Onwards

It almost felt as if our trip had just begun when it was time to move on from Bangkok and move ahead on our journey, heading north to Chiang Mai.  We had an absolutely blissful experience flying Bangkok Airways (think lounge access, fresh tropical fruit on the flight and amazing customer service…nothing like what you experience in the States sadly) and arrived early in the day, with plenty of time to start exploring.

We both immediately noticed a big difference in the cities.  Bangkok is a huge city (think New York), surrounded by skyscrapers, condo buildings and shops galore.  Chiang Mai is a much smaller, more sleepy city, with no skyscrapers or condo buildings, more mountains and jungles.  A big shift in scenery, but also in the pace.  We both noticed that Chiang Mai had a more laid back and relaxed feeling to it.  A change that we were both happy to welcome.

We didn’t really have any exact plans for what to do in Chiang Mai, and perhaps that was a downfall for us.  I mean, we did have a list of Temples to visit, and a few excursions planned (more on these later), but we kind of figured that we could wander and just stumble across things to do as we had in Bangkok; but that was a little harder to do in Chiang Mai.  Even so, we made the most of our wandering, finding little local markets, stores with handmade goods and of course, lots of beautiful Temples.

We did our best with the food scene in Chiang Mai too; a mixture of exploring, asking locals and using the internet.  Sadly, for the most part the food left us wanting a bit, albeit one majorly delicious meal.  Bangkok was overflowing with street food, but Chiang Mai, not so much.  But, once we settled into the new pace of life here, and adjusted to the changes, we really enjoyed every moment and made the most of our time.

somewhat predictable, but yes, pad thai is my favorite noodle dish!

khao soi – a regional specialty (and favorite of the hubby)

the.best.pad.thai.

the hubby’s wide noodles with a sprinkle of good ol’ m.s.g. right on top

cooling off with a coconut ice cream

So aside from wandering, templing and eating, how did we spend our time in Chiang Mai?  Well, we mostly just relaxed.  We got massages, went to night markets, and when it rained, we split a beer and did as the locals do…nothing.

don’t let the simple exterior fool you,

Green Bamboo was the best massage we had in all of Thailand!

Our favorite of the night markets was the Saturday night market, which was much bigger than the markets the other nights of the week, and was truly a feast for the senses.  The shopping was about on par with all of the other markets, but the food was over the top.  Endless stalls grilling fresh seafood, selling tropical fruits, stir-frying noodles, frying chicken, selling curry dishes, sweets…an almost overwhelming amount of options (almost).

our selections: whole salt-crusted fish, and yes, more pad thai

mango sticky rice

I think that we both knew before we left for Thailand that our travel experience would be like no other, but it truly proved to be so.  Even incorporating pad thai into almost every meal, Chiang Mai (and Thailand) had already opened our eyes to so many new experiences, and yet in some ways it felt like the adventure was just beginning.