Day 35: Chiang Mai

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We managed to get a group bus to the airport for 200baht apiece, which we were chuffed with as all our apps had told us that it would cost a 4 figure sum to go to the airport alone. We stopped on route to pick up others that had booked and after the standard walk through the terminal and a very grubby burger king for breakfast (17 bloody quid!) We had a pretty run of the mill flight to Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai airport is located almost directly next to old town, which was coincidentally where we were staying. 150 baht taxi and 15 minutes later we were at the Jai Peng Hostel. The room we were given was pretty large and nice. The only downside being an irritating noise that would ring out every 20 second or so, which was immediately followed by a groan from the water system. The hostel itself had a swimming pool and we were blessed to have a fridge in the room (stocked with cans of beer and coke.) After a brief nap (by meg) and catching up on writing (by me) We decided to do a lap of the old town.



Chiang Mai Old down is a near perfect square mile protected by a moat and a ring road. Inside the old town are seldom used roads filled with a variety of shops, stalls, restaurants and cafes. On our first walk around we spied multiple vegan restaurants which lifted Megs spirits somewhat, as it seemed her days of Pad Thai rinse and repeat were finally at an end. Around the old town were a plethora of temples, the nearest to us being ___________, the oldest temple in Chiang Mai. I know we were templed out earlier in this trip but these temples felt different. A more natural look to them instead of the over the top gold paint, but also more vibrant colours all around, with blues and greens fighting for viewership amongst the traditional terracotta.



After our tour, by which time it was 6.30pm and the sun was firmly down, we headed back and sent some laundry to the service down the road (our cheapest yet at 30 baht a kilo). We then decided to head back out and get some food, having been bloated and full enough to reject our free inflight meal earlier. After a brief look around we decided on an Australian bar and grill. Meg had spaghetti and I had a chicken parmo. It was decent enough and the pricing for food was substantially less than Koh Lanta and Phuket, which are obviously more tourist centric.



Steps:18427



Top tip: If you get lost in old town, walk to the ring road, turn left and just keep going til you catch your baring’s.

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