Chiang Mai 11th to 15th October

Much like Hanoi, Chiang Mai just seemed welcoming from the moment we arrived. We werw staying in the old town, a mile and a half square inside the old city walls. You can't walk more than 100 yards without passing a temple, and within hours, a local Buddhist had filled us in on the best ones to visit, and the best way to get cheap fares around. It's that friendly.

The original temple was HUGE, but then an earthquake made it just big

Jenny disapproves

 

We went to the Night Market by 'tuk-tuk' (a motorbike with a couple of seats attached to the back) in the evening. Ben bought vests (shock!) and on 'Halal Street', the Muslim section of the market we bought the tastiest and hottest dish made from rice balls, made fresh in front of us.

A picture cannot capture the sheer amount of chilli in this!

We washed it down with much needed Tiger beer, and watched a fan dancer in the middle of the market. The beer was lovely, and the fan dancing odd, but very watchable.

 

 Later in the week, we arranged a trek through our guesthouse, involving an elephant ride, which was a little scary, as our elephant liked running up hills to fetch bamboo, but brilliant;

There are very few pictures where Ben isn't looking terrified...

This was followed by a trek through the jungle, with our guide Neo. He was a very funny chap, and had loads of info on the local wildlife (and what it tasted like!). We saw a chameleon, which was bigger than expected;

Some creepy spirit houses, where the local villages encourage evil spirits to stay out;

Shudder

A huge waterfall;

Some amazing views;

And rickety bamboo bridges;

We stopped off for a swim in a little lagoon by a waterfall, which was much needed after the walk, and was beautifully secluded. On the way to get some lunch, our tour guide showed us how to blow bubbles using plant sap!

 

After lunch, we went down the river on bamboo rafts. Ours was piloted by a 10 year old boy who liked hitting rocks!

And then we went and drank a lot of mojitos. There is so much more that's brilliant about Chiang Mai, but I think this post is now a little long. So I'll just put some food pictures to sum up the rest!

Mussaman curry in a coconut

Som Tam (papaya salad)