Near the end of two and half weeks of travel through South East Asia, D and I found ourselves with a choice to make. We had gotten ourselves to Luang Prabang, but we weren't sure which direction to go next. We needed to end up in Bangkok about 4 days later, so we could either fly to Cambodia and spend too little time there, or we could head back into Thailand by plane or bus and see the well known northern city of Chiang Mai. We decided to fly to Chiang Mai, mostly because a 17 hour bus ride was at the end of the list of things I was interested in doing right then. We forked over 100 USD to the infamous Lao Airlines and spent only 1 hour in the air.
I had heard very good things about Chiang Mai before arriving. I was told that it was much smaller and less modern than Bangkok, and that it therefore felt much closer to traditional Thai culture. If you want to study the Thai language, Thai cooking or any other Thai art or sport, Chiang Mai is likely where you'll end up. Many small schools have opened there in the last 20 years to fill the tourists demand for studying authentic Thai culture.
The first thing I noticed off the plane was the slow pace of the city. In the few days we spent there, we only came across one major busy road. Though it is indeed a full-fledged city, Chiang Mai felt much more like a small town. The streets are not crowded, and people are friendly (There are friendly people in Bangkok too, but they are likely trying to sell you something). We were surprised at how laid back the Chiang Mai markets and restaurants really were.
Another thing the Chiang Mai area is known for is the tour package. Whether you want to go rafting, elephant riding or hiking among northern Thai villages, there is something for everyone. We opted to go on a one day tour that allowed us to do all three of those things. We started at an elephant park, where our group took a ride through the forest on elephant back. Then we went down a river on bamboo rafts. I nearly fell off about 8,000 times, but it was a great way to see what the bush looks like. We hiked through the forest to a waterfall, and later we toured around a village, where a native tribe has lived for hundreds of years. It was a day well spent and a great end to our vacation. Our pictures are here.
