After a number of travel days (the Mekong boat trip and a bus from Chiang Khong) it was great to settle down in Chiang Mai. Here we enjoyed some delicious Thai food, checked out the famous night bazaar and hit up both a blues bar and a jazz club (who would have thought). The North Gate Jazz Coop was especially fun since the venue was so small (or the band so big – 10 people at some point) that the audience was spilling out into the street.
Aside from the old town which was really nice just to wander around, one of the main highlights in Chiang Mai was Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, the mountain top temple just outside of town. As you can see they’re pretty into gold (to put it mildly).
From there, we rode our rented motor bike out to the “Grand Canyon”. The name is a bit exaggerated – it’s really just an old quarry – but it was still great fun taking a dip on a hot day. The water was extremely deep (up to 32 meters) so it was no problem jumping off of the cliffs. We found out the specific depth when we overheard someone asking about their lost 300 euro GoPro camera (apparently GoPros don’t float). The short answer was “you’ll never get that back”.
After 4 days in Chaing Mai, we boarded the overnight train to Bangkok. While not quite as luxurious as our train from Verona to Dusseldorf, it was pretty nice, complete with a multi-course Thai meal in our cabin and a porter to turn down our beds. And when you consider it was a fraction of the cost (around 40 US for a first class berth), you really can’t complain.
Once back in Bangkok, we visited a couple of the popular sites that we missed the first time around including Wat Pho (see below for one seriously impressive reclining Buddha), the Royal Palace, another walk through China Town and a boat ride on the river.
Our final highlight from Bangkok was the flower market. Recalling a similar market in Amsterdam, we were still totally unprepared for the amazing quantity and variety of flowers.
I really like some of the alternative transportation options you’re using — boats, trains, planes, motor bikes, not to mention the occasional swim. It must have been great in Chiang Mai to travel up to that “golden” temple complex. When we were there last year, we met an Australian who was there to meditate for a week. Apparently there’s no charge, you just have to arrange it with the monks well in advance. Of course it’s not luxurious nor meant to be, but I’m sure that it would be an interesting experience.