch was at a large venue which obviously catered to tour parties.

We had a buffet lunch of Rice, sweet & sour chicken, fried chicken, soup and stir fried vegetables. It was perfectly fine, not amazing, but good. 

In a little tree next to our table was a small birds nest with cute little birds, like finches, nesting. I tried to get a pic, but my phone camera isn’t good enough, shame. I also saw lots of beautiful butterflies 🦋 but again unable to get pics. 

After lunch we really started to climb, we were going straight to the top of the mountain which is 2565m above sea level. The climb made my ears pop. 

Once we reached the top I thought there might be a lookout spot, somewhere to see the view, but sadly not. 

We walked through the jungle from the summit, then down towards a walkway which took you through the jungle, again the steps down were ok, steep but not slippery, but the walkways were wooden and in a densely packed, humid jungle they were incredibly slippery, again one of the children fell, and again I stayed upright! (Phew) 

I loved the walk through the jungle, I tried to get ahead of the group just to savour the quiet and the sounds of the jungle. Unfortunately B had other ideas. I think because I’m on my own he’s worried I’m not enjoying myself, I was! He kept talking about James Bond Films, which he loves, as well as Chelsea Football Club. I didn’t really mind. I had managed to get some quiet space. 

From the summit we descended a little bit to visit the King & Queen Pagodas. They were built and dedicated to the grave of King Rama 9 and his Queen, Sirikit. 

They are absolutely stunning, surrounded by beautiful gardens and perched high atop this amazing mountain. 

To reach the Pagodas there were a lot of stairs, my little legs by this point were a tab achy. Then, miraculously before me I see an escalator! Oh Yes! 😃 Joy! 

In the pictures I’ve seen of the Pagodas they views are awesome, looking down onto the clouds, sadly for our trip the clouds had risen to join us, bringing drizzle with them. 

The Pagodas and the gardens were still absolutely gorgeous. The queens Pagoda is a fabulous purple/mauve colour, which I’m not sure is clear in the pictures. 

I had a wonderful walk through all the gardens, which are so well tended by lots of very hardworking ladies. 

B informed us that on the way down the mountain we would be stopping at a food market and also doing some wine tasting…Yes! Wine! 

As we arrived at the food market, the rain started. 

The wine tasting was sadly not what I’d hoped ☹️ the wines are made from various fruits, strawberries, melon, blueberries and were incredibly sweet, like syrup. Not my thing at all. 

As we looked around the rain got heavier and heavier, until it was an absolute deluge! 

The deluge continued for our whole descent of the mountain, which I’m quite pleased about as it meant we drove more slowly on the twisty roads. 

The motorways were also pretty flooded, but didn’t seem to slow anyone down. 😬

I arrived safely back at my hotel at 6pm. B was a brilliant tour guide. I had an absolutely fabulous day. 😍💚

The torrential rain followed us to Chiang Mai! 

Dinner at Kats was accompanied by the thunderous sound of the rain on roof’s! Love it. ❤️

Saturday.

Today is a very special day! It’s my Gorgeous Rebecca’s Birthday!  

She is having a fabulous weekend with Chris at a Spa Hotel. A much deserved break and Birthday treat. 

I can’t believe I’m going to see her beautiful face and be able to hug her and Chris in 20 more sleeps!! 😍😍😍 it’s been nearly 3 years since we were together! Damm Bloody COVID! 

Today I thought I’d have a wander into the centre of the Old City, an area I haven’t been to yet. 

I spent a lazy morning writing my blog and chatting to another guest here, Colin who’s from Auckland. I then popped into ‘Stories’ to use their wifi and upload my blog, I also had a caramel flat white, ok, but not a patch on ours @Coffeeonthecorner 😍

It’s lovely and sunny here today but with a bit of breeze, lovely. 

On my little wander I came across a Mauy Thai training session, which I watched for a while. It really looks hard! The Lady training reminds me of me of Jenna, my gorgeous friend, who is super Hard Core! (But soft and lovely in the middle) 

Dominika, the lovely guest I’ve met, with her husband Gareth and daughter Solomé, is going to Mauy Thai class today. This is super impressive to me, especially in this heat! 

After watching the Mauy Thai I wandered over to look at the 3 Kings Monument, enjoyed the shade of the beautiful trees, who’s flowers, white ones, smell amazing.

As I crossed over the road a young schoolgirl stopped me and asked if she could talk to me. I said of course. Apparently she is here in Chiang Mai from another school and her project is to speak to foreigners and ask them questions! 

Not sure this would pass a Risk Assessment in the UK, but Hey Ho! 

She was super polite, her English was amazing. She asked me my name, where I was from, who I was traveling with, how long I was staying. She took a selfie, then we were done! She was so sweet. 

I wandered around for another hour or so then was feeling very thirsty, fancied a beer! Ended up at the ‘Un Irish Bar’ They had Beer & aircon! 

The beer sorted me out and I continued my stroll till I got to ‘Hummus’ a fabulous restaurant serving middle eastern food, Hummus, Falafel, Baklava, Roasted Cauliflower! It’s sooo good. I had a delicious Falafel sandwich then came back to the hotel.

I spent the rest of the afternoon, in the pool or lying by the pool! Bliss. 

Dinner at Kats. I thought I’d try the Drunken Noodles again, but with much less spice…..Nope! That didn’t work, once again mouth on fire! 🥵 me and Drunken Noodles are done! 

That’s all for now guys.

Have a great weekend. 

❤️💜🌺💙💚🦋🌈

Wednesday has been another lazy day! 

I got up pretty late, around 8.45, had my lovely tea & biscuits. 😍

I went for a short walk down the road to a tourist centre I visited on my first day, to book a couple of trips. 

I have booked a day trip to Doi Inthanon National Park. Doi Inthanon is the highest mountain in Thailand, I’ll also see the beautiful King & Queen Pagodas.

The other trip is to Doi Suthep at night. 

I have also booked to go to Chiang Rai next week for 2 days. I’m going on the bus, which I’ve booked online. 

The only other trip I really want to do is to an Elephant Sanctuary, the one I wanted to go to isn’t doing visits at the moment, so I’ll look again when I get back from Chiang Rai or over the weekend. 

I’ll let you know how all the trips go!!

After that little jaunt I just chilled at the hotel. 

I went for another little wander around the area before dinner, just to see what other places are around to eat or drink, found a couple down a side street that might be worth going back to. But for tonight it was back to Kats! Dinner was a delicious Massamam curry, with “little spice” 😍Yum. X 

Thursday.

After a rather rude awakening at 5.30 by a tour group heading out early, who felt it was perfectly acceptable to chat and laugh at the tops of their screechy fucking voices!! Arseholes 🤷‍♀️ I dozed for a bit then got up and put some washing on. 

It’s pretty cloudy and drizzly this morning, but not heavy rain…yet! 

Im going to have a walk around to Chiang Mai Gate to check out what’s going on, there is also a park near that end of the Old City, which I’d like to see. 

Chiang Mai Gate is where the Saturday Walking Street was, so I’ve been there, but in a Red Bus, not walked. It was actually not far to walk if you cut through the side streets, which I did. I googled mapped it in the hotel, then just tried to remember the street names and general direction! 😀 TBF I’m pretty good with directions anyway. It took about 15 minutes to get there, pretty good. 

Not a lot to,see once on the main road, so decided to head to the park. I walked along by the small moat/canal that runs around the Old City, which offers some degree of shade!

The park is lovely, small but green and peaceful. 💚

There are a few people jogging or walking circuits. What’s really great about the parks in Thailand is that they all have these fab little exercise sections with various machines for working out! What a super idea. There used to be something similar at Stevenage Lakes, not sure if it’s still there?? 

I had a walked around enjoying the quiet, then grabbed a coffee from the little cafe and continued my walk around the City. 

Unfortunately after about 15 mins it started to absolutely chuck it down!! Luckily I had my trusty Pink Mac 😁 I continued to walk, but heading into the Old City. By now I was a bit peckish so thought I’d walk to The Writers Club for some Mango Sticky Rice. Having walked through torrential rain, passing numerous perfectly suitable Cafes when I got to the Writers Club it was bloody shut!! WTH! It was well after 12! I carried on walking and stopped at a trendy looking place. Unfortunately they specialised in western food, coffee and Cannabis! No Mango Sticky Rice ☹️ As I’d already sat down and taken off my Mac I felt obliged to purchase something, so had a disappointing Mocha, expensive and tasteless. I drank, I left!

Just across the road was another place serving Thai food and Mango Sticky Rice! Praise the lord. 😍

Feeling happy and full, I headed back to the Hotel for some chilling, swimming, reading, more chilling! 

For dinner this evening I’m going to try somewhere different, on my walk yesterday evening I’d seen somewhere called ‘Dash’ which looked busy (busy is always a good sign I think!) so that’s where I’ll go. 

‘Dash’ was great! The guy who,owns it lived in London for years so has a strong north London accent! 😁 he was very friendly and accommodating, the food was also very good. A little more expensive than Kats, but still a good price. I had Spring Rolls and curried chicken rice. Very tasty. 

I’m going to be getting an early night as I have my first day trip tomorrow! 

😠 Was asleep when the same tour group from this morning returned in the same noisy, inconsiderate manner in which they left! 

Anyways! 

Night all. 

❤️

Today is Monday, it’s hard to keep track of the actual day of the week! 

Tonight I’m going to watch Mauy Thai, and it doesn’t start till 9.30! This is quite late for me as I’ve been in bed most nights by 9 😬 so I’m going to have to pace myself 😂

My mornings normally start with a cup of tea and some French butter biscuits, (the real deal this time Tracy, StMichel Galettes! 😍) purchased from a fancy shop at the Mall, and they come in handy little 4 biscuit packets. I then make a start on my blog. It’s nice sitting out here watching things wake up, guests heading out, grabbing food, sitting drinking their coffee, the staff pottering about. 

I have decided today to head down to  Chang Puak Gate. 

The Old City is in a square which was once surrounded by a wall, much of the wall is missing but there are still the four gates remaining. Chang Puak Gate is to the left and round the corner to my Gate, Thapae Gate. 

I jumped in a Red Bus for the journey, to try and save my aching feet! 

My aim is to just have a wander and explore what’s in the area. Once I arrived it wasn’t really much to see, more shops, much like the area I’m staying in, only less interesting. 

So I decided to walk back the way I’d come and try and grab a coffee. On the way I stumbled on a Cat Cafe! 😻 obviously I went in! OMG such pretty cats, my absolute favourite was a huge white Main Coon Cat, who just looked so regal and in charge! He also had mixed eye colours, one green, one blue. I stayed for a while, chilling with the moggies then went in my way. 

The next place I stumbled on was The Ginger House, this is a very fancy, colonial style restaurant, bar and shop complex. It was extremely lovely inside, beautiful decor and fresh flowers, unfortunately or fortunately the shop was closed for renovations. I simply sat and had a coffee, chatted to the charming waiter then went on my way. 

I ended up walking all the way back to Thapae Gate, by which time my ankle was really sore. Im a numpty! I came back to the hotel, ordered some Vegetable Rice from over the road and got changed for the pool. 

Today my rice didn’t get delivered in a horrid plastic container, instead it came on a proper plate with proper cutlery, how fancy, I think they like me! 🥰

I spent the afternoon chilling by the pool and reading. Bliss.

I had Dinner at Kats Kitchen, and thought I’d try “Drunken Noodles” they  look like Singapore Noodles. I asked for medium spice…….the Noodles were Fucking Spicy! 🌶 🌶🌶🌶🥵 The first few mouthfuls were OK, but it just got hotter & hotter! I managed to eat a fair amount but then it just felt like my mouth was going to catch on fire, so I had to stop! 

I think it’s back to “Mimi Prik” (little spice) for me! 

I am feeling a little nervous about the Mauy Thai, as I don’t know what to expect. I’m not worried about the fighting bit, as I used to love watching boxing, so it’s not the violence that bothers me, it’s just everything else 😬 

Well suffice to say I absolutely bloody loved it! No need to have been nervous! 

The whole atmosphere is great, the traditional music is fantastic, it’s called, Sarama. 

Sarama is played by an ensemble that typically consists of 4 musicians, referred to as a Pi Chawa Klong Khaek ensemble. The instruments include 2 Thai drums (Klong Khaek กลองแขก), finger cymbals (Ching ฉิ่ง) but the sound is most characterized by the nasal pitch of the oboe wind instrument (Pi Chawa ปี่ชวา). 

This music changes in tempo as the fight changes, or possibly influences the fighters to up their game! 

My seat was excellent, ringside. The evening consisted of male and female fights starting with younger age groups then up to adults. 

There were 6 fights, 3 male 3 female, the best fights were the first one, which left the blue corner unable to come out for round 4, he looked half dead 😬 The last 2 fights were also epic, the best was the last fight between a Thai female and a Singaporean Female, it was a really good fight. The Singaporean Lady won, although I’d say it was a pretty even match (I’m obviously now an expert!! 😂😂) 

All in all a cracking good night! I think I might go again before I leave! 

Tuesday has been a very relaxed day, I have done very little except lounge around, reading, eating, relaxing. 

The good news is my ankle isn’t hurting at all. The bad news is I’ve been bitten a fair bit. It rained late in the afternoon, I stayed outside my room chatting to a couple who are staying here, Gareth & Dominique and that’s when they got me! 

An interesting fact:

I actually saw a mosquito on my arm, biting me (fucker) I brushed it off and immediately covered the area in my white tiger balm, those bites have come to nothing, just tiny little bumps, not itchy and no reaction! unlike the others that I wasn’t aware of, so didn’t immediately put balm on, those are much worse. 

Dinner at Kats, Khao Soi again, delicious, then a cheeky Almond Magnum from 7/11 on the way home 😍😍

Books read so far this trip:

How to build a Girl. Caitlin Moran. Very good, funny. 

The Heights. Louise Candlish. OK

**Where the Cawdads Sing. Delia Owens. Excellent, loved it, beautiful imagery.  

The Mermaid Chair. Sue Monk-Kidd. Good

When we believed in Mermaids. Barbara O’Neal. Very good, I enjoyed it. 

Look for Me. Lisa Gardner. OK/Good

** Bookies, what did you think? 

Happy Wednesday.

😘❤️😘❤️

I woke up a little later today, so perhaps I am starting to chill out! 

I’m off to see some of the Temples I missed yesterday, in particular one called Wat Chedi Luang. The old Chedi ( Chedi means Stupa or a hemispherical structure that contains relics or artefacts of monks or people of note) was built in 1441, the famous Emerald Buddha that I saw in Bangkok used to be kept here until 1475.

The Chedi is very tall and the top was destroyed back in the 16th century either by an Earthquake or by cannon fire during the re capture of Chiang Mai from the Burmese in 1775. 

It was very imposing, and magnificent. I spent a while walking round and admiring things. It was earlyish so there weren’t many people, which was nice. 

After this I jumped into a Red Bus to go and visit a part of the city called, Nimman. It is where the University is and has lots of hip cafes, restaurants and Galleries. I think I was expecting a more modern area, which it isn’t and I think that things are much more buzzing at night not really at 11.30 am!! 

I popped into a trendy salad bar and had a smoothie, then had a wander along the Nimman Road and called into a couple of trendy shops, apparently there is a ‘Lookout Tower’ in a small shopping complex that offers amazing 360 views of Chiang Mai, unfortunately when I eventually found it it was closed!! Further along the road was another larger shopping Mall which I thought might have a vantage point with seating and coffee, like they had in Bangkok. 

It did indeed have this, but it was part of a restaurant, which didn’t open until the evening, I tried asking if I could just go in the gardens to have a look, but no luck. 😏

I didn’t fancy staying in the Mall, so I jumped back into a Red Bus and headed back to the Old City. I stopped at ‘Stories’ for an iced latte, a cool down and to read for a bit. 

On the way back to the hotel I passed a ticket office selling Mauy Thai fight tickets. It also happened to be attached to the Gym, Venue where the fights are held. Even more convenient it is a 3 minute walk from the hotel! 

I asked about tickets and the guy showed me round the venue, he was very surprised that I was in Thailand on my own and even more surprised that I wanted to come to a Mauy Thai fight alone!! He suggested a ringside seat, with easy access to the Bar! He said it was the best seat and he would reserve it for me! 

I’m going to this as my Grantley has been doing Mauy Thai for about a year with JG, Adam and Andrew. I promised I would go to a fight if I could! I’ll let you know how it goes in a couple of days!!

The rest of my day was spent chilling by the pool, reading, visiting the Saturday Walking Street then having Dinner at Kats Kitchen, Fried Rice and Spring Rolls. Yum. 

Today is Sunday and I’ve decided to do very little except chill, no sightseeing, no long walks. 

I had a lovely leisurely morning and took a short walk to a place I’d seen a few days ago called, Hummus. (This would be Nikki and Clementine’s favourite place!) 

It was really, really good! When you arrive (in my case all hot and sweaty!) they give you a small glass of the house drink, which is Pomegranate, lime and mint, OMG! Is soo good. I ordered another large glass of the juice and a falafel sandwich, both were so yummy! When I asked for my bill,it came with a little piece of Baklava, smart move, as it was so good I ordered one to take away! 

This place is a great find, they make their own falafel, pitta, hummus, juices. It’s good to have something other than Thai food to choose from, but which isn’t burgers or Italian! For some reason lots of places offer Thai dishes then a random selection of Italian things 🤷‍♀️😀

I spent the afternoon, in and out of the pool, reading and relaxing. 

Tonight there is another ‘Walking Street’ just nearby, it looks like a big one so wanted to be rested for the walking! 

Tonight’s ‘Walking Street’ was very similar to yesterday’s, larger but essentially the same. There are some wonderful stalls selling all sorts of stuff, handmade crafts, clothes, food, so much food! Such interesting things, I wish I were brave enough to try some of the items, soon! 

Having walked up and down the entire street I was on my way back towards the hotel when I walked to Thapae Gate Square, which is the Old City Gate just near me. Only to discover the Chiang Mai Pride Celebrations and Festival!! 

It was wonderful, lots of people, lots of fabulous costumes, music, dancing. One of the things going on was a series of Wedding Celebrations between different couples. 

There was an older person, very small, with a wonderful smile, they and their partner partner seemed very nervous and emotional. (They are in the photos below) Watching their ceremony was deeply moving, the whole thing was wonderful and joyous. I felt privileged to witness this. 

After that a fabulous person came on stage and belted out ‘This is Me’ from the Greatest Showman, my bloody favourite! I sang along and danced and just had the most amazing time. I also got my first hug in Thailand from a gorgeous gay guy. ❤️

Next was the best costume competition and it felt a bit like Ru Pauls Drag Race, stunning costumes and performances. 

I had a blast, so, so glad I came across Chiang Mai Pride! 🌈🌈

A fabulous way to end my Sunday!! 

That’s all for now folks.

Have a great day. 😘❤️

I slept reasonably well in my nice room, but the lovely staff had said I could possibly move to a lower room, I also wanted a little outside space to sit and drink my tea in the morning, read my book, the only outside seats were in the laundry waiting area! 

The lovely Sing showed me a fabulous double room on the second floor with a table and chairs outside overlooking the pool. I asked if I needed to pay extra but they said No! How kind. 🥰 

It’s so nice to finally be somewhere that I can unpack my stuff and start to settle! 

After unpacking, having a cup of celebratory Twinings Breakfast Tea (Thank you Tracey!) I headed out to get some breakfast. 

I’ve found a cute little Cafe round the corner called “Stories” it’s very Australian, I think the owners lived there before. It’s got excellent wifi, good coffee, yummy Banana Bread and the staff are really friendly. It’s a perfect spot to start my day. 

I’d decided to walk to the Flower market which was approx a 15min walk, it was still chucking it down so I purchased a rather fetching Pink Plastic Mac! It certainly does the job of keeping you dry but also traps all the heat, so it’s like being slowly steamed to death! 😂

Whilst Chiang Mai isn’t ideal for walking it’s certainly lots better than Bangkok. I encountered a rather unexpected problem, the paths are tiled in ceramic tiles, which look nice and in the dry are fine, however when they are wet they are oily and very slippery!! 

Those of you that know me well, know that I can fall over my own shadow, a muffin, blades of grass, chairs, drain covers! The list is endless 😂 (even when sober!) so I was a little unnerved 😬 

For safety’s sake I walked mainly in the road! 

I got to the Market area, without falling over, go me! There are also other markets, food, clothes etc in the same area, not really a tourist spot, more a locals market. To reach the Flowers meant walking through the meat market. I’m not going to lie it was horrid, mainly the smell! I also spotted a couple of rather large rats. I held my breath and walked as fast as I could on the really slippery surface until I got to the flowers 🌺 which solved the smell situation! 

I had decided to buy some flowers for the staff at the hotel to thank them for my upgraded room. I’d read that Gold is a good colour, so purchased a large bunch of gold chrysanthemums. 

I walked back a slightly different way, not entirely intentional 😀 But much more pleasant on smaller roads, it looked like an area that lots of backpackers might stay in, lots of hostels. I stopped in a little cafe for a much needed iced orange juice, then carried on. I walked back to the hotel and gave a rather bemused Sing the flowers (I’m sure they now think I’m a bit bonkers! ) 

I was roasting hot, so got straight into the pool, so lush!! 

I had lunch from the same little place by the hotel, vegetable rice, yum! 

I wanted to sit outside by the pool but unfortunately the rain and damp made the mossie situation rather bad, so I chilled in my room. 

Around 5ish I headed out again, bought some Anti histamine cream, deet mossie spray and some white tiger balm, which the pharmacist said was great for bites, she didn’t lie! I put it on and it’s worked really well! 

I had another attempt at finding the Bar I’d looked for yesterday, ‘The Writers Club & Wine Bar’ nope, once again it eluded me, so annoying. There is a possibility it’s no longer open, I will find out one way or another!! 

I went back to the same restaurant, Kats Kitchen, which is great. Today is the day to try something new. I ordered Khoa Soi, a northern Thai  speciality, made with coconut curry soup, noddles, pickled veg and crispy noddles on top, I asked for it with ‘little spice’ . It was absolutely delicious, so tasty, I think I could definitely up the spice level a fair bit! 

I had this with an ice cold bottle of Chang, Thai beer. Perfect. 😍

Then back to the hotel, read for a bit and off to bed! 

Random thoughts!

• It’s difficult traveling on your own, when you get insect bites on your back and can’t reach them!! 
• Wine appears to be very elusive in Chiang Mai! 
• I seem to have a very real aversion/fear of stepping on the cement drain covers all along the pavements! I’m convinced they will give way and I’ll plunge straight down into the sewers never to be seen again. It’s very strange, and makes it a tad more tricky navigating the path! 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️

After another very good nights sleep, and being woken at 7 by a screaming cat! 😺 I had a slow start, then headed back to the same Cafè, Stories, for breakfast. Today I had Avo & Scrambled eggs on toast and an iced latte. Very nice. I also sat and wrote the first part of this blog. The staff here are beautiful. 

It’s raining again today although not quite as heavily as yesterday, so luckily no pink plastic Mac required!

I am going to visit the large Temple called Wat Phra Singh, it’s near a few others but this is the biggest and furthest away, so I figure I’ll start there and work my way back. It’s not as hot today although it feels hotter due to the humidity. It takes me around 30 mins to get to the there and it’s stunning, it also has fabulous shady gardens to help me cool down. I wandered around for a little while enjoying the peace and the shade, before heading to the next one.

As I was walking back up the Main Street I looked over and there was the Bar that I’d been looking for! Yes!  It’s a lot further down the road than the map showed, or perhaps I just read it wrong! Anyway I’ve found it. I pop in and have another local specialty p, Mango Sticky Rice! It’s really yummy, very sweet but really good! I was not entirely sure why I came with a little side of grated carrot?  I sat there a while and read my book. When I left I decided to walk back a different way and also to visit the other Temples tomorrow, as I was now roasting and my feet hurt. The swimming pool was calling! 💙 I’m trying to do 1/2 an hour swimming a day at least. I’m not the best swimmer and it also involves not getting my hair wet, due to the risk of green hair! (Tom Ashley you’ll be pleased to know I wet it before I go in and then don’t get pool water on it, so far so good! 😍) 

This evening I have enjoyed another lovely foot massage and have had dinner back at ‘Kats Kitchen’ Todays choice Chicken Penang, medium spice!  Which was really tasty.  

All in all a very good couple of days. 

That’s it for now guys.

XXXX

My last day in Bangkok, it’s a weird one as I need to check out of my room, but hang around the hotel till 5.30 for a taxi  to the train station. I can’t drag my luggage around anywhere! So I’ve decided to go for a walk to the park this morning, then have a swim, then leave my luggage while I go and get a late lunch.

The park is just up the road from the hotel, this is quite an affluent area and the park highlights this with a large number of children being cared for by their Nannies. It’s so lovely being under a green canopy within a large bustling city!

Bangkok is incredibly loud, cars, mopeds, trains, workman, generator’s, air conditioning units! Even in the pool at the hotel the noise is constant. 

It kind of reminds me of the film The 5th Element (?) where at ground level everything is choking in fumes, grimy and poor but the higher you go the air is clearer, it’s clean and the wealth resides! 

I’ve had some Chicken fried rice from a food stall, £1 I’ll take that! It was yummy. 

I had spoken to the hotel about a taxi to the train station, I explained that although my train wasn’t leaving until 8.20pm I had to collect my tickets by 7.30pm when the office closes. I suggested leaving at 5.30 the receptionist said 6 as it’s only a 30 min drive. There is nothing at the train station, no cafe, waiting room etc, so I was happy to wait in the cool hotel!

I was sat waiting in reception reading my book around 5.15 when I heard thunder, then the heavens opened and it was a full storm with torrential rain! Exciting 😍

At around 5.40 the receptionist said we should call a taxi now as the rain would make them busy and the roads get blocked, I agreed. Unfortunately there were as no taxis available at all from anywhere! She tried an Uber, nope, all booked or not wanting to take the job. By now It was getting on for 6pm, I was starting to get a little twitchy 😬 eventually she found a private cab, which was more expensive, but who cares! Get it booked! 

The car arrived at 6.15 and when we got onto the main road by the hotel it was chaos, traffic at a standstill, torrential rain, his Google map app was saying journey time 60mims! Jesus! 😳I’m thinking I’m never going to get there in time to collect my tickets, perhaps I could just try and get on without them 🤔 Not sure Thai bureaucracy would allow it, perhaps if I cried 🤷‍♀️ a lot! 

My driver was chatting away on his phone, whilst lane changing every 2 minutes, it took us 30 mins to do a 10min journey, then we made it onto the highway, which you pay to use (5th element again!) then he just floored it! Lane changes at warp speed, the time ticking, driver still chatting, rain pouring, thunder crashing, me trying not to wet myself!! Then…we arrived, with 20 minutes to spare!! Whew! I could have cried. 

I then spent 10 of those 20 precious minutes queuing at the wrong window! FFS but eventually I had the tickets in my grubby (and very sweaty!) little hands. 

I was then very chilled, sitting on a bench reading my book waiting for my train. 😊

The train was fabulous! I bloody love a night train. This one was wonderful, my bed was nice and wide, I was at the toilet end of the carriage, handy but not smelly! As I’d booked both bunks, so as not to have to share with a random stranger, I got 2 pillows. I had also received an email the day before from the booking agents saying they had overcharged me, so I got a £25 rebate, making the train £39 what a bargain!

It was dark and I was tired so I tried to go to sleep earlyish, 10pm. There was the usual train noise, which doesn’t bother me but there was a very loud metallic rattle which was disturbing. I located it, used the spare blanket as a wedge and that was sorted! 

I did sleep on and off, then woke at 5.45 opened the curtains and it was light so I got up to enjoy the views. 

We arrived in Chiang Mai on time 8.40am, I jumped in a Red Taxi or “Songthaews’ the main sort of public transport here. It was 50bht to the hotel. 

My hotel is in a great spot, it’s very clean, friendly, the pool is lush but no restaurant at all. However there are several around us and 2 directly across from the entrance so all good. 

My room is ok, but on the top floor and quite small and hot, although ok once the air on is on. They have said I could change tomorrow to one on the ground floor, I’ll check it out and see if I like it! 

I’ve had a little wander, called into a tourist office to look at some day trips, cooking classes etc. Did a spot of shopping at the 7/11 washing powder, milk, wine! All the essentials. 

I ordered lunch from the Thai place across the road, It was a dry yellow curry with veg, It comes in an interesting package, the rice in a takeaway tray and the curry next to it in a plastic bag! 

It was very nice, not what I expected but tasty. And £1. 

Went out late afternoon early evening to try and have a drink, ended up walking in large hot circles trying to find a particular bar, Nope! No luck. Everywhere looked very quiet, I think my timings for Chiang Mai are out of whack, I need to start later and finish later! I’ll work on this over the coming weeks. 😃

I did find a fantastic little local, busy Thai cafe , which was really good, I reckon I could try lots of different things there and move away from Rice! 😂

Back in the hotel and now ready for my bed.

please ignore the random booking pic! i cant get rid of it and dont want tomrisk losing the pics! x

Night all.

Xxx

I had a restless nights sleep, I think I might still have some jet lag. Also kept switching between too hot, too cold! I was awake around 7.30, and heading down to breakfast around 8.30. 

I took my Lonely planet guide to see what I fancied doing today, found it all a bit overwhelming to be honest! I think because the city seems so big, things are spread out and it’s also not somewhere you can walk around, too hot, too far, I’m also still getting used to the heat and humidity, which saps your energy. 

I decided to just relax, not give myself a hard time about packing things in and have chilled day. 😊

To this end I decided to walk up to a lovely park I’d seem near the Mall, it looked lush, Green and cool. Unfortunately by the time I’d left the hotel it  had started to rain and I didn’t fancy sitting in a park trying to read my book in the rain! So I popped back into the Mall, to cool down and get some water & coffee. I discovered that there is a garden area within the Mall on the 5th floor, so I grabbed my water and headed up! It was very nice, fab views across Bangkok, a Starbucks franchise, which are very popular over here! I sat in the garden with a Carmel Frappe and read my book for an hour! 😍

I then went for another wander round all the floors in the mall I had visited, all upper floors, restaurants and more gardens! 

By now my feet were hurting so I went back down to the ground floor and sat outside at a lovely bar and had a glass of Rosè! Watching the very affluent and beautifully dressed visitors go about their shopping, also the huge army of delivery guys collection from the Gourmet food hall across the way, sometimes coming out with just 1 takeaway cup to deliver! Madness.

After that I walked back to the hotel and by the time I got back I was boiling, so jumped into the pool! So good!  

After that I started to feel a little down, I had wanted to go to a rooftop bar on my last night, but the ones I found were more than a walk away and possibly needed booking the whole taxi thing was another worry! I then got back to thinking I should really be doing more, seeing more, be out and about more! Luckily I had a lovely chat to my Rebecca, who gave me some perspective and I figured I should actually just try to relax! 😃 with that I had a shower, a quick look on Google where I discovered that the Radisson Blu Hotel next door has a rooftop bar, Result! I got dressed and walked over. 

What can I say, it was fabulous, stunning views, lovely staff, great food & cocktails. I had a wonderful couple of hours chilling out and to top it off on my walk home I stopped just by my hotel and had a 1hr foot massage! I can’t even tell you how good it was, my poor feet have been so achy, so this was total bliss! I also got a 10 minute neck & shoulder massage at the end. ❤️❤️

I’m now back in my hotel, having some water then off to bed. 

I’m leaving for Chiang Mai tomorrow on the night train so might not blog for a couple of days.

Take care

Stay safe. 😘💖

And we have photos! totally random. x

I finally got to sleep around 9pm (possibly later, not sure, too tired! 😂)

I had a fabulous nights sleep in my enormous and extremely comfy bed 😊 The air conditioning was a little loud, but discovered this morning that I can turn it down a level and it keeps everything cool but doesn’t sound like a 747 taking off in my room! 

Thank you NIKKI for your pregnancy insomnia which enabled us to chat first thing!  Hopefully this mention will stop you nagging for a shout out!! 😂😘

I was downstairs having breakfast by 9am. As some of you know I’m not usually a breakfast person, but I was very hungry this morning, the food looked nice, I’ve paid for it with my room so I figured, what the hell I’ll just go for it. I had some fresh fruit, not sure if I like papaya 🤔then I had a lovely tomato omelette, toast & marmalade and a cup of tea. I could of had vegetable curry and rice with salad but felt that was a step too far. 

After breakfast I’d decided to visit the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew  (the temple of the emerald Buddha). I asked at reception how to get there. She explained that public transport would involve 3 different trains and a boat! The alternative was a taxi, I opted for the taxi!

I checked the approx cost with the hotel before I got in, she said between 100 – 200 Thai baht. ( £2 – £4). The taxi was lovely and cool, it took approximately 25mins to get there, Bangkok seems massive, but isn’t really any bigger than London (apparently) the cost of the Taxi was 140Tbt, so £3 Bargin! 

I started to follow the signs for the Grand Palace and was starting down a narrow road when a nice friendly chap behind a stall asked where I was going I said “To the Gand Palace “ he then told me that it was closed till 1.30 on a Sunday, I asked why, he said it was for the Thai people only. It was only 11 so not sure what I was going to do for 2hrs, He said I could get a Tuk Tuk round the corner to the river, do a cruise, visit a couple of other places and come back later. I had been looking around while he was chatting and couldn’t see many other tourists, so guess he was telling the truth, got in the Tuk Tuk, I thought if it’s going to the river pier and I don’t fancy a boat trip I could look around. 

I got a little suspicious when the Tuk Tuk cost 40tbt for a 5 min journey, and I couldn’t see a pier, or any official looking boat trip places. The group who I was dropped to said the boat would be called when I paid, it was 2000tbt for an hour. I told her I’d think about it and have a wander then come back. I went for a wander straight back they way I’d come and into the nearest large hotel. I asked the receptionist to check if the Grand Palace was closed till 1.30, she did and it wasn’t!! Fuck! I knew it, bloody scammed! Luckily only to the tune of £1 for the Tuk Tuk. 

The hotel called another taxi to take me back, explained where the entrance was, it was indeed where I had been heading. 

The new taxi took me back dropped me in the same place, then asked for 120Tbt. By now I’m hot, thirsty and pissed off about being scammed, so I just looked at him, looked at his meter, which he’d switched off and said No, absofuckingloutley not! I told him He was taking the piss, as I’d paid almost that much for a 25 min journey earlier, he said ok 100tbt, I gave him 40 and got out of the taxi. Wanker.

When I got back to the narrow street the “nice friendly” guy was still there, I went up and told him, in my best cross voice, that he was a liar, that he was unfair and mean and he should be ashamed! 

Not sure if it will do any good, but it made me feel better. 😂

Lesson learned. 

The Grand Palace was stunning, so ornate and beautiful. It was very calming walking around, there weren’t lots of people and everywhere you looked there was something amazing. 

I don’t have a picture of the Emerald Buddha, as it’s one of the most sacred of religious objects in Thailand, so you can’t photograph it.  It’s carved from a single piece of Emerald. 

When I left the Grand Palace I decided to head back to the hotel, it was extremely hot and I didn’t fancy walking around. 

I came back and got straight into the pool……..heaven! I stayed in and around the pool for a few hours, reading, relaxing and having a delicious Mango smoothie! 

Have gone out for a wander and planned to have a drink, eat and write more blog, but made a rookie error and left my glasses at the hotel!!  🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Back now! I walked to another Mall, I know! Why would I do that after yesterday’s experience? Well, I’m slightly less tired and jet lagged, it looks really fancy, it’s air conditioned, it’s not as far as the last one and I need some food!  I did see a couple of good busy looking Thai restaurants on the way, but I was committed to my task! 😄 I’ll give them a go tomorrow. 

The Mall is super fancy!! Designer everything, I had a mooch, found the food court, as an aside, why do the UK not have Food Courts in their shopping Malls? Maybe they do? They are a great idea! 

I had a simple Vegetable rice and some spring rolls. I thought about calling in somewhere on the way back for a drink, but all the bars looked like English pubs with the football on TV, not really my thing, especially on my own. I’m now back in my room having a Pepsi.

So far I’ve been bitten twice, I think only the one on my arm is a mossie bite, as it’s swelled. This is from yesterday late afternoon, no mossie spray! Another lesson learned! 

That’s it for today folks. Have a great day. ❤️❤️
Once again WordPress won’t upload the photos! don’t know why, it did yesterday! Annoying. I’ll add them to FB.

I’ve arrived!! 

I am finally in Thailand! Happy days. ❤️

The journey was good but not as smooth as I’d hoped.

After a sleepless night where I convinced myself that despite setting my iPad alarm every night for the last 5 years, tonight was the night that I had forgotten how to do it! I didn’t, and it duly went if at 5am! 

I was up and out by 5.45. The hotel is a 5 minute walk to the North Terminal bag drop which was great. Security was not too bad either, it was very busy, and due to get considerably busier through the day…Yikes! 

My bag was chosen for a random search and suddenly you panic that in the 2 seconds it’s been out of your sight, it’s been stuffed full of Columbias finest! It wasn’t I’d just forgotten to take the kindle out of my bag! 😂😂

I always like airport departures first thing in the morning. The staff haven’t had time to get too pissed off, people are excited and in party/holiday mode, and it’s one of the few places where it’s almost obligatory to consume alcohol at 7am! I was happy to oblige and enjoyed a fabulous Bloody Mary. 

The first leg of my Qutar Airways flight was to Doha, 6hrs. I had a great Aisle seat sitting next to 2 beautiful young London girls who were on their way to Dubai for a girls holiday. After chatting I’m pleased to report that me and my adventures are “lit” 😍

The flight was great, on time, food was ok, films were good, The House of Gucci and King Richard, both very interesting.

We arrived almost on time, only to find out the next leg was delayed for 4hrs. Doha is a great airport if you have a spare couple of grand to spend in all the exclusive shops, sadly I didn’t, I also couldn’t get into any of the lounges, due to:

1. Not being a member. (Rude and discriminatory 😄)

2. Not flying 1st Class. (I feel this is unfair as my inability to get an upgrade shouldn’t be held against me! )

3. Not being prepared to pay £200 for 2hrs. 😬 

No drama, I found a bar/cafe and had a lovely iced lime and lemon Cocktail and chatted to an extremely interesting lady called Elise. She  is a travel photographer and had just returned from a scientific cruise in the Artic,( bucket list right there!) 

She was really well informed about the impacts of climate change in the area and the unbelievably devastating impact of micro plastics. The sirens are blaring people I’m just not sure the right people are listening! 

Despite the rather depressing discussions we passed a good couple of hours and before long my flight time arrived. 

Again a great flight, aisle seat, slightly smaller plane, no films. My intention was to try and sleep, this didn’t happen, I think I was over tired. I really struggled to settle and got ‘restless legs’ so spent quite a bit of time walking up and down the aisles and doing stretches! 

Eventually we landed in Bangkok, 4hrs late, so 10.30 local time, going through Bangkok was an absolute doddle!  It was wonderful to be greeted with a smile by all the staff, What a lovely introduction to Thailand. 

I’d arranged through the hotel for an airport pick up, Thank you Rebecca for sorting the emailing about my delay, which was great. My hotel is really nice, I didn’t realise I had booked myself a Suite! 😂 it’s fab and cheap! 

I’ve have been out for a stroll and then had an extremely refreshing swim. The only down side is the Hotel restaurant closes at 3pm, I thought it opened at 3pm! The lovely ladies in reception sent me off out to somewhere they assumed I would like; a massive multi layered shopping mall!!  Jesus! My worst nightmare. 🤯 

At this point I need to also remind you that I’ve been awake for what seems like forever, but is in fact well over 24hrs! 

I walked in the 34degree heat beside a huge busy road to the Mall. As Malls go I’m sure it’s great, I managed to not find the food hall, exit on the wrong side at the wrong level, then get very confused before eventually escaping through the right doors on the correct level! I walked back up the busy road in the heat trying to find sustenance, not much luck unless I wanted Burgers, Steak, Pizza or doughnuts, I didn’t. 

I am now sitting in a Holiday Inn, which has air con, Thai chicken fried rice and 2 for 1 cocktails!! ( my Long Island iced tea was £4 😍)

It is also only a short stroll back to my hotel. Bliss! 

So far Bangkok hasn’t been as scary as I thought it would be, this can only get better once I’ve had a good sleep tonight. 

I’m too tired to try and figure out the photo upload situation, I’ll try tomorrow. If I can’t sort it, I’ll upload the pics onto Facebook. Some of you who follow this blog might not be friends on FB anymore due to me being hacked, please send a friends request. 😘❤️

yeah!! they uploaded! 😍😍😍

Thanks for reading guys and for your comments. Xxx

Hi All,

Welcome back to Hereandthereclaire, It’s been while! 

Wow, how things have changed since my last post in September 2019! 😬 

For obvious reasons I haven’t been on any big adventures, although I did sneak in a little trip to Alicante at the end of 2021! Which was wonderful.

I have read back over my previous blog posts and so will apologise in advance for the numerous spelling and grammatical errors and also my totally random use of Capital Letters! 😂

It’s also been a while since I’ve written anything, so bear with me I’m sure I’ll get into the flow soon enough. 

My trip this year is similar to the trip I planned and cancelled in 2020.  My original plan was to go to Thailand, Vietnam & Cambodia. For various reasons I am now going to save Vietnam & Cambodia for another trip and concentrate on Thailand. 

I left Newquay on June 16th.

I had an early flight 7am, so an early pick up, thank you Curly Steve for venturing out at 5am! It was a beautiful Cornish morning, the sun rise was gorgeous. 

I had very carefully packed my case, as I only had 15kg allowance on my Newquay flight, I’d weighed it before leaving, but had somehow acquired a further 3kg on route! So £30 worse off I boarded the flight, it’s a lovely short trip to  Gatwick, with great views. 

I arrived at Gatwick, expecting chaos after the previous weeks 1/2 term carnage and continued cancelled flights. To my surprise I walked into an almost deserted terminal with 1 lonely baggage belt! Quite eerie. Having collected my case, I walked through more empty corridors before passing through double doors and BAM! There it was…Gatwick as I expected! I managed to get through the crowds to the safety of M & S! 😂

My train from Gatwick was a revelation, on time, clean, not overcrowded, lovely views of Londons skyline and straight through to Stevenage, all for the Bargin price of £15. Excellent.

I’ve spent a week in Hertfordshire, between Hertford and Stevenage trying to catch up with as many people as I could, sorry if I didn’t get to see you. Thank you for making the time if I did! 

Thank you to everyone who put me up and looked after me so well, Tish & Ken, Sandra & Chris, Tracey and Jaques. You spoilt me and were amazingly kind and accommodating. 

I want to also say a huge Thank you to the fabulous Tom Ashley who has performed hair miracles and made me feel fantastic! 

Thank you to Trevor Herbert for the tour of your amazing Art Exhibition at the Gordon Graig Theatre, “In My Mind’s Eye” it is fantastic, and I adore my painting. 

It’s now 24th June and I’m now sitting at the Premier Inn at Gatwick, eating an M & S salad, sipping a glass of wine, writing this before an early morning flight to Doha, then on to Bangkok! 

I’m excited and a little nervous. 😬😊

My next post will come to you from Thailand!! 

Have a great evening. 

Thanks for reading. 

Claire xx

I Can’t seem to upload photos at the moment! It may be the really slow internet here.