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| A trip to Chiang Rai isn't complete without taking in a Temple or two and they always look impressive at night, all lit up! |
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Chiang Rai
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Leaving Chiang Mai and Thailand
After 3 and a half weeks in Chiang Mai we found it hard to leave. The people at the Prince Hotel where next to family to us and relaxing around the pool had become habitual. I, more than Ken, am getting anxious to see new sights and move on to other countries. Meanwhile, our last week in Chiang Mai was spent seeing a few of the tourists sights, namely the umbrella factory and the silk factory. The city is getting very busy, December is high season here and now they are getting ready for the 'Loi Krathong Festival' or the 'Festival of Lights' which is celebrated on the full moon in November (the 28th this years). This is celebrated by floating little boats made of bamboo, or leafs etc with candles and incense inside of them down the river, lots of fireworks and sending hot air lanterns up into the sky. Although Chiang Mai has the largest festival in Thailand we will miss it because our visa will be expiring on the 29th and we have to leave the country. So... we left Chiang Mai yesterday and took the Vip bus(air-con, snacks, and oversized seats) to Chiang Rai. Chiang Rai is a city we visited on our last trip but more importantly it is the stepping stone to the 'Slow Boat' down the Mekong River to Laos. Two days motoring in a long tail boat just us and 80 or so other tourists, sounds interesting...we shall see.
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| Ken watches our lantern fly up into the night sky. If it crashes it is bad luck for you but if it floats up, up and away(like ours did) it is good luck! |
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| Getting a nightly massage can become a habit. At the Sunday night market a foot, back and shoulder massage costs 120B, about four dollars. |
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| As part of the "Festival of Light" very colourful lanterns are hung around the doors and terraces. |
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| A look down at the center of the Chinese marketplace. I think the total floor space of Chiang Mai's Chinese market would give the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul a run for its money. |
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| The many threads of silk from the silk worms cacoon make up the one single strand of silk thread. |
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Two Weeks in Chiang Mai
It is hard to believe we have been in Chiang Mai for 2 weeks already. Having been here before, we have seen a lot of the sights(any that would interest us anyway)so we have been laying low enjoying the markets, getting the odd massage(you really have to like these), walking around the old town, and reading by the pool...oh ya, and making a return visit to the zoo and the aquarium. We have only clocked about 150 km on 2 wheels(scooters)but as I said we are relaxing with a capital R. We have our favourite places to eat...M&M restaurant, just around the corner from our hotel, and Tips smoothie stand in one of the local markets in the old town. There is a lot of vehicle traffic here, be it car, truck, tuk tuk or moped so walking is not that easy on the busy roads and the the fumes can be a bit much, but we seem to get around o.k. The trick is to get up early if you want to walk for exercise and walk in the old town on the small streets if you just want to get out.
We don't seem to be in any hurry to leave 'The Prince Hotel', the staff are great and life is easy. However, the visitor visa is only for 30 days so we will have to look at a map and decide where we will go next.
We don't seem to be in any hurry to leave 'The Prince Hotel', the staff are great and life is easy. However, the visitor visa is only for 30 days so we will have to look at a map and decide where we will go next.
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| While on ride in the country we came across these and about 12 other ladies sitting in the water fishing for something. They showed us their catch and sure enough they were collecting tiny, tiny fish in wicker baskets. It would take for ever to accumulate enough for a meal and boy their fingers and toes must get pruney! |
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| One of the friends we made at the zoo. Ken was feeding him bananas. |
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| The "Flower Festival" was just finishing up in the beginning of November , and we caught a few of the displays at the mall. |
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| In the aquarium, sometimes it's hard to tell which end is up! |
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| Inside 'the tunnel' in the aquarium which makes its way through a huge pool full of every type of saltwater fish you could think of. |
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| A look down one of the many alleys at the fruit and vegetable market, open 24 hours a day. |
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| Momma and baby at the zoo. |
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| Brightly coloured clothes make the monks very easy to pick out of a crowd, and there are a lot of them here ...of all ages. |
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| Again...the aquarium...half fish-half frog. |
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| Guess where? Too many cool things to see. |
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| Another friend at the zoo, aint he cute. |
 Wats are all over the city, some old and some new but all are definately something to see. |
Sunday, November 4, 2012Thailand Here We Come! Well, here we are on another leg of our trip, without a motorbike!!! Thanks to Franz and Sabine for helping us with last minute flight details and getting us to the airport on time. We threw Qatar Airlines: Frankfurt-Doha-Bangkok-Chiang Mai, what a great flight(as great as being on a plane for 18 hours can be). The service was outstanding, with good food, personal media centers, and seats big enough Ken could even stretch out, we will look for them again next time! Here in Chiang Mai, we are hold up at the Prince Hotel, the same place we stayed last time we were here(was it really close to 3 years ago). The price has gone up slightly, we are now paying close to $20 for our hotel with a pool, wifi, big room and a staff that is close to family. As we get used to the time change we are enjoying sleeping in, exploring in the old town, and cruising the night markets, not to mention that you really have to love the Thai food! A few months without a bike...well our own bike. We will rent scooters to explore the countryside but this trip will be a little bit different than the last 5 months.
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