Northern Thailand - Chiang Mai

Ayumi - our Japanese tour guide

Doi Suthep

A school's sports day

A lamyai tasting at the University Farm with P_Noi

Thai dinner with P_Noi and his masters students

Gan's dad, his rose-growing neighbour and the local police force

Gan's house

Me teaching Gan how to make spaghetti and him teaching me to be cool

In Chiang Dao with Gan's family (below)

We travelled overnight to Chiang Mai on a sleeper train for 2 reasons. We were meeting a girl from Japan named Ayumi (who we met in Scotland about 3 years ago) who had decided to organise her annual leave so that she could meet up with us. X (from the X factor story before) had also arranged for us to stay with her brother, so even though it wasn't part of our original plan, Chiang Mai was a definate.

All we knew was that X's brother, known as P_Noi or Shorty, worked at a university about 15km from the city. We had his number and gave him a call a bit later in the morning. Our plan for the day was to meet up with Ayumi and then make our way to P_Noi early evening. P_Noi said that he'd come and fetch us which was great. We had the day to explore the town with Ayumi. She had travelled to England a few years ago to learn English and it was during this time that we crossed paths in Scotland. It was fantastic to see her again and because she had already spent some time in the city she became our tour guide for the day. Her English in the morning was average, by the end of the day it was excellent and she was thrilled because all of a sudden she could express herself and joke around.

Evening arrived and so did P_Noi and his wife P_A0w. After formal introductions we set off with them in their car, not sure where we were going. P_Noi is the Associate Dean at a big university in the North of Thailand and speaks very good english. His wife, a very friendly lady, has very little english. We drove 15km out of town to an outdoor restaurant and enjoyed a wonderful meal. I'm not sure when it happened but sometime during the meal we went from being just strangers to friends and the rest of our time with them was unreal!

We spent 4 nights with them, sleeping in Tour's (their 10 year old son) room, and were treated like members of the family. We woke up the first morning to an empty house, they had left us breakfast (sticky rice and a variety of dishes), but amazingly left us alone in their home. So generous and so trusting, I'm not sure too many people we know would leave me alone in their house (hands up?).

In between lectures or exams P_Noi would race home and excitedly take us off to see something. We went up to Doi Suthep, a Temple high up on a hill overlooking the city, and he showed us with great pride the University farm, where they are currently experimenting with a fruit called lamyai (not sure of the spelling) that is like a sweet lychee. He was busy with exams one day and arranged for 2 of his masters students to look after us. We drove into town to fetch Ayumi and set off to various spots. P_Noi called a bit later and said that we should go shopping. We had mentioned that we had done a Thai cooking course in Bangkok and he was interested to see if we could make anything edible. Ayumi was also invited and she was asked to make Tempura (P_Noi had done his doctorate in Japan and was missing the food). We had a wonderful evening and everyone in attendance ate wholeheartedly. The guests included the whole family, including Grandad, 3 masters students and ourselves. Grandad seemed to enjoy my curry and ate the leftovers for breakfast, lunch and supper the next day. We got to know him quite well through smiling and various other forms of non-verbal communication and he loved looking after us. As soon as we appeared in the morning he would help us make coffee and get some breakfast.

Besides Tour (who was named because P_Noi enjoys travelling so much), the family also looks after a 12 year old boy named Gan. His folks live further north on a farm and because he attends a school in town, it's easier for him to stay with P_Noi during the week. He is a really great kid who showed an amazing and very mature interest in where we were from and what we were up to. He questioned me on my diet (through our interpreter) because his intention was to be fairly tall. I told him that I had eaten a lot of vegetables growing up and that my parents had planted me in a pot of compost. After finding out that Jackie was vegetarian he called his parents to see if they could cook something for her and then invited us to his home.

We travelled the 40km or so with P_Aow and spent the day with them on their farm. They're retired and now fill their days farming sweet tamarind. We were treated like royalty and enjoyed a fantastic lunch on their patio. We visited their next door neighbour, an 80 year old local chap who used to work on the railways and spent a few years in the UK. He grows and looks after rare rose varieties (just because he wants to) and seems to be a bit like the village mayor. We stood talking to him and Gan's dad for a while and the sheriff arrived for what seemed to be his daily chat. We chatted between the rare roses in the middle of the hills of Northern Thailand and after about half an hour Gan's dad managed to tear us away. The afternoon program was for us to join his family on an outing to a cave called Chiang Dao. Gan's dad drove around an hour to get there and we listened to Elvis classics while weaving between animals along the way. The caves were awesome, massive and culturally impressive with many shrines and buddhas tucked away in dark corners. I had my usual nap in the car on the way back to their farm and soon after we got there we set off back towards Chiang Mai. A great day with wonderful people.

Gan had asked us to teach him how to make Spaghetti. I tweaked the recipe slightly, having to use pork instead of beef, but served up a feast for the family and for a couple of P_Noi's guests (3 medical doctors from other universities). Gan was thrilled with his lesson and felt confident that he'd be able to make it for his parents (the only reason he wanted to know how to make it).

On our departure, even though we'd told P_Noi that we'd get to the airport on our own, he tricked us into getting into the car, telling us that he was going to take us to the bus stop, and drove us all the way to the airport. What an amazing family and an experience that was truly unique. An experience that occured because we took an Irish couple's (in Langkawi) advice and visited Koh Lipe, where we met X.