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Published: November 29th 2010
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Looking down on Chiang Mai from Doi Suthep
Lots of nice views l through the trees like this on the ride up. Travel Days 67-77
I spent most of them in Chiang Mai......my favorite spot to travel in Thailand. (The last one and a half days were in Bangkok waiting for my flight home).
Thailand is a hub for tourism in Southeast Asia and Bangkok is a traveling hub for visitors to the region. In the South are Thailand's beaches and a vibrant resort tourism, the Northeast offers a great look at the role of religion and rice growing in the Thai way of life, Bangkok and central Thailand provide the best look at modern Thailand while Chiang Mai (in addition to its historical importance in the official Thai imagination) offers perhaps the best climate and most beautiful part of the country. The borders of Thailand are also a fascinating place to observe trade and politics up close. Some of the ethnic groups and cultural distinctions in all these regions are quite different as well and learning how they represent being and living as a Thai (or not) is always an eye opening experience. Chiang Mai has a less oppressive hot climate, relative but beautiful remoteness and a propensity to showcase a number of unique ethnicities within its own distinct culture.
Khao Soy
One of my favorite local noodle dishes These are some of the things I truly enjoy about Chiang Mai.
After returning from Phuket and spending a day or two in Bangkok, I returned to Chiang Mai around the middle of November. I stayed there until I flew home with stops in Bangkok and Beijing earlier this week. I returned to the beautiful ten dollar a night resort where I had previously been in order to rest up from my stomach ailments and do some further exploring. My weakness from being sick made me decide not to do the mountain bike thing and I rented a scooter for the week instead. This was a good thing as I was able to do some exploring I had not considered with the mountain bike. I was able to visit some relatively remote but stunningly beautiful areas several hours from Chiang Mai city. It has wetted my hunger for further journeys afar as Northern Thailand offers lots of interesting small but scenic provinces as well as fascinating activity on the border areas going into Myanmar, Laos and China. (The Golden Triangle as it is called).
My main reason for coming back was to rest and to do more exploring
A nice resort on the way to Samoeng
Many pretty resorts like this line part the road to Samoeng northwest of the city. around the northern region. I was hoping I might meet with Rainny again as well. I had hoped to see her over the Loy Krathong festival. We ended up missing each other so even though my visit was full of adventure it was a bit too solitary at times. Chiang Mai, unlike Bangkok, is not a second home where I can pick up the phone and find someone to hang out with. Nonetheless, I did meet some interesting people.
My first day I took the scooter up to the top of Doi Suthep (the mountain that overlooks Chiang Mai city) in order to get some scenic views of the city and do something I hadn't tried before. There are some nice waterfalls I stopped at on the way up and some nice rest stops as well as a famous temple and palace that I had already seen on a previous visit. The scooter really struggled getting me up there but it did it!! It was cool going down because I was able to coast without the motor on. A very fun ride!!
The following day I decided to visit the town of Samoeng which is roughly 50km or
so from the city (maybe a bit more) and nestled in the mountains. It is a beautiful beautiful drive and I would recommend it to anyone that visits Chiang Mai. There are rice terraces, gorgeous mountain views, waterfalls, innovative agricultural projects, charming resorts, botanical gardens, and various local crafts for sale in parts along the way. The ride there and the beauty of the scenery is the most rewarding part. It is a mountain biker or hikers dream up there. Just after rainy season (late October through February are high season) is the best time to go as well because it starts to cool off and the waterfalls are looking their best. And of course, you don't have to battle the rain. I never quite made it to the village (but close) as my scooter started to have second thoughts about riding through some of the more mountainous parts.
On the third day, I traveled about 30k south of Chiang Mai city to Lamphun (Northern Thailand's capital known as Hariphunchai before Chiang Mai way back when). I wanted to visit the museum there which has some interesting cultural artifacts (historical pottery, art and jewelry coupled with an interesting story
of the city). I wove my way there going off and on the highway but riding on some back roads to see some of the local towns and lifestyles along the way. Lamphun is a very quiet town with not much to see outside the museum and its main temple but the ride through the countryside around the town is fun.
I spent the remaining days exploring the city and getting to know the way around by scooter. I found some interesting restaurants and other haunts (such as a cool German microbrewery with a few good choices on tap). I wanted to be sure I was in town for the the festival coming up on the weekend which spanned three days in length. Furthermore, festivities in town were gearing up all week. Elephants, lanterns and temples were some of the things I saw appear in the night lit up as lanterns during the week. Lots of Thais were buzzing around town as well as tourists so it was a nice atmosphere for hanging out and taking pictures.
I attempted to make my own krathong but the results were ugly. This was partly due to the fact that I
Rice terraces
This was located next to a rather large village with an American International School. missed my class on good design technique. The krathong is made from banana leaves and part of the tree (or hard bread if you prefer) and is covered with flowers. Usually it is floated down the river with a lighted candle in order to bring good luck. It is based on a traditional Thai legend I will not rehash here. You can google it of course. Yi Peng or floating lanterns (also part of the festival) is the distinct element that Chiang Mai brings to the festival. Loy Krathong festival is celebrated all over Thailand and Chiang Mai celebrates both at the same time. It is a wild environment in Chiang Mai but also beautiful. Teenagers, tourists, and locals simultaneously float krathongs, light lanterns and set off fireworks. The crowd is enormous and the atmosphere is buzzes. It is a fun time to be out. I was happy I could do it once after hearing about it for many years. Previously, I had only celebrated Loy Krathong around Bangkok.
There are so many places in Northern Thailand to visit and Myanmar, China and Laos also call out to be explored. I have only gotten a small taste of it
The Buddha
He lurks everywhere all. I regret getting sick as my planned bike ride from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai had to be put off to some unknown future date. I am looking forward to a return to Northern Thailand again as soon as I can get there. It is one of my favorite spots and a paradise for biking and fitness. I would love to pen a book there sometime.
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