We headed north. It had been nice to get out of the Bangkok smog and into the clean, fresh air in Phuket. Around Kanchanaburi we had noticed a few fires and there was a general haze in the air. Driving towards Chiang Mai the smoke and fires became worse. I later learned that in 2017, Chiang Mai had been rated as having the worst air pollution in the world. The problem is mostly about fires. Farmers set fires to clear old crops but far worse are the fires in Thailand and Myanmar used to clear forest. The cumulative effect of all this burning is a ubiquitous fog which obscures the view, tightens you chest and gets in your eyes. I needed to stop wearing contact lenses completely and was using eye drops every half hour or so while we were driving. So although Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai looked to be interesting cities, we breezed through them in short order hoping to find somewhere we could breath again. We also explored some of the jungle areas and hills in the many National Parks. Found many places where the view could have been spectacular but was just a fog. Found many places where we would have lingered longer but the heat and breathing issues kept us moving.
A few kilometres before Chiang Mai, we stumbled across a large temple complex and were compelled to take a look. The scale and complexity of the buildings was breath taking. Without doubt, we failed to understand much of the symbology, purpose and meaning of the statues and decorations. However, we could still be astonished, appreciative and amazed at the fabulous features. The total amount of work that must have gone into the construction was staggering. White and gold were the primary colours, with inlays of silver and small mirrors. The overall effect was a level of intricacy and complexity that was simply dazzling.
From Chiang Rai, we headed east towards the border with Laos. As we entered one National Park there was a sign warning us about wild elephants. This was exciting for a while although we never actually saw any elephants. Travelling though various countries, we often see signs warning of wild animals, moose, boar, otters, red squirrels. These creatures are usually completely elusive. Sometimes it feels as if the main purpose of the sign is to make an area seem more interesting.
Thailand is hot. Too hot for me and Diane to be comfortable. I may have mentioned this already. As we drove east the mid-afternoon temperature sneaked up towards 40°C. Enough to slow cook Northern Europeans but great for many types of plants. A tremendous number of plants and a massive range of varieties. The vegetation in Thailand is lush, magnificent and diverse. Much grows here that cannot tolerate colder climes and we found it fascinating to spot flora that we had always considered rare and exotic. Mangoes grow on trees, we discovered. Each one dangles down on vine of a few inches. At the roadside stalls we could buy perfectly ripe, fresh mangoes that were so tasty and succulent as to make the tough, tasteless, over-preserved instances on the UK supermarket shelves, completely pointless. Pineapple plants – a first for Diane – fields of small, spikey leaves with baby pineapples growing on stalks. Coconuts and dates on palms. Papaya and figs and bananas. Bananas everywhere. Not just in the big, sprawling plantations but also along the roadside and randomly dotted just about everywhere you look. Nearly every household appears to have their own banana plant.
