Return to Thailand: Machine guns and water pistols

We arrived in Bangkok on the morning of the 10th of April. We had originally planned to stay on Khao San Road for another night, before heading to Chiang Mai the following day. However, due to Songkran (Thai New Year) seats on transport fill up fast, so we decided to go the bus station and either book ahead or just get out the city. Later, we were very glad we hadn't hung around - the riots spread to Khao San and several tourists were injured. Reading Andrew Marshall's Twitter account of it the next day in the Bangkok Post was rather scary... http://twitter.com/Journotopia?max_id=12694232174&page=7&twttr=true

Even our bus journey was not without event, although slightly more low-key than grenade explosions it has to be said. Faithful readers might remember our stay in Lampang the first time we were in Thailand - it was so nice we decided to stopover again for a night. At around 8pm the bus pulled to a standstill and everyone disembarked. We didn't recognize the bus station. Dave asked the driver hesitantly, "Lampang?" "Yeah, yeah" we were told. But the signs said Kamphaeng Phet... After several more questions and recourse to our map, it emerged that our pronunciation of Lampang sounds rather like Kamphaeng to a Thai ear... As we worked this out, the empty bus pulled away. The town was so small there were no tuk-tuk drivers waiting, and the people selling tickets only spoke enough english to inform us that every bus going north was full. Queries of whether we could book bus tickets for the following day were met with uncomprehending stares. Eventually, we resorted to running up to each bus that stopped and trying to find out from the driver whether they were going north, and whether they had any seats. The first five were full - the sixth was too, but the driver, after some deliberation, said we could travel the six hour journey in his luggage hold...The height of comfort it wasn't, but we got there eventually, and gained some insight into the experiences of illegal immigrants furthermore!

Songkran in Chiang Mai was a really great experience. The atmosphere was akin to that of a festival, and it was impossible to be there and not be an active participant. The celebrations take the form of the throwing of water, which symbolises washing away the old year. For several days, Thai people and foreigners alike line the streets of the city with buckets and water guns, spraying cars, trucks, motorbikes and pedestrians. It all takes place at the hottest time of the year, so being completely drenched in ice-cold water several times a day feels amazing!

Buddha images are paraded through the city and people line the streets to pour containers of frgranced water over them, as a blessing. We spent much of Songkran at bars or cafes on the street, attacking passers-by and drivers with our water guns, and being soaked ourselves by the teenagers who drive round and round in pick-up trucks with huge buckets filled with rapidly melting blocks of ice. Part of what made it such a good experience was the interaction with locals which sadly is sometimes lacking from our travels. The feel-good atmosphere made the week's events in Bangkok and the very real danger we could have been in seem even more surreal....

The popular night bazaar in Chiang Mai was extended for the period of the festival, and so good was the street food on offer that we ate there every night, on little red plastic chairs under guttering lanterns. We tried chicken mataba, (a cross between roti and a vegetable pasty) sushi, pad thai, curried noodle soup, paprika chicken, fried chicken, spring rolls, rice sausages, handmade crisps and chips. (Not all on the same night!) Again, the atmosphere was great and the food incredibly cheap.

Chiang Mai is famous for its cooking courses, so we signed up for a fairly posh looking one, run by a very personable tv chef. The whole experience was a lot of fun, although we both felt there was a lot of hand-holding. This did however speed up the whole process - I've never made beans on toast that quickly, let alone yellow curry! To the right - a version of pad thai, with long flat noodles and pork. The brownish colour of the noodles comes from soy sauce, which they were soaked in before cooking.

 Yellow curry, with chicken and potatoes. This recipe is amazing - I have a copy of it (and all the others), so go ahead and ask! This is great served with a bit of vinegar with sugar and chopped chillis and garlic in it.

  Chicken with cashew nuts.

 Steamed fish in banana leaf. Some of the others on the course found the kaffir lime leaves in this a bit strong, but I really liked it. Perhaps my version was just better! We combined the fish and herbs with rice powder - I don't know if this is available in the UK, or if it would work with couscous instead, or even normal rice? Hmm.

 Spicy prawn salad. ( We also made bananas in coconut milk as a dessert, but it wasn't my kind of thing at all so no pictures!)




On the last day of Songkran, April 15th, we took the night bus back to Bangkok, to get an onward connection to the islands.