Got up to Chiang Mai on Friday via the Night Train from Lopburi (monkey town). The safety standards in Thailand are much different than what we have in the US; and by different I could easily be saying non-existant. Standing in between train cars while traveling at 80mph is very acceptable. The doors of the train are never closed so one slip and out you go. This is kind of the deal all over Thailand. They aren't plagued with the same get-rich-quick lawsuit mentality that we have in the states and are in effect afforded greater civil-liberties. If you fall out of a train while drinking a bottle of Johnny-Walker Red and singing with a bunch of ex pats from Bali to Katmandu, thats your prerogative (more on this later perhaps).
The windows of the trains opened completely and had metal shades that could be drawn if sleep was desired (ha). I stayed in the second class car which means that the seats reclined. Saw some beautiful sights on the way trip(giant golden Buddhas on mountain tops, endless rice paddies, villages etc) but what really hit me was what I saw at night. For miles in every direction, great fires could be seen and the smoke was intense all up the countryside. This from what I gathered is the clear cutting and burning of the crops after harvest season and happens for a period of three days, three times a year. The environmental impact is immediately apparent. In fact, most everything in this country is burned it's use is finished (from the dead to garbage).
After taking the local form of taxi at 5:30AM @ the train station (basically a pickup truck with a bench on either side of the bed) checked into a guesthouse and slept till noon. At noon, I met up with Beth; the younger sister of a dude I went to high school with who's been teaching English in Chiang Mai for 1.5 years. She speaks and reads/writes Thai, which is really impressive and invited me out to her going away celebration at one of the temples that hosts a daily event called "monk chat". The sign says that if you walk by the tables without stopping, "we will be very disappointed". Beth is friends with all of the monk chat monks and they're having a blast. Learned a lot of things about the monks; most of which were around my age; and exchanged facebook, myspace and business cards with them {I have no idea either}. They're also big fans of karaoke.
The next day I rented a moto-bike and have been adorned by the Thais as a "Johnny Sunshine" aka "Johnny Moto". Seriously, they rent the things to everyone, manual trannys and all (that's transmission, not the other thing). I think one of the things amongst Thais in Chiang Mai is ridiculing the crazy Farangs (Thai for Gringo) driving like maniacs through the little alleys and thoroughfares; naturally I'm a pro and am exempt from their concerns.
I took the MOTO up a couple of thousand feet to the mountain Doi Suthep, which overlooks Chiang Mai. Towards the top of the mountain is an one of the Thai's most revered temples Wat Doi Suthep. You must walk up 326 steps to reach the temple (or take the tram for 20 Baht) to see the treasures hidden within (ATM's, gift shops and such). The temple is as oppulent as any other in Thailand and has the largest number of gongs and giant bells in SE Asia. The things are so noisy I felt as if my ears were going to fall off, I don't know how the monks up there meditate.
Anyways, tired of writing now. I think that's if for the photo uploading until I get back to the states. This (the most developed country in the region) probably has the same bandwidth as a small town in Mississippi; and I can't wait around for 45 minutes for my photos to upload.
Enjoy the Monkey pics.
