Before I Lose My Mind: Honeymoon to Thailand: Chiang Mai Day 1

It's been a flurry of activities back at work after the short trip to Thailand, and I thought I better get off my lazy butt and start writing before I start forgetting the details.

This is the first non-diving trip that Kat and I had done together, and it's actually an overdue honeymoon for us. Her sister had very generously given us a 2 night stay at the luxurious Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi in Chiang Mai for our wedding last year (this was the civil ceremony) and we'd been too busy to take the holiday. We decided that August would be a good time for a short break because of the National Day holiday. We also decided to do a one night stay in Bangkok so that we could visit our diving friends whom we've only "met" on the internet. Even then, it wasn't smooth sailing because we were scrambling looking for a dog hotel for Sophie (our miniature schnauzer) since the last place had to close. After many failed options, Kat's sister agreed to care for Sophie for the couple of days.

Approaching Chiang Mai

Being so close to the National Day holidays, the airport was naturally crowded with people who were looking to exploit the holiday period, but what was surprising was that there were so many people at 6am. The flight was largely uneventful, and after a nearly two hour flight, we landed at Bangkok's international Suvarnabhumi Airport, and next, it was the long walk to the domestic terminal. I played the role of a tour guide of sorts to Kat, since she'd never been to Bangkok, telling her the troubled beginnings of the airport as we walked along. We were also looking for free Wifi spots in the airport, and then found out that it was only for 15 minutes and we had to go pick up the log-in information from the airport information counters. Through our encounters with the airport workers while we walked to the domestic terminal, it'd occurred to me that the people are a lot less friendly then the wonderful warm hospitality that I had fallen in love with then I first visited Thailand in 1999. No doubt, this is something that is happening around the world, but it's just so sad because Thailand is a place that I'm really fond of.

After a long walk, we finally arrived at our boarding gate! I was really impressed that the plane was already starting to taxi at the time of departure. One interesting story as we were boarding: there was a lady who was holding up the line of passengers trying to get to their seats because she was trying to put her precious handbag in the overhead compartment in such a way that it won't be scratched, making sure that none of the other luggages would be in contact with her handbag, eventually putting the handbag on the handbag protector cover. This took a good 5 minutes, and why she didn't just put the bag in the cover or under the seat in front of her, I just cannot phantom why.

Flying over Bangkok to Chiang Mai, the scenery change is really dramatic: from the densely built-up areas of Bangkok, to the vast green expanses as we approached Chiang Mai, lots of rice fields neatly dotting the landscape. I did however noticed that there were some parts which looked like there was too much water covering the fields, which made me wonder if it was the flooding that was inundating the northern and north-eastern parts of Thailand.

Kat in the limousine outside the Chiang Mai airport

I'm a real worry wart when I'm traveling. Call it paranoia, but I'm worried when I'm moving around in a new city, particularly about safety. So as we were approaching Chiang Mai, Kat could see that I was starting to vex about finding our way to the hotel, and told me not to worry and that it'd all work out. Ha! I should've known better and seen through her surprise but I was so preoccupied with worrying. After picking up our luggages and walking out of the restricted area, I was looking around for the taxi booth and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a lady hotel holding a sign with our names on it. Kat had made arrangements with the hotel for our transfer! But that wasn't the end of it: when we walked out of the arrival hall, there was a classic Mercedes limousine waiting for us!! WOW! There was an old world luxe feel to it! Kat could obviously see my expression and I bet she was loving every minute of it. Such is my wife's love :)

It was a 15 minute ride from the airport to the hotel, and the staff was giving us updates on the weather, the length of the journey, etc. I'd seen pictures of the hotel via their website, so I knew what to expect of the hotel's physical features. When we arrived, we were greeted with a garland of jasmine flowers.. nice! I was quite "blah" about the hotel's reception, but upon retrospect, I guess there's no need for a large reception because the profile of the clientele meant there was no need for a large counter to deal with lots of guests. In fact, our check-in wasn't done at the counter, but at one of the cosy sofas. That was when the bouquet of roses was brought out for Kat. Ha! Very nice gesture for the honeymooners.

After the check-in, we were driven over to our Colonial Suite in the buggy (you can call for a buggy to transport you around the 60 acre compound, or just borrow a bicycle to get around. Ooh! There's even a horse drawn carriage that goes around the compound!), and when the staff opened the door for us, my jaw dropped again. The suite is beautiful! As the name suggests, it's got all the decor of the colonial era. There was also a chilled bottle of white wine sitting in a bucket of ice, and a heart shaped box of macaron.. all for the honeymooners! The decor was in the colonial splendour, but it was decorated with beautiful Thai traditional sculptures and lithographs of the Siam of old. It's just impossible to describe the beauty of the place, so I'd let the pictures do the talking. Oh, and incidentally, the suite is bigger than our pathetic apartment back in Singapore, which is 80 square metres versus 68 square metres! The bathroom was probably the size of our bedroom.

Entering the suite

It was a hard time pulling ourselves away from our gorgeous room, but we had to check out the sprawling compounds. There was just so much to see on the compounds, which includes private villas, buildings of traditional architecture (the designs are simply beautifully ornate!) and even rice fields! We had thought that there was some history behind some of the buildings but was surprised to find out that construction started in 2001 and was completed in 2005. Walking around the grounds, we were surprised to find that it's actually something that was recently built. You can find replicas of the Old City with its moats and ruins of fortified walls, and overgrown "secret" gardens.

We visited the shopping village (a cluster of shops located just outside the hotel's compounds) and after some thought, decided to get some tailoring done. It's definitely not as cheap as what it might cost in Bangkok (the tailor warned us that the fabric used may not be genuine cashmere or Egyptian cotton as claimed) but definitely cheaper than what you would have to pay in Singapore. I got a suit, 2 shirts and a pair of trousers made, and even Kat who was just tagging along got 3 shirts made (she had wanted just two but was so pleased with it, she made another one). The whole lot of clothes were made over 24 hours, which is a little scary considering that it's a rushed job, and while it was nicely done, if I was to be picky, I'd say that I was a tad disappointed that the finishing could've been better (loose threads) and they might've taken a bit of time to iron it. But like I said, I'm being picky.

One of the several sculptures in the room

We hopped onto the hotel's complimentary shuttle to the night market, and the first stop was the food court because Kat wanted Thai food. Hey, where else can you get authentic Thai food? Well, maybe not a food court that's charging farang prices (which is almost twice of what you might find elsewhere), but I gotta say that the food wasn't too bad at all. Kat left me to decide what to buy, so I bought the usual pad thai and tom yum koong, as well as a oyster fried in batter with bean sprouts and spring onions. It's a crispier (and according to Kat, it's nicer too) version of the local orh lua, which is softer (a whole lot more flour, I guess) with eggs and no bean sprouts.. more of an omelette.

The shuttle would leave the night market 2 hours after our arrival, and I thought it might not be enough time for us to walk around, but we actually managed to finish walking the place pretty quickly. I guess it's because after while, you realise that every other shop was selling the same stuff, and Kat wasn't keen on buying anything. We did however buy some singlets with the beer labels printed on them, my staple diving attire.

Arriving back at the hotel, we found a card from housekeeping under the door, to let us know that we missed the turndown service, and to call them if we wanted them to do it. "Too much trouble", we thought, and turned in for the night.

Stay tuned for the next post!