On to Chiang Mai

We'll, we've been exploring Chiang Mai in the north west of Thailand now for three days, and thoroughly enjoying the change from both Ko Tao and Bangkok.  Bangkok was a typical Southeast Asian capital city - big, chaotic, bustling with energy and very hot and sticky ;-), Ko Tao was a typical beach town- very much like some of the places we've visited in Costa Rica. Chiang Mai is a busy city - the largest in the north of Thailand, but much less sprawling and developed in comparison to Bangkok.  More importantly, it's in the foothills of the Himalayas, so it's quite a bit cooler here!  Most days do far it's been in the high 70's to low 80's(F), so much more comfortable than at the beach or in Bangkok, where it was a humid 90F+ every day...

We're staying in a small hotel in the old city - about a mile square area surrounded by the protective most built in the 14th century.  While much of the historic architecture has been lost, the many remarkable Buddhist temples (Wats) remain largely intact and are liberally sprinkled around the old city.  Tourism makes up a substantial part of the local economy, but much less than in places like Ko Tao, where pretty much every business is somehow linked or completely devoted to serving the tourist population.  Here, local commerce seems to take up at least as equal space along the storefronts on most streets, particularly outside the historical  core, with plenty of locals coursing along them on foot, bicycle, or most commonly, Vespa type scooters. LOTS of scooters!

So far, we've been to one of the big "night markets" (a sort of weekly streetfest of food, clothing, souvenir, and miscellaneous stuff all set up for pedestrians to amble through), hiked up a mountain to one of the Wats just outside of town, a couple of museums, the Queen Sirikut Botanical Gardens, and an orchid farm. 

We've  been doing lots of walking, with the occasional cab or Tuk Tuk ride to get around.  Lots of interesting things to see and do :-)

We particularly like the markets-  vendors of all sorts in different places.  There are flower markets, clothing and household goods markets, fruit and vegetable markets, meat markets, "wet" markets (selling lots of odd live critters), etc.  It's definitely not Wegmans, but it's not trying to be either! ;-) I still love the variety and liveliness of these places!

Yup, those are BBQ'd scorpions on a stick... yum? Right next to the crickets, meal worms, and grasshoppers!

While there are definitely some odd things to eat, the food overall here is also amazing. And, just as nice, cheap! Today we had lunch for two, with a beer, for about $6 US.  Yesterday, we had one of the best meals I can remember for about $12 US :-) So far, my favorite here is a rich creamy peanutty/spicy stew with noodles and chicken called Khao Soi that is to die for...  Gotta figure out how to make that at home!

Coming up is the main reason we came to Chiang Mai - the annual Flower Festival.  That starts on Friday, and I'll report in again after that!

Cheers