Chiang Mai

My train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai took ages although I did actually get some sleep which took the edge of the journey a bit. I took a gamble by going 3rd class (a seat) instead of 2nd class (a bed) and 3rd class was empty which meant I just put my legs up and fell asleep until sunrise. The train to Chiang Mai normally takes about 11 hours from Bangkok, although it took 14 hours because it went the scenic route. That was actually quite a good thing though as by the time I woke up it was a really nice train journey, the single lined track weaving it's way through pretty countryside, jungles, and remote settlements. At every town and village we stopped at though people would jump on trying to sell you stuff! We arrived in Chiang Mai about lunchtime.

After making my way to the hostel, where I was staying in the Old City, I spent the afternoon just relaxing. The hostel has some pretty erratic reviews online which I stupidly read after booking the hostel, in relation to someone called "Mama", presumably the hostel owners Mum. Luckily she wasn't there when I checked in. I saw her later on though and she definitely looked like the kind of person to avoid, literally some loud mouth woman with red eyes just sitting there in her rocking chair. In the evening I met up with my friend Amira who I travelled with in South America from Quito to Rio, and it was nice to catch up and talk about all our memories from the trip, going out to the night bazaar for dinner and a few drinks.

When visiting Chiang Mai before I basically visited Doi Suthep, Tiger Kingdom, and did a countryside bike tour, as well as the 3d/2n hilltribe trek. I never actually explored the Old City properly on my previous visit though so on Thursday I thought I'd do just that. The Old City is effectively a 1.5km square surrounded by a moat and the remains of an old wall. Each side of the moat had a gate to enter to the city, and I started exploring the city from the Thapae Gate on the eastern side. Chiang Mai is home to over 200 temples, so I downloaded a self guided tour which told me the temples most worth visiting.

I soon ditched my self guided tour though as the city was so compact it was easier just to wander. I still made sure visited Wat Chiang Man, the oldest temple in Chiang Mai; Wat Chedi Luang, the ruins of the old chapel; and Wat Phra Singh, which were the 3 temples apparently most worth visiting. Aside from that I effectively weaved my way in and out of to city, following the moat which had the 4 gates and 4 forts located on each corner, arriving back where I started later that afternoon. There were several interesting temples I found along the way, and I particularly enjoyed the markets which were selling traditional goods and interesting handicrafts.

On Friday I had a more relaxing day, hiring a bike after lunch and going for a bike ride to Huay Tueng Thao. En route I stopped at Wat Umong which was this temple based in the forest, it's highlight being this old Chedi with a network of ancient tunnels beneath it you could explore. When arriving at Huay Tueng Thao, which was this man made lake, I hired a bamboo floating raft house and lay inside in the shade. Later on in the afternoon I cycled round the lake, which had a nice backdrop of the hills of Doi Pui. There was some really pretty countryside on the way round, cycling back to Chiang Mai afterwards. It was a really dodgy cycling at times though, losing count of the number of cars that cut me up. I went to the night bazaar again in the evening.

The following day I had a more full on day, heading out to Doi Suthep via the Monks Trail. I visited the temple at Doi Suthep by taxi on my previous visit, although I read about the Monks Trail which looked like a nice alternative way to get there, getting it's name from the orange pieces of monks cloth tied to the trees to show you the way. After cycling to the trailhead, the path climbed through a jungle environment to the little visited Wat Pha Lat which was an old temple situated around this waterfall in a very idyllic jungle setting.

From Wat Pha Lat the path continued to climb before eventually reaching Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, perhaps the most visited tourist attraction in Chiang Mai. To get there required climbing 300 steps, with the highlight of the temple up top this golden chedi accompanied by these umbrella things. There were also fantastic views looking over Chiang Mai up top, although it was slightly hazy. Nearby the temple there was a market which I had a look round before decending back down to Wat Pha Lat, taking an alternative route from there through the jungle back to where I started. I was tempted to go back via a couple of waterfalls although it was getting late and my recent track record with waterfalls literally being trickles put me off making the effort. Come evening I went to the night bazaar once again, the Ploen Ruedee one my firm favourite.

On Sunday I decided I would go street art hunting for the day. It was amazing how many hidden gems I found, in particular in the Old City where I walked down several side streets and alleys which housed modern street art as well as authentic shops and coffee houses. I also strayed a little out of town to a couple of the shopping malls, although by afternoon I had to call it a day as it got so hot, hitting 37 degrees! Come evening I went to the Sunday night bazaar which unlike the bazaar during the week people from the local villages came. The market literally stretched from the east side to the west side of the moat, so 1.5km, with every side street packed with stalls too. It was very busy! Later on I went to watch the football.