The perfect place for mooching with the option to do a plethora of activities and sightseeing if your heart desires, Chiang mai has enough going for it to keep you there for a while. I had planned 7 nights there doing whatever I fancied once I got there. Nothing planned.
Staying at the Sohotel just outside the old city to the east, I got off the train, which was over an hour late, was riddled with cochroaches and ended up in reverse at one point! Do not ask, I think he missed a signal. I tried to get a songthew which is a pick up truck with seats and a roof on the back. That took under a minute…a lady was all over me ushering me into her songthew asking over times the amount it should cost for me to do the journey…so I found out later. I jumped in, glad to be off the train.
The hostel was new, so new in fact I don’t think they quite finished building it…I was hungry it was late so I pop out to the nearest thing I can find…this was burger king…I dont really eat this at home but one a year if that, in this case it seem like the saviour… Whopper was the way forward for this case. It was lush.
I spent my first day in Chiang Mai, just walking around the old city with an aim to find an ATM that did not charge.. The internet lead me to the airport mall so at just gone midday I hiked the 3km trip….not the best idea I had but I committed, so I finished. I had two objectives to get to an ATM and transfer some money to book a place on the yoga retreat I had planned to go to for the next stop the following week.
The rest of the time in Chiang Mai was spent learning as much I could and making a few good friends, Joey from China, Shanghai, and Sonny from Birmingham both stayed in the same dorm as me…we made friends immediately in both cases separately and I spent a day with each of them after meeting at breakfast or something…after that the three of us spent time together.
We got Chang’d together, we saw sights it was good times.
I learned to meditate with monks one night after heading to monk chat and asking questions about Buddhism….I had spent a lot of time up to this point in my trip looking at temples; it really helped to get some background on the religion and the meaning of the rituals and decorations. I meditation was something else, I tried but it was my first time and was sat there wondering what I should be thinking about, which kind of defeats the point to empty your mind.
I got involved in day tour that takes in some hiking, elephant riding and white water and bamboo rafting; it was something I had figured I wanted to do in Chiang Mai before I came, so I booked that in as soon as I could. It was a great day made perfect by the people on the tour and the range of activity we go involved in during the day. I found a new love and fascination for elephants having ridden one for the first time on this trip, they are sensitive clever gentle giants.
Markets!
There is a market somewhere near Chiang Mai every day, food markets, Saturday and Sunday night markets, the night bazaar every night (not great but its there). It level of creativity is something that makes these markets stand out from what Bangkok has to offer. When its clothes, bangkok, for anything else Thai that you want to buy from a market in my opinion, Chiang Mai is you place.
Saturday market, was my first proper market visit in Chiang Mai, the food was out in all it glory, the crafts were out with their proud creators selling them, and this went on across several closed to traffic roads the old city. I nibbled on anything that looked good until I was full…that was the making of my food poisoning….the first on my hold trip to this point!
The hills and landscape that surround Chaing Mai are gorgeous and perfect for all the adventure supports and hiking that take place. I personally loved the combination of the old city and nature just an hour or two away.
I left this town not feeling my best due to illness but totally satisfied with the experience I had there…of to Pai
