Well, what can I say about Chiang Mai other than it's one cool place. It has all the bits I love about Thailand (amazing food, temples, lovely people, chilled vibe) and alot less of the bits I don't like (ie. the hassle). I spent 5 days in the end and have to say didn't really do that much other than spend time with friends, go out for amazing food (Pregos with Mark who lives in Chiang Mai was a particular favourite, along with Blue Diamond, a gorgeous wholefood cafe which did amazing curries and salads and which I expected to be exclusively veggie but sadly wasn't), hang out by the pool, do a bit of shopping (actually bought Christmas pressies for my family and dispatched them back to the UK!) and generally just enjoy not rushing around. My accommodation was the fab SK II which was more of a hotel, and the room I shared with two German girls Hanh and Kati, cost the grand total of 500 Baht per night (about 10 pounds) for the 3 of us! It had a pool and a rooftop sun terrace, bar area and very friendly and helpful staff. The room was huge too- felt like I really got to spread out which you can't do when you stay in dorms.
All the things people normally come to Chiang Mai for I missed out on- trekking, elephant rides and sanctuaries, cooking, meditation or massage courses and thai boxing. But I just felt like I wanted a rest after Burma which was pretty full on and being with the Aussies and our friend Nick coming up for his birthday was the main focus. I did manage to get in a couple of cheeky massages though!
My final night was great. Dinner with an interesting American guy Hanh had met in China, watching the Man U game (they are crazy about English football all over Asia) and finishing the night with Mark at a local bar, Yokka Dok, where the staff were dressed in the most amazing outfits and where we were treated to cabaret by the lady boys! Only in Thailand...
The pictures I've included show Chelsea navigating through the flooded waters of the night market area. Some of the worse monsoon rains in decades have affected large parts of Thailand and Cambodia. The day before Chelsea and Jim had gone to Subway only to find the whole area submerged in water and they waded up to thrir thighs. As you can see it wasn't quite so bad the following day.
The other pictures are of a magnificent white temple in Chiang Rai which we passed on the way to the Thai-Laos border.
And now to Laos.
Hi Penny, looks better than Ellis! We're very envious.
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