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A
night of drama in Chiang Mai - by Damian
After arriving in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, our first
impressions were very favourable. Much cooler and much less
humid, less traffic and smog compared to Bangkok, and very beautiful.
We quickly organised an elephant tour, then called our meetURplanet
contact Linda. We had been exchanging email since we contacted
her off the web site, and were looking forward to finally meeting.
We made plans to meet at her favourite restaurant after we got
back from our tour. That evening we left our hotel half an hour
before our meeting time so we wouldn't be late, on what was
destined to be our most ill-fated evening in Thailand.
Linda had started to give the Thai street address, but decided
that was too hard, and gave me the name of a nearby hotel, the
Amarni, and said she would meet us there. Too easy!
We got into a red songthaew (a 4 wheeled tuk-tuk that operates
more like a bus than a taxi) at 6:30 to meet Linda at 7pm. We
said the hotel name to the driver and thought to ourselves,
"we're away now!". The only trouble was, our driver didn't know
the hotel (although he said he did, and charged us heaps for
it). We got suspicious when he started asking other drivers
about the hotel, although it seemed they didn't know the hotel
either. Along the way he continued to pick up new passengers
and drop them off all over the place.
As it approached 7pm, we started to get annoyed. This driver
had no idea where the hotel was, so he was trying to pretend
we didn't exist, and kept up the flow of picking up and dropping
off new passengers. 7pm passed, and we were left in the back
with only one Thai man. We had left the main part of town and
were now cruising through unlit back streets. We were exchanging
concerned glances with each other, and trying to decide if the
driver was setting us up for an urban legend-type attack. Drive
the stupid tourist to the middle of nowhere, then beat and mug
them and leave them there. We decided that clearly this was
what was happening, and the guy riding with us was in on it.
Our plan was that when the opportunity arose, we would make
a break for it out the back and try and escape.
Then we saw the bus terminal in front of us. Oh, the other guy
is catching a bus. That makes sense. So by 7:30 we were miles
out of town at the bus terminal. Seeing some tourist police
in the terminal, we decided to get some help. They were extremely
helpful! They radioed their office and tried to locate this
hotel for us. They worked out what the problem was, and why
no-one could find the hotel. There was no "Armani" hotel; but
there was an "Armati" and an "Amari". This explained all the
confusion; but now where were we meant to be?
The police explained where the hotels were, so we thought maybe
the Armati was our place, as it was a large expensive hotel,
and Linda had said the drivers would definitely know it. After
being lectured by the policeman on making sure we get our directions
right next time, and to be more careful, we got back into the
rear of our lift and start the journey back into town.
We relaxed heaps! We were 45 minutes late already, but at least
we finally knew where we were going. The police had instructed
the driver to take us there, even though it was a long way out
on the other side of town, and he seemed very happy to please
the policeman. After about another 15 minutes of driving around
town we started to get suspicious again and paid attention to
where he was going. It felt a lot like he had been driving around
in very large circles, getting smaller as we moved through the
centre of town. Now what was going on?!
Apparently nothing, as not long after he pulls up in front of
a hotel. We hop out, more than a little relieved to finally
be somewhere. We thank him graciously for his time, and apologise
for the trouble we'd caused, and give another lot of money to
make him happy. We were taken aback when he demanded more! What!
Renee shakes her head, "No, I don't think so!". I shrug, "what
the hell, give him some more".
The driver grabs the offered money, jumps into his songthaew
and hurtles off. We're happy to be rid of him. We turn and walk
into the hotel and ask the doorman in the lobby if there was
a message for us from the American lady who had been waiting
there. His confused look didn't seem promising, but before I
could ask him more, Renee taps me on the shoulder and points
to the name on the wall. Uh oh, our driver has dumped us at
a different hotel to save him driving to the real one. Now I
feel really stupid for giving him extra cash.
We miserably hopped into a waiting tuk-tuk and went to the nearest
part of town to find some food. We were approximately 2 hours
late for our dinner appointment, and very hungry.
The next morning we are contacted by Linda, who was wondering
what had happened to us. That's when we find out that the hotel
we had eventually been trying to get to was also the wrong hotel!
The correct one was literally less than one kilometer down the
road! Aaargh!!!
We managed to meet Linda later in the day, and all had a laugh
about it in hindsight. Then off for a motorcycle adventure with
Linda as a guide, but that's another story in itself!
Submitted: 22 October 2002 |
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Damian - Australia
Travel tale author |
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