Oh my, Chiang Mai! On our way!  There is no train from Sukhothai so it would have required a bit of back tracking to catch a train. Our transport to Chang Mai from Sukhothai is by private car at 9:30 am, and about a five hour trip.  It is a newer car, a Camry.  There is not a lot of conversation along the way because of the langaunge barrier!

Part of the trip winds its way through mountain roads.  We have read so many blogs that have talked about the poor dangerous roads.  I guess they haven’t driven in the US lately.  Or on the back roads of Kentucky where one lane roads make-up many of the “two-lane” roads. Anyway, the roads are better than much of what I have seen in the US.

We made a stop along the way in Lampang at the Lanna-style Wat Phra That Lampang Luang.  It is just south of the Chiang Mai province and contains beautiful grounds and magnificent temples. Chaing Mai itself is home to over 300 temples!  There is a bit of light rain that keeps some of our outdoor views of the temple subdued.

Our home for the next five days is a fairly new condo in  an area just outside of Chiang Mai’s old town in Nimmanahaemin. It is a vibrant here, as there is a university.  There are students and therefore a younger population…and many restaurants and boutique businesses. And yes, a Starbucks.  There also seems to be quite a few US expats living here.  Nimmanahaemin is on the west side of the old town, slightly less touristy than the east side, backpacker laden area.

After a week or so of Thai food, we went for Indian our first night at Accha Indian Restaurant. Ok, many similar flavors to Thai food but still a nice change. We had muted expectations but it turned out to be very good.  And the price for an appetizer, two entrees, naan and wine? $22!  Easy to see why there are a few expats here. 

There are plenty of bars and coffee shops here as well.  As a matter of fact, it sounded a bit like the Surry Hills of Sydney, Australia on a weekend night.  It was a bit noisy into the late hours of the evening and early morning hours.

We decided not to go out and imbibe after dinner.  We were walking down a narrow street, crowded with people and cars when a car clipped Tracey’s leg and ran over her foot.  She was fine except for a little scrape, bruising, and soreness.  The young Chinese student was hurt worse, emotionally.  He felt so terrible about the accident. I think he was avoiding a pedestrian on the other side of his car.  He bowed and bowed and bowed and even wanted to give us money.  I gave him a hug and pleaded with him to not worry about it as he was visibly shaken. 

Saturday morning we found a terrific little coffee shop among the many.  We enjoyed a little brekkie, a couple cups of great coffee and a few minutes of relaxation.

During the afternoon we ate lunch at Cherng Doi Grilled Chicken. This is a great place tucked away on a small street just off the main drag. I had Tom Yum soup and was it spicy!  Even for me.  After my initial bite, I lost my voice and could not talk for about 5 minutes…at least couldn’t make a sound come out!  We also ate grilled chicken, all delicious!

After lunch we walked through a more upscale mall in the area.  The mall has many of the typical chain stores, upscale food stalls and movie theaters.  We may go back to see the new Reacher movie of we have time!  We have both read the entire series of 17 or 18 books.

We had a fun Saturday evening in the area as it is buzzing with life.  We enjoyed dinner tapas style at Jagajee.  The tables were full, so we stood at the bar, watched and talked with the cooks and ate there.  The tasting dishes were excellent and the staff were very friendly.  We finished on the outside patio with a glass of wine in the cooler night air.  This is worth a stop if you are in the area!

After dinner we strolled over to Baa(n) din, a fun bar with a fun owner.  “Anthony” spent some time with us at our table.  We asked him to share his entrepreneurial story of starting the establishment about six years ago.  It was fun spending some time talking to this energetic go getter!  We enjoyed a tasty cocktail and a sampled a bit of rum courtesy of Anthony. 

On Sunday we visited a couple of the over 300 Chaing Mai temples.  There was good blog online that named seven worth visiting. We made a visit to a few of these near us.  

We took one of the “cabs” for a short ride to the old town area that was once walled.  Some parts of the wall and remnants remain.  We visited Wat Phra Singh, Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Phan On.  At the Wat Phra Singh temple we sampled a banana leaf omelet.  This was an egg wrapped in banana leaves and baked over a grill.  I watched closely and plan on making this back in Florida on the grill!

The Sunday Market occurs in the same area so after the temple visits we strolled with what seemed like thousands of others through endless street markets.  The markets have many items and many food vendors.  

We spent most of our time sampling food.  Vegetable pancakes, chicken gyoza, roasted chicken, potatoes and gravy, and curry chicken.  For desert, we shared a banana pancake, with ice cream.  Ok, all of these items were small portions and we shared each!  We only put on a little over three miles so we will be looking to curb the eating some this week. And all of this food for less than $20!  Dangerous!

One of our highlights of the Chaing Mai visit was a trip to an Elephant Jungle Sanctuary.  After about a 30 minute drive we spent the afternoon with the elephants.  Elephants are not ridden here, rather these are rescued.  They have one older elephant and several younger ones.  One just two years old.  Sakura is a youngster and acts like one:  curious, playful, mischievous! 

The visit to the sanctuary is an excellent experience.  Unfortunately, we hear how the elephants around the world and in Thailand are abused, captured, tusks cut, chained, beaten and cut.  The ones that are ridden are abused with heavy metal frame seats, and constant walking on roadways.

Our experience included feeding them, then bathing them, followed by “linner” (a late lunch/early dinner) for the humans. The elephants seem so happy in this environment. So cool to see. 

After the elephant tour we went to the Tai Pai gate to join the Lantern Festival.  This year was particularly important because of the November super moon.  It was a spectacular sight with hundreds if not thousands of paper lanterns being floated in the sky against and amongst the super moon over Chiang Mai.

We enjoyed a great breakfast at the Larder Cafe.  It was more western style and so good I think I had breakfast and lunch!  This included Tomatoes, avocados, too much toast, parmesan eggs and a couple cups of coffee. 

I enjoyed my first Thai massage.  Ninety minutes for about $10.  This is something I need everyday.  It would be possible at these kind of rates!  The massage was with oils and similar to the deep tissue massages I have had back in the US.

Our last dinner in Chiang Mai, we took another break from Thai food…but not a break from Asian food.  We ate Japanese food for our last evening in Chiang Mai at Sushi Umai.  The tuna and salmon sashimi, vegetable tempura soba, chicken yakisoba were all delicious! 

Chiang Rai

After brekkie at our home in Chiang Mai we are off with our driver for a three hour drive to Chiang Rai.   We made one stop at some hot springs.  They had a few things going on here.  Eggs boiled in the hot springs, places to soak in the springs and fish feet massage.  This of course is where you stick your feet in a tank of small fish that nibble at your feet.  There are many other “feet” in the tank.  We took a pass on this.  We usually find these kind of places cheesy and too touristy for our taste.  It was however, a beautiful drive through national parks, mountains, and small towns like Baa Pow.

We arrived early afternoon at the Na Rak O Resort. This is a cool place just off the main old town area of Chiang Rai.  I guess you would say it was a bit of a boutique hotel with seemingly unique designs in each room.  As with all our hosts in Thailand we were warmly greeted and treated.

After putting our bags in the room we headed out for some lunch and site seeing, well, temple seeing.  Lunch was terrific at Siam Corner! Pad Krapow Gai, fried rice and vegetables in oyster sauce!  We walked through town and the local markets for the locals, which is actually more interesting than the markets for tourists.

We visited a couple temples in the town itself that were impressive.  There were many monks and novices here.  There are other temples outside of Chiang Rai that we will stop at en route to Chiang Khong.

The night market here, the Chiang Rai Night Bazaar is low key compared to the thousands of people and vendors at the Sunday Market in Chiang Mai.  Many food and clothing stalls but not a lot of food.  It could have been a function of a slow Tuesday night. The nights are just a bit cooler here than further south, so it was pleasant walking around and not sweating.  Again, the days are close to Sarasota temps in the summer, perhaps a bit less humidity.

We decided to eat dinner at the Hungry Wolf, our first non Asian food for a couple weeks.  It is owned by an Aussie married to a “local girl”.  We couldn’t go for the Aussie style burger with beet root, egg and bacon on it.  We decided on pizza and Stromboli.  It may be one of the fewer chances for non noodles and rice for awhile after we go into Laos.

We only stayed one night in Chiang Rai, but we liked the feel of this smaller town…and the prices.  This could be a cool spot to hang your hat for a while longer than a day!

Chiang Khong

Onto our last destination in Thailand, Chiang Khong. It will be our launching point into Laos and eventually down the Mekong river to Luang Prabang.

En route to Chiang Khong we made a couple temple stops, just outside of Chiang Rai.  I know, too many Chiangs, lol.

An amazing stop was at the White Temple, Wat Rong Khum.  The temple was rebuilt on 1997, heavily damaged in an earthquake in 2014, and continues to be built, all by a private owner. 

The temples and grounds are amazing.  Very detailed and Gaudi like.  Sort of like the Sagrada Familia of Barcelona Spain!  Apparently the construction plan is similar with building to continue for decades!

Next stop, Wat Hyua Pla Kang, a very large Buddha, (understatement!) female Buddha over 250 feet tall.  When completed it will have elevators through the middle and windows facing each direction, including windows in its eyes.  The pagoda and adjacent temples near the Buddha are impressive, as well. 

The village of Long Neck is the next stop. This is a community of the Karen Long Neck that are a tribal group.  They have historically lived in the hills on the Myanmar (formerly Burma) side of the Thai border.

The Karen women wear heavy brass rings around their necks, forearms, and shins. These heavy brass rings push their shoulders down, making their necks appear longer.  Many women we saw still wore these rings, we heard due to tradition. 

After visiting the Long Neck village we completed a nearly three hour drive to Chiang Khong.  We settled in for our last evening in Thailand at the Day Waterfront Hotel, right on the Mekong River, with a view to Laos across the water. Mr. and Mrs. Day are wonderful hosts at this nice hotel.

We strolled down the main street in Chiang Khong and stopped for a Chang and Singha Beer at Rin’s Place.  We enjoyed some great conversation with Rin on many topics, wishing we had more time to spend here!

The final Thai dinner we had at Thai Jam was outstanding.  Egg rolls, tom yum soup and chicken cashew…probably the best we have had in Thailand. The tom yum soup was spicy.  I must say it was a wise move to order it medium hot!

We wish we had more “Thailand time” but we are looking forward to our Laos adventure in the morning down the Mekong River! We have wonderful memories of Thailand and hope to return to this beautiful country in the future.

And a few more pics…