First visit to Chiang Mai
Phil and I first visited Chiang Mai in 1979. A long, long time ago.
We were staying in Bangkok in the Atlanta backpacker hotel when, one night, a foot crashed through the ceiling, narrowly missing a fan and scattering plaster debris over the bed – and us.
The hotel manager said the foot probably belonged to a hippie smoking ganja in the attic. Hmmm.
We decided it might be time to move on and head for the north of Thailand.
Getting to Chiang Mai
We wanted to take a train to Chiang Mai but back then there were no tablets or smart phones, and no internet. Our travel information came in hardcopy form. I think it was a book called ‘The Golden Guide to South and East Asia’ but it’s long since disappeared due to the ravages of time and bookworms.
We got to Hua Lamphong station in the evening but there were no trains until the next day so instead we took a bus.
It turned out to be the most terrifying ride of my life!
Back then a fleet of buses travelled from Bangkok to Chiang Mai overnight, taking eight to ten hours.
Our driver was a youngish fellow who obviously had delusions of being in a Formula 1 car.
The road was narrow and in many places wound along the sides of mountains. The drivers raced each other, frequently overtaking and never more than a few metres from the bus in front.
I could see this from my seat at the front, when I opened my eyes,. But I kept my eyes closed for much of the journey – from fear rather than any attempt to sleep.
We staggered off the bus in the morning, happy to have arrived in one piece.
Prince Hotel
Our hotel in Chiang Mai was a big improvement on the old Atlanta. The Prince was brand new at the time and we were among the few guests.
In the restaurant for breakfast, the two of us had four waitresses hovering nearby. Service was almost too good with plates being whisked away as soon as we put a fork or spoon down.
No complaints though because everyone was so friendly and the smiles were wonderful.
Chiang Mai tourism – 1979 style
Chiang Mai is the largest city in Northern Thailand but in 1979 it was smaller and quieter than it is now. Obviously there was tourism – we were there after all – and looking back at old photos I can see we did quite a few trips in our three day visit.
The Night Bazaar
Lampoon
Fortune teller outside Wat Haripunchai Temple Lampoon (Lamphun) near Chiang Mai, Thailand. (1979 photo)
Pasang
Outdoor market around an old tree in Pasang, near Chiang Mai, Thailand. (1979 photo)
Doi Suthep-Pui National Park
Happy Thais enjoying Mekong whisky in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand. (1979 photo)
Mae Sa waterfall in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand. (1979 photo)
Meo hill tribe
Meo hill tribe children near Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. (1979 photo)
Chiang Mai 2016
Our more recent visit to Chiang Mai was much shorter.
We arrived in a taxi after a fabulous cruise along the Mekong river in Laos and went straight to the station so we didn’t do any sightseeing, just drove through the town, and it had clearly grown very large and had traffic to match.
But Chiang Mai station is pretty flash.
Chiang Mai station forecourt with an old-time engine, February 2016.
Since we were travelling first class we waited in the VIP lounge until our train, the No 2 train special express to Bangkok, was ready to board. The lounge had comfortable leather chairs, newspapers, a TV (showing Thai programmes of course), and coffee.
At 5pm we headed for the train. It had eleven passenger cars plus a restaurant and freight car.
The station may be flash but the train isn’t! Our first class sleeper cabins were small, not very clean and smelled of toilets of which there were two, one Asian style, the other European, at the end of the car The toilets also had washing facilities.
The train journey
We pulled out of the station dead on time and various crew members came along with fruit, orange juice (very sweet), water and a menu for our dinner order. You can go along to the restaurant car to eat but we didn’t want to leave our bags unattended.
A welcome fruit platter on the No 2 special express train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, February 2016.
Alcohol is banned on Thai trains but we’d heard that the crew turns a blind eye if you’re discreet. It’s really drunken behaviour they don’t want. Well, who does? We brought a bottle of wine with us to have when dinner was delivered, at 7.30 on the dot: clear vegetable soup, stir fried chicken and jasmine rice. Very good and the wine washed it down nicely.
The countryside as we left Chiang Mai was nondescript although there was a lovely red sunset. It got dark very quickly and there wasn’t a lot to see apart from a strange vignette at one station. A man in a darkened room seemed to be lifting a child or dog up to just above head height , then lowering it and lifting again. Very rhythmic – and puzzling until we realised we had stopped opposite a signal box and the man was changing signals. An awful lot of them.
Once we’d finished dinner the cabin attendant came along to make up the beds; two bunks, quite wide, with a clean bottom sheet and pillowcase plus a white waffle weave blanket that came in a sealed plastic bag. I was quite impressed by this.
My top bunk was very comfortable though air con made the cabin a tad cold. I always enjoy listening to the sound of trains running over the track and I must have nodded off a few times.
Arrival in Bangkok
Started to hear crew noises as it got light. We had a truly horrible cup of coffee then the cabin attendant came to disassemble the bunks and we stared out of the window and watched Thailand come to life outside.
We’d been due to reach Bangkok at 6.50am but the closer we got the more unscheduled stops there were and we eventually arrived at 7.40am and (eventually) got a taxi to the Intercontinental Hotel for a slow ride through Bangkok’s horrendous rush hour traffic.
View from the 27th floor of the Intercontinental Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand, February 2016.
From our 27th floor room we could look out over a city that has changed dramatically in the last 38 years with the Skytrain, new hotels and huge shopping malls.
The Erewhon Shrine is still there though, and so, only about 2 kilometres from the Intercon, is the Atlanta where we began our journey all those years ago.
Forty years ago the Atlanta Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand was a seedy backpacker hotel. It is still there but sounds like a much more interesting place.
(The Atlanta is no longer a hangout for hippies – it sounds much more interesting and has got a number of reviews on TripAdvisor – most are positive, 5 or 4 star.)
See more of our (recent) travels in Thailand.
Cabbages and Condoms Restaurant, Chiang Rai