Day #151: My own private spa resort

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I had planned to stay longer in Chiang Mai, but I found it a bit disappointing: the city itself is not that interesting, but is more of a centre for outdoor sports - mountain biking, zip lining, white water rafting, elephant rides - none of which I was very interested in. So I decided to go on to Chiang Dao, halfway between Chiang Mai and my next planned destination, Chiang Rai.

Chiang Dao is a small town known as a place for relaxation and spas, so I couldn't stay in my usual hostel-style accommodation: the choice is limited to bungalows in resort complexes, albeit very cheap ones. This is off-season, but nevertheless I was surprised to find I was the only guest in my resort - with the grounds, a restaurant, spa, swimming pool, library and at my own personal disposal! There were about 8 staff employed there with not a lot to do (this is quite common in Thailand, where underemployment is an expected part of working life - a Starbucks-type cafe in Thailand might typically be staffed by 6 or 7 people, 4 or 5 of whom might have nothing to do but stand around and chat at any given time - working in Thailand is expected to be relaxed and sociable, which is fair enough, although it leads to tensions when Western companies move into the Thai market).

It was a little surreal but quite luxurious to have an entire resort at my disposal, and I spent the arrival day wandering around the beautiful grounds and using the facilities. However as the resort was nowhere near the town it was also eerily quiet, especially at night when I was a little creeped out by the noise of all kinds of animals outside (and, for much of the evening, the crash of thunder and lightening and hammering rain) and I was quite relieved to be spending only two nights there!

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