Caveman explores a cave

I had a great time driving my scooter an hour east of Chiang Mai. It took me about three hours because I got lost at least five times just trying to get out of the city. Street signs are tiny and easy to miss as you whiz by but getting lost is part of the experience when driving around for kicks. 

I'm getting used to the Asian driving style where the lines on the road are ignored. Traffic flows and funnels like fish down a stream. There's no road rage here. I have yet to see a flustered Thai driver. Each one goes about at their own consistent pace. Some fast. Some slow. The real danger comes from your own driving, not someone else's. The trick is to be moderate and predictable and to ride with confidence and patience leaving your ego at home. 90% of the roads here are in perfect paved condition.

The massive and creepy Muang-On Cave was fun to explore. It was like descending into a set from "Alien" as I scaled down the treacherous cement steps. I went early on a weekday so I almost had the whole place to myself which made me smile. You could park a few airplanes inside this thing it was so big. No joke. The cave is a religious shrine with many Buddhas and altars scattered about.

There was a separate grotto that was a bit off the beaten path so I decided to explore it. I had to crawl on my chest Indiana Jones style in order to get through the crack while using my trusty flashlight that I rented for forty cents. There was nothing much inside the dank hovel except for some graffiti. Or so I thought. I moved my flashlight along the wall and found a freakin' huge ass hairy spider the size of my hand. Time to go! I found out later that it was not poisonous.

My next stop, San Kamphaeng Hot Springs was just around the corner. The grounds had a man-made cement stream that trickled the sulphuric smelling water though. Happy Thai families sat and soaked their feet. The start of the stream is too hot to put your feet into. You could boil an egg in it. Which they also sell for about a buck and a half. After soaking my feet (a bit farther along) I used their warm mineral spring swimming pool. When I got out it felt like I just had a massage. 

Back near my guest house I had a snack which ended up being the best Thai meal I've had yet. I had pork stir fried rice, which had a wonderful smokey taste and some kind of delicious onion soup, all for thirty-five Baht. That's about $1.25. Crazy!

I had dinner and drinks with a charming young Brazilian couple that are staying in my guesthouse. We saw a local Thai bar band doing rock covers and then went to the North Gate Jazz Club where the hip patrons spilled out onto the sidewalk.

Tomorrow I will explore the impressive mountain-top Buddhist Wat, Doi Suthep with a pit-stop to the Montha Than Waterfall, but not before stocking up on some locally grown and roasted Chiang Mai coffee beans. Priorities.