CHAING MAI...DAY TRIP TOURS: IN AND ABOUT WITH EMIL
- 11 years ago
DAY TRIP TOURS: IN AND ABOUT WITH EMIL
This was to be my first trip to Chaing Mai and I was curious as to what I would find. I spent the night before in a seedy little parrot bar with Emil and Siene Lagone listening to them weave tale after tale about a cool, laid backed provincial town with a whisper of cool breeze up on the air due to it being nested in the high teak forests of Northern Thailand - where elephants and tigers still roamed free.
I looked forward to good food, nice people and being able to walk the town in half-an-hour or with the aid of a trusty rigshaw, taxi driver...A guy who could and would get you caught up in the high drama of passion, politics or crime…which ever was to your fancy or to your liking.
What they had failed to enlighten me with was the fact that their stories came from almost 40 years or more ago. This was obvious as our overnight train steamed into (not really…they are all diesel these days) a vast industrial city with pollution and traffic second only to Bangkok.
As I always do…I am well known for my ability to complain…that I was lied to, duped and at best, mislead as to what would be awaiting us upon our arrival. I had even packed a parka upon the prompting of Mr. Lagone.
“Stupid adventure” I cursed at them all. I further expressed my displeasure with comments about the fact “if I wanted air pollution and traffic…I could have saved a day trip…!”
At the end of our day tour…I was ashamed…as that first impress was so wrong!
The city that Emil and Siene had talked about was still there in plain sight but, you had to know where to look for it…Emil was a grand tour guide who took us up long forgotten Soi’s and Alleyways to discover all of the laid back people, great food that all of the grand tales they had so waxed on about the previous night…and, although, I did not see tigers roaming free…I was told that they were all now interned into the Famous Chaing Mai Zoo…living right down the block from the Panda Bears. — with Emil West.
This was to be my first trip to Chaing Mai and I was curious as to what I would find. I spent the night before in a seedy little parrot bar with Emil and Siene Lagone listening to them weave tale after tale about a cool, laid backed provincial town with a whisper of cool breeze up on the air due to it being nested in the high teak forests of Northern Thailand - where elephants and tigers still roamed free.
I looked forward to good food, nice people and being able to walk the town in half-an-hour or with the aid of a trusty rigshaw, taxi driver...A guy who could and would get you caught up in the high drama of passion, politics or crime…which ever was to your fancy or to your liking.
What they had failed to enlighten me with was the fact that their stories came from almost 40 years or more ago. This was obvious as our overnight train steamed into (not really…they are all diesel these days) a vast industrial city with pollution and traffic second only to Bangkok.
As I always do…I am well known for my ability to complain…that I was lied to, duped and at best, mislead as to what would be awaiting us upon our arrival. I had even packed a parka upon the prompting of Mr. Lagone.
“Stupid adventure” I cursed at them all. I further expressed my displeasure with comments about the fact “if I wanted air pollution and traffic…I could have saved a day trip…!”
At the end of our day tour…I was ashamed…as that first impress was so wrong!
The city that Emil and Siene had talked about was still there in plain sight but, you had to know where to look for it…Emil was a grand tour guide who took us up long forgotten Soi’s and Alleyways to discover all of the laid back people, great food that all of the grand tales they had so waxed on about the previous night…and, although, I did not see tigers roaming free…I was told that they were all now interned into the Famous Chaing Mai Zoo…living right down the block from the Panda Bears. — with Emil West.