Chiang Mai is the second biggest city in Thailand and certainly has it all. The old city is a manageable size and visually pleasing square region with a moat and remnants of the old wall. It certainly caters to tourists as there is a great night bazaar, plenty of bars, restaurants, coffee shops, hotels and even sadly a McDonald's and a Burger King. However it feels much more local and Thai compared to Bangkok as there are few tall buildings. It's a city for action and an adventure enthusiasts base camp. There are tours for all types of excursions from trekking to extreme sports such as bungee jumping, zip lining, 4-wheeling, dirt biking, paint balling and more. It seems like a great place for a bachelor party.
We got to town early after not really sleeping on our night bus from Udon Thani. Upon arriving at our guesthouse, Hollanda Montri, we were relieved our room was ready. We cleaned up and borrowed the 'free' bikes that required a 500 baht deposit (the bikes were barely worth that much). We spent over a half hour trying to find bikes that functioned properly and finally settled on two mountain bikes.
We visited the two most popular wats (temples) and found The Vegetarian Society that had incredibly cheap meals. Alex was in heaven.
We had been contemplating doing the famous Mae Hong Son motorbike loop from Chiang Mai around northwest Thailand but first wanted more information. We visited a bunch of rental shops and inquired about bikes, cost, routes, etc. We were convinced.
Next stop: the Mae Hong Son motorbike loop.
No comments:
Post a Comment