map

New Years Eve in Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica

Having met up with a couple of friends from London/Australia who’d hired a car, we squeezed in (see photo) and began driving down the South Coast of Costa Rica towards Panama.

New Years Eve, Costa Rica

After a couple of days, Tina and I jumped out at a crossroads, and waited for a bus down to Puerto Jimenez – one of the largest towns on the Osa Peninsula, on the borders of the Corcovado National Park. Corcovado National Park is widely considered the crown jewel in Costa Rica’s extensive system of national parks and biological reserves spread across the country. The ecological variety is quite stunning. National Geographic has called it “the most biologically intense place on Earth”.

Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica

Sadly we weren’t able to afford several hundred dollars for a trek into the national park, but instead bided our time wandering around the town and beach relaxing and admiring the friendly Cockatoos.

New Years Eve was a very chilled affair, a nice meal in an Italian restaurant and a few drinks with the Colombian manager of the hostel & his friends. After a few days, we headed onwards to Panama City.

More

Map of Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica
Wikipedia on Corcovado National Park

Thailand Google maps – now in English!

We’re celebrating this landmark development by bringing you an example below. Here’s Wat Phra Tat Doi Suthep the very famous mountain temple on Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai… From now on we can easily show you maps to the places that feature in our posts. No more old-school text-based directions. Just click-and-drag on the map below (and zoom in and out with the + and – signs in the top left corner).


View Larger Map

If you click on the link below the image saying “View larger map” you’ll be taken to Google’s website where you can find directions to and from the destinations in question by right-clicking on the point in the map and selecting ‘Directions to here’. How wicked is that?! Go on, have a little tinker…

Podcast: Visa run to Mae Sai & Tachileik, Burma

[Download MP3 | Add to iTunes | Subscribe to Podcasts]

If you are a foreigner living in Thailand, you’ll probably be familiar with the concept of a ‘visa run’. Depending on what visa you enter Thailand with, you may be required to leave Thailand after 30, 60 or 90 days before re-entering with a new visa. There are several places you can do this, but two of the most popular are at Mae Sot and Mae Sai. At both these crossings you walk over a bridge, enter Burma, pay, get your passport stamped and re-enter Thailand.

This month I decided to do my crossing at Mae Sai as it can be done in one (albeit long) day from Chiang Mai. 13 hours later I returned home. By clicking the play button above, you can listen to the podcast I made along the way.

Mae Sai is the Northern most point in Thailand, well known thanks to its location in the Golden Triangle region of Thailand – one of the main Opium producing areas in the world – made famous during the rein of Khun Sa, the ‘Opium King’, who died last year in Rangoon, Burma.

Trip information

A year or two ago, I took a one day minibus round trip from Chiang Mai to Mae Sai. It was hell. This time, following a recommendation, I decided to take a public ‘VIP’ bus from Arcade bus station. I caught the Greenbus company’s V400 bus leaving Arcade bus station in Chiang Mai at 8.00 am, and arrived in Mae Sai at about 12.15pm. After about 3 hours in Mae Sai and Tachileik, I returned to Chiang Mai with the V403 bus (also the Greenbus company) leaving Mae Sai bus terminal at 15.30. The trip cost 335 THB each way (about US$10).

I suggest you buy your bus tickets the day before travel, and take some ear plugs due to the presence of Karaoke VCDs on the bus. Upon entering Burma you will need to pay $10 or 500THB for the Burmese entry visa – it is much better to quickly change 330THB to $10 before crossing as this saves you 170THB and gives the Burmese regime less.

Map of Northern Thailand showing Mae Sai


View Larger Map

Video: Wat Umong (the forest temple), Chiang Mai

This video shows you the amazing Wat Umong temple in Chiang Mai.

Scenery: Peaceful land with lots of trees and shade on a hot day. You can feed the fish, turtles, and ducks in a large pond. The Wat is famous for its ancient tunnels and large stupa. Other attractions include a Buddha field of broken sculptures, a fasting Bodhisattva, a spiritual theatre of paintings, reproductions of ancient Buddhist sculptures from India, and a library-museum.

History: The monastery at Wat Umong is one of the oldest in Chiang Mai, dating back to 1300 A.D. The fable goes that a king built the brick-lined tunnels for an eccentric monk named Thera Jan. Once upon a time there were paintings decorated on the wall which dated back to about 1380. You can enter the tunnels to see the small shrines inside (a flashlight is useful). The adjoining stupa was constructed about 1520 over an earlier stupa (1400-1550). The monastery was eventually abandoned, though Japanese troops were said to have a stronghold here during World War 2. Since 1948, the Thai prince Jao Chun Sirorot has been active in rebuilding and reestablishing the monastery. In 1949 he invited Buddhadasa Bhikkhu (founder of Suan Mokkh in southern Thailand) to come and live in the monastery. Obligations kept Buddhadasa Bhikkhu from coming and instead he sent Ajahn Pannananda and other monks to help set up and run Wat Umong.

Tunnels at Wat Umong, Chiang Mai

Getting there: Wat Umong is located 3.5 km west of Chiang Mai. From Suandok Gate (the West gate of the old city) you drive up Suthep road (approximately 2, 5 km West) and cross Canal road. About half a kilometer after Canal road, there is a sign on your left hand side which leads you to Wat Umong. From here follow the signs south 1 km to the Wat. The easiest way is by tuk-tuk, scooter or bicycle.

Here’s a map


View Larger Map

Pun Pun Organic Vegetarian restaurant, Wat Suan Dok, Chiang Mai

You may also be interested in the podcast interview I did with the owners of Pun Pun (Peggy & Jo), where we discuss some of their views on sustainable living & organic farming, and talk about the courses they offer on their Pun Pun Organic farm outside Chiang Mai.

If you live in Chiang Mai, or even Northern Thailand for that matter, you may well already have heard of Pun Pun restaurant. It’s one of those word-of-mouth epidemics that spreads so fast that before you can recommend it to someone, someone else has got there first! Pun Pun opened a few months ago in a small area towards the back of Wat Suan Dok, which itself is located about 2kms along Suthep Road to the West of Chiang Mai’s old town.

Pun Pun restaurant, Wat Suan Dok

Pun Pun was set up by a Thai/American couple and sells organic vegetarian food, grown at Pun Pun Organic farm in the countryside outside Chiang Mai.

So what’s the food like? Absolutely amazing. Even for a non-vegetarian like myself it beats most other restaurants I have been to in Chiang Mai. Almost all dishes are 35 Thai Baht – about $1 – and the fresh fruit shakes are about the same price (The Passion fruit is recommended!) .

Atmosphere-wise, set in the middle of the Wat Suan Dok grounds, monks are continuously slowly wandering past, and the backrgound sounds are often interspersed with the monks chanting nearby. Finally, the friendly, smiling staff makes it one of our favourit restaurants in Chiang mai!

More info for those that need it:

Pun Pun’s opening hours are 9-7pm. They have a delivery service that costs an extra 20 Baht ($0.60) on top of the menu – the phone number for this is 086 573 7049 – the delivery service only runs from 9am-5pm. To get to Pun Pun, head to Wat Suan Dok then walk down the road to the left of the main temple towards the back of the temple grounds, it is on your right near the back.
Pun Pun’s website – www.punpunthailand.org.

Map showing Pun Pun restaurant & Wat Suan Dok


View Pun Pun restaurant in a larger map