Chiang Mai

The thing that struck me about Chaing Mai is that the people there are much more genteel as compared to the brash city folk in Bangkok. We did not get fleeced or bagered into buying things and the tuk-tuk man who took us places everyday was an honest guy who charged us extremely decent rates. We stayed at the Imperial Mae Ping hotel, and as suspect as the name sounds, it was a very clean and decent outfit complete with carpeted floors, hot showers and 2 complementary bottles of water everyday.
The highlight of the trip has definately got to be the ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) adventure which we went on the day before we left. Due to the threatening skies and rough and tough nature of the activity, we didn't bring our cameras, which was a real shame. We were driven about 40mins out of Chiang Mai to the hilly Chiang Dao area were the adventure was to begin. The ATVs were huge, and after being fitted with helmets and boots, we straddled the monsters, did 2 rounds of their pratice circuit and were off. We drove an hour uphill on proper roads and after that off road on rough terrain. Most of the time it was driving next to the wall of the mountain on the right and a sharp plummet down to mountainous depths on the left. We were warned of the seriousness of the issue with our guide constantly reminding us in an ominous tone "Go left... Dieeeee!". My brother had a real tough time steering on the uneven terrain and forgot to turn the wheel to compensate when he went over ditches which resulted in him almost driving off the cliff. The guide immediately stopped the convoy, got off his ATV, walked over to my brother and asked "Boy! Are you trying to be funny!?". Anyway, the initial hiccups cleared eventually and he was soon enjoying the ride and the changing temperatures. We passed through farming villages and I got to see actual vegetable patches! (It was really a sight to behold for this city girl) Our destination was the peak of the mountain, where we were rewarded with a spectacular view of green rolling hills and mountains amidst cold air and strong winds, a truly spectacular moment. From there it was an easy one hour ride back down to base. All in all the ride itself took about 4.5 hours. I would highly recommend this to anyone visiting Chiang Mai.

Food was nothing to shout about, the Lanna cuisine is very healthy with alot of soups and curries sans coconut milk. I think my stomach couldn't handle the 'Lanna Special Pickled Sausage' we had on the last night, which tasted like what I would imagine sausage that had turned putrid in the sun would taste like. Going to the markets was also an experience, seeing raw meats for sale, crudely slapped on aluminum trays under no chilling system to speak of, stark and bare amidst the humidity. I saw maggots, I saw bugs. Like I said, it was an experience.

The trip was enjoyable, we were all spa-ed out spoiling ourselves with 2 massages each. My brother did one better and requested for a 30min MILK BATH! after one of his treatments. A simple quiet town for a quick lazy getaway, if you don't harbour grand plans of shopping up a storm. Lazy, being the operative word :)

Perth-Mandurah-Margaret River 2006
Last November, we made a trip to visit friends, had grand hopes about catching crabs and drank wine in the afternoons.

Mandurah is a quiet seaside town and an easy 1 hour drive from Perth, where our grand hopes for crab catching were meant to be realised. The process itself was enjoyable for us Singaporean city dwellers, but I suspect, if you are living in Perth and go out on boats every other weekend, the prospect of spending an afternoon casting nets filled with rotting fish with no crab to show for, might have been a rather silly afternoon :) It's a sleepy town where you're bound to find someone with a bucket full of squid/prawns getting reading to cast a line along any stretch of water. It is also home to the Miami Pie shop, which you can't miss as you will have to pass it if you make your way to the boating area. Their signature outback pie made with kangaroo meat, was highly recommended, but we found it to be a little bland. However, the steak and oinion and steak and guiness pies were juicy, tasty and full of meat. We loved it so much that we made a point to go back for round 2 and 3, but much to our dissapointment was closed on the third trip. A must go for pie lovers.




We were extremely lucky to have Kim, Shifaa's supervisor to host 4 of us, along with Shifaa's other supervisor and his wife. It was a cosy stay, Australian style, complete with wearing of shoes in the house (it's an asian cleaniness thing this walking barefoot in one's home, which I honestly, am grateful for, of course the Japanese take it one step further and offer you house slippers when you enter) a generous Aussie Barbie for dinner which also became breakfast Barbie, bird watching and star gazing.





After Mandurah we headed back to Perth for a day and then it was off to Margaret River, which is about a 3.5hour drive from Perth City. In retrospect, it would have made more sense to go straight to Margaret River from Mandurah, so do that if you're planning to go. We stayed at Waterfall Cottages (http://www.waterfallcottages.com.au/), because Hendri had specifically said "I want something in the middle of a forest Jo". So forest surroundings it was with a small waterfall nearby and no mobile reception and internet access to speak of. A perfect set up for a cheap B grade slasher flick. We knew we were in for a treat when we drove quite a distance into forest area with free range kangaroos bounding alongside our car to get to our cottage. They provided an extremely well stocked kitchen and we even had a fire place. The owner Sue was warm and helpful and has 2 very friendly lovely dogs that would gladly roll over for a tummy rub complete with leg flicking action.






We only made it to 3 wineries and 2 resturants on our list, and of the 3 wineries, these 2 stood out for us:
Voyager Estate http://www.voyagerestate.com.au/home.html
This was the most impressive of the lot with a colonial facade, and in addition to the vineyards had rose gardens and a HERB GARDEN! The steak we had at their resturant was divine.




Vasse Felix http://www.vassefelix.com.au/frames.htm
We had the appetizer sampler and their beautiful famous sparkling white wine to start off, and slow roasted goat for mains. We brought home 2 bottles of the sparkling wine (my mother and I finished an entire one whilst baking christmas cake). I have to say though that the dining ambience at Voyager was far more impressive, Vasse Felix is alot more casual.






After Margaret River we spent 2 days in Perth and Shifaa brought us to her's and Pam's favourite Italian resturant for dinner Ciao Italia. It is your cosy family run Italian joint, complete with jolly Italian music and an even jollier ower. Everyone there seems delighted with their jobs, even the dishwasher looked happy. We had the seafood marinara, lagsane and a traditional bolognase. The pastas were fanstastic, though a little soft for my liking as I usually like mine Al Dente but they were delicious nonetheless. The portions are HUGE, so I would recommend sharing a pasta and a side if you are not big eaters like us :) Even I was struggling, whereas Shifaa the seasoned pro, had no problem wolfing down her entire plate of marinara.



On our last day we went to Freemantle for the 2nd time and spent the day at cafes and bookstores. A very bohemian laid back place with good fish and chips, reminds me very much of Glebe in Sydney, but bigger and better.



All in all, a good inexpensive trip, somewhere we definately plan to return to, though at a more leisurely pace. A must visit if you've got $1800 (including airfare) to spare for a week away :)