Chiang Mai has totally restored my faith in Thailand. Bangkok, in all its frenetic glory, had left us exhausted and shell-shocked... as evidenced by how we spent our last day, a movie and Pizza Hut. Chiang Mai, on the other hand, despite being Thailand's second-largest city, felt infinitely more manageable. It's still a very "Thai" city, as evidenced by the ubiquitous food stalls, and tuk-tuks, but it's also much more peaceful. Maybe it's the fact that the air is a little fresher, or that the mountains feature prominently, that the greenery and lushness of the countryside creep into the city streets, or that wats are only outnumbered by uniformed school children, but Chiang Mai enchanted us. However, we still did leave the very next day. Didn't head far though, but rather took off on a trek
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