On our last day off, Andy and I set our alarms for the egregious and inhumane time of 8:45 am and scooted out of Chiang Mai city until we hit the San Kamphaeng hot springs about an hour later. We passed all sorts of agricultural fields of dreams, mostly rice paddies, but some miscellaneous vegetable fields and the occasional orchard, some on fire, but most not.
We weren’t really sure what to expect from this place. Though it makes most sense to soak in hot water when it’s chilly outside, maybe on a cool, breezy night, we saw that the public park closed at 4:30 pm. Reviews across the internet issued warnings to travelers, advising future sight-seers that this place was for Thai tourists, for families, and not by any means should people wanting a luxury spa experience find themselves San Kamphaeng.
So, in the heat of the day we ambled up to the park to find landscaped and gardened grounds dotted with picnic tables, its perimeter lined with vendors selling food and trinkets. We found that the very special thing one must do at these hot springs is to put eggs in a basket and boil them in the water, hanging the baskets off of the hooks. Eggs were everywhere. Eggs in shops. Eggs in baskets. Eggs in hot springs. Eggs on tables. Eggs being chewed up. Egg shells on the ground. Chicken eggs. Duck eggs. Smaller speckled eggs of an undetermined variety. Eggs in fountains. Eggs in tile. Eggs on a pedestal. Eggs. EGGS!