Chiang Mai, Thailand over Spring Break
So, after we left Singapore and the Guiyesse family, we moved over to Chiang Mai, Thailand to meet up with our friend and local librarian, Chris Fazenbaker. We had several adventures planned for our time in this mountain city.
As we landed, all the warnings we had received about low visibility during the time of the year that we went became evident. All about the city a nasty haze lay. Apparently it was the time of the year when the rice fields were "plowed under" via burning. Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as the week before we were there as rumor had it that visibility was less than a mile. We could at least make out the mountain silhouettes.
Chiang Mai is an interesting area as it offers world travellers a lot of chances to backpack in the mountains around he area, often apporaching the boarder of Burma, and providing opportunities to stay in villages occupied by the Thai hill tribes. As it was hot and the tour companies seem to be hit or miss, we opted out and stayed an inn that one seems only to find in Thailand: overgrown with tropical vegetation, a variety of old books, seemingly out-of-place antique furniture, a handful of middle-aged grumpy Thais, and small cabins surrounding the common eating area. It was really quaint and we liked the place.
In terms of activities, we had a few things in mind. We were scheduled to take a two-day photography class which involved a tour of the surrounding areas, we wanted to rent a scooter to explore a little more of the countryside, I wanted to take a Thai cooking class, and Abigail wanted to get a handful of massages. She tried to convince me to go along, but with the way that I behave when receiving a simple, street side foot massage, I decided to pass on the full body rubdown. Fifteen minutes on the feet is enough to make me practically hyperventilate; I can't imagine what a full-day scenario would be like.
Anyway, the photography class was realy cool and our teacher, Steve Kramer, helped us learn how to use Abigail's digital SLR more effectively and also a handful of post-porduction tips and tricks in Photoshp to make the images look more professional.
This is Steve, and he did not dress up for this picture; he looked like this both days.
Steve drove us around to a variety of cool places, including a village where representatives from several of the hill tribes live, a rice farm, and an elephant preserve. Here are a few of the pictures that we took and I edited:
A typical street scene in Chiang Mai where everything is quite colorful
At a temple in Chiang Mai
The bells (above) and a nice picture of a Buddha statue that Abigail shot
In the next entry, Ill include some shots of our visit to the elephant preserve and to the hill tribe village. Check back soon.
As we landed, all the warnings we had received about low visibility during the time of the year that we went became evident. All about the city a nasty haze lay. Apparently it was the time of the year when the rice fields were "plowed under" via burning. Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as the week before we were there as rumor had it that visibility was less than a mile. We could at least make out the mountain silhouettes.
Chiang Mai is an interesting area as it offers world travellers a lot of chances to backpack in the mountains around he area, often apporaching the boarder of Burma, and providing opportunities to stay in villages occupied by the Thai hill tribes. As it was hot and the tour companies seem to be hit or miss, we opted out and stayed an inn that one seems only to find in Thailand: overgrown with tropical vegetation, a variety of old books, seemingly out-of-place antique furniture, a handful of middle-aged grumpy Thais, and small cabins surrounding the common eating area. It was really quaint and we liked the place.
In terms of activities, we had a few things in mind. We were scheduled to take a two-day photography class which involved a tour of the surrounding areas, we wanted to rent a scooter to explore a little more of the countryside, I wanted to take a Thai cooking class, and Abigail wanted to get a handful of massages. She tried to convince me to go along, but with the way that I behave when receiving a simple, street side foot massage, I decided to pass on the full body rubdown. Fifteen minutes on the feet is enough to make me practically hyperventilate; I can't imagine what a full-day scenario would be like.
Anyway, the photography class was realy cool and our teacher, Steve Kramer, helped us learn how to use Abigail's digital SLR more effectively and also a handful of post-porduction tips and tricks in Photoshp to make the images look more professional.
This is Steve, and he did not dress up for this picture; he looked like this both days.
Steve drove us around to a variety of cool places, including a village where representatives from several of the hill tribes live, a rice farm, and an elephant preserve. Here are a few of the pictures that we took and I edited:
A typical street scene in Chiang Mai where everything is quite colorful
At a temple in Chiang Mai
The bells (above) and a nice picture of a Buddha statue that Abigail shot
In the next entry, Ill include some shots of our visit to the elephant preserve and to the hill tribe village. Check back soon.
posted by Jesse at
12:14 AM
1 Comments:
jes and Abigail . ..exciting days these are! all seems well. jes, let me know you travel plans . .i'm in northern cal mostly. it would be great to meet up. otherwise/nevertheless ill be checking in on your blog --scott n
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home