Chiang Mai

We’ve spent a little more than a week in the charming city of Chiang Mai. It is the second largest city in Thailand, in the northern part of the country, snuggled by Laos and Myanmar. It is ringed by mountains, often cloaked in clouds, and a lovely place to visit.

There are a variety of neighborhoods to wander, some even with sidewalks. With a temple seemingly around every corner. And of course history stretches back centuries, so temples range from old and crumbling, to new and shiny, to old and shiny, to new and natural.

There are quirky parts and bougy parts and places for calm and spots for the hipster youth.

So close to the mountains, we also made excursions (excurded?? (that word needs its own verb, I’ve decided)) up to the forest. The jungle! We stood at the highest point in Thailand. Crossed waterfalls. Drank coffee grown, harvested, and roasted on site. Watched women plant rice in cleared paddies. Listened to cicadas buzz and watched huuuuuuge butterflies flit and gaped at other colorful and large beetly buggies. (But we were never really bothered or bit by anything.) And we even attempted to sight-see through gusting clouds. We didn’t see very far, but we’ll definitely remember Doi Inthanon because of it!

Generally speaking, it was an easy place to be. And we can see why so many expats choose to land here. Like everywhere, we left things unexplored. Reasons to come back. Markets uncombed and streets ignored and temples unvisited (and so many geocaches undiscovered–we are unexpectedly terrible at that game!).

We have one more quick stop in Thailand: Bangkok. This country has been really good to us! Friendly and forgiving and welcoming. We are happy to have spent the time we have. And we may be back!