North Thailand

Tiger Kingdom pet and cuddle the tigers sounded like the thing to do with the kids it turned out to be saddening and made us aware once again that we actually contributed to this place staying open by paying to get in.
The snake show on the other hand down the road was amazing. Cobra's, king Cobra's and a bunch of other snakes being played with and teased. The kids loved it. The whole show was presented by a blonded thai slightly over-sized woman that was screaming with a very heavy Thai accent through the P.A.
At night we wandered the night market with it's colorful clothes, paintings, carvings, jewelry and wooden toys to mention but a few.

Today walking around the old Chiang Mai is on the program. We got our car in the morning and drove to a little 'soy' (alley) where a fresh market was showing it's fresh watermelons, papaya's, mango's and more, little stands serving fried rice and noodle soups, varieties of rice displayed in big jars. We stopped at the juice stand on the middle of the market and ordered Matti's favorite orange, strawberry, banana, apple. Oh yes before going into the market we stopped on the street at a pancake maker Matt ordered a saussage and chocolate pancake, I tasted it it was actually excellent, Djudju a rainbow sugar balls one and I had a strawberry jelly crepe. We walked the soys for a while and ended up the four of us in a comfy chair getting a foot massage. The lady massaging Julian said his hair looks like noodles hence Djudjes new Thai name,'noodle head'.
We visited an old temple, which reminds me that two days ago we bought some turtles and eels at a temple and released them in the river for good luck (a Thai tradition), and ended up on the Sunday market. This site turned out to be the ultimate test as far as how Thai food and Farang (non Thai) stomach mixes. We tried food at every stall we met with as result to our digestive systems...that it continued functioning as if nothing happened. Thai food is just amazing in variety taste and lightness.

A tuc tuc (covered motorcycle taxi) took us back to our car and a good night sleep carried us into the next day.
We left the hotel with a good memory of the restaurants staff playing with the kids,running around as if they were kids themselves.
Our first destination on the northern loop we decided to drive is Pay.
Pay is nothing special it's a nice little laid back village away from the city where there isn't that much to do but chillax. It has a great little night market with again food stalls and all kinds of goodies and a few great bars. To our astonishment we saw a Muslim community here mingled amongst the locals.
We found a nice little resort here stayed the night after a visit to the night market.
Following a route printed of the net we found ourselves visiting a kindergarten. One lady in charge of twenty six children all overexcited to see some farangs daring to come in. Djudj cried when we had to go, he wanted to stay and play. A little deeper in Soppong we got to Ban Tam Lod, for a visit of the caves.

A visit of the caves here is different from the well lit caves I had visited before. A lantern holder took us down along a path where locals were thinning out long bamboos to ropes with machetes. Arriving at the bottom of the hill close to the stream we boarded our bamboo raft sitting on benches about twenty centimeter high set on it and of we were armed with couple of torches and a big gas lit lantern for a walk that would take about two hours up and down steep stairs in a darkness lit only by our guide and rarely passing groups of visitors. Stunning views of stalactites/mites taking shapes you had no difficulties to compare to animals or monsters out of movies. The kids where marveled though Matt had a little scare on the high stairs. The story of the day as far as the guide is concerned, and he told it merely to anyone we crossed (or at least that is what I made of it) was that the farang (yours truely) took a dump in the cave. My stomach was acting up and it was either that or big trouble so...when you gotta go, you gotta go, thank God for my headlight and Val bringing tissues (yes I know to much information, gross, but I want to remember it).
More walking and rafting took us to the bat part of the cave for the familiar smell of guano (here we go again) making us known that the amount of bats present isn't little. Looking up revealed hundreds of bats twirling and shifting to avoid the light we were shining on them.
Our book steered us to Cave Lodge a backpackers hut style hotel for a nights rest.
A little parenthesis is needed here. We have rarely been to a place with such a good vibe. The place is set  a steep hillside. A big platform is the deck where you hang out and have exquisite food. Our hut was set next to a rock playing the role of a curtain and had two double beds next to each other and a shower and toilet.
All over looking the stream passing through the hill we were on and the hill in front of us. The kids did make the place a 'little' less quiet then the vibe it exhaled when we got there.

On the next day for a drive through the hills passing a few hill tribe villages.
Amazing how people live here, how little the have. A good four by four seems to be the most important thing to have as this is the only way to move around. Distances are short but the winding roads are slow and long. Our loop holds over one thousand six hundred curves.

An overnight stay at a nice resort, the Thai name a hotel resort as soon as it is out of town or village and has a few trees around it, Val freaked at the sight of a spider so big I got pretty uncomfortable, we drove on to the Myanmar border.

We drove past a isolated palace built for the kings staff and arrived in Rak Tai, on to the Burmese border where a few drunken soldiers took us to see the views upon Burma from this side of the border. Val panicked she thought we were all going to get killed molested and raped, well not me her. Since they offered us to go and see the views there was kind of no way back so on we went down we came and we lived to tell the story.

We decided to stay in this three and a half street village after finding a basic but spotless place to sleep. I took a picture of the plumbing system, thought it was worth it A few kids were playing beating up a scarecrow and Djudj was watching them. Carefully he got closer, mixed in then withdrew. Not much later all the kids were mingled laughing and playing together. What a joy it brought me and Val to see the kids finally mix with local kids. Language doesn't seem to be a barrier at all and watching them sliding down a hill on a rice bag and playing hide and seek around the huts by the lake. I think one of the reasons our kiddo's have been grumpy is the lack of interaction with other kids, something us parents will have to take into account.
We stayed till noon the next day only to see the kids in full glory again having a blast.
On to Mae La Noi after declining a home stay for a lack of windows, sheets and too far a toilet.
We arrived in a resort set in the middle of the fields, stunning views. At supper we were served by a twelve year old girl and a fifteen year old je ne sais quoi. This boy/girl/both/none was a extremely kind yet undefinable indescribable character. Mens feet and hands yet breasts, slight mustached yet 'coquette', anyway try to explain that to your four and eight year old I dare you!
Laundry ws given out in the evening only to be returned the next day soaking wet, and no more rooms for the night.
So back to Chiang Mai and our good hotel we decided to get back before heading out east.
For some reason Matt is Being rebellious and aggressive since a few, we talked to him but he doesn't seem to know whats going on. One thing is that, as we knew it would happen, Djudju being the blue eyed blond noodle head he is, has quite an impact on people here and gets a lot of attention... .
Val seems to have a difficult time these last days too. We both knew a trip like this is bound to cause self confrontation and I truly belief that is whats happening with her. Asia is a country where you cannot think as a Westener, logic here is not the same, your existing value system is not valid here, and as easy as it is to calculate the exchange rate, no exchange calculator has yet been invented for customs cultures and value systems.

No more words just lookie lookie here !