CHIANG MAI CITY OF DRAGONS
After arriving to Chiang Mai by train from Bangkok we were welcomed by a wall of heat.. Chiang Mai is in the far north of Thailand and renowned for its cool temperate climate... well at least for two months of the year, we happen to visit in one of the hotter months when daily temperatures are in the late 30´s... mid afternoon early evening can be quite unpleasant if you have to do anything physical.. better to just relax in the pool or head to the mountains... we did both oh and a little A/C from time to time.
 |
| Lili finds the perfect place to keep cool. |
We were staying with Carol a lovely American lady whom after 20 odd years living in Fiji has now retired to Thailand... we were couch surfing which is hit and miss to what you get, but its generally free... we have been very lucky so far with couch surfing and this occasion was no different. Carol let us stay in her spare room, with very comfortable beds and an on suite bathroom, even had a fan..perfect.. she then went even further as to invite us to stay for the entire time we were to stay in Chiang Mai, we accepted her invite for around 2 and half weeks. Thanks Carol!!
It seemed it wasn't just the weather that was hot in Thailand but politics as well and shortly after we arrived the army took a decisive move into the arena... originally not a coup d'etat it soon was with troops visible on the streets and a curfew put in place... for us being there it seemed very low key and did not effect us one little bit.. some of the messages some of our fellow travellers were getting from friends back home seemed a little more excited than was reality... get out now.. was one that I remember from one American friend...
 |
| No loose triggers boys! Children present |
We hired a moped to get around as parking in Chiang Mai is an art form, even if your into visualising that parking space just for you, you have little hope as there just are not any, mopeds however ..no problemo amigo! The moped we hired though did seem to have its own issues, constantly smelling of petrol, in the end it did break down and need to go to a garage, plus a puncture and running out of petrol twice, which I believe was not my fault but the bike losing fuel whilst being parked, others may disagree!
Chiang Mai is full of temples, and Starbucks according to one other visitor, I want to add dentists to that list. Sandrine took advantage of the good quality dentistry and very good prices, she now has new front teeth! The temples were not just in the city but outside in the countryside, one time I took the bike out for a cruise, drove into the middle of nowhere and suddenly came across a newly built 4 storey temple, accommodation etc... the only thing there was a dog, quite strange... Of all the temples and there weird and wonderful designs, colours and various animals dragons were the common factor.. Chiang Mai could be named city of dragons, there are hundreds. If stairs are needed to ascend to the temple then the dragons body will follow you all the way to the top with its head at the bottom facing you when you approach, a fierce looking security guard for sure.
Chiang Mai has zoos, safari parks and botanical gardens, that are well priced and offer a good day out for dad and his busy little daughter... Lili got to see some of her favourite cartoon friends up close and personal Kong Fu Panda was one of my favourites and hers too.
 |
| Feeding an animal with the longest tongue I had ever seen |
 |
| Lili meets Bambi |
Between dentist trips we decided to go to the mountains. Thailand's highest mountain is in the Doi In national park. Situated about 50km south of Chiang Mai we decided to take the Moped and spend a few nights in the park. We arrived at the foot of the park entry and the bike stopped working...trip to a local garage to replace a snapped drive belt.... better it happened at foot of mountain not halfway up... the mountain was pretty steep in places and at times I wondered if the bike would make it to the top, well on the first day it did.. it got us to the camp site, which is halfway to the top. The weather was refreshingly cool.. fortunately we had bought some rain protection at the bottom and it got used several times over the next few days... the wet season had arrived!! On our second day we attempted to get to the summit, which we did, just not on our bike... straining on an almost vertical climb, crawling at 4 or 5 km an hour, she just could not get up one final slope.. we went back to the checkpoint, the guard kindly offered the use of his bike.. we accepted and stood on the highest point in Thailand. Doi In is a national park and the forests are fantastic with plenty of bird life and great waterfalls to wonder at.`
 |
| Beautiful Sunbird |
 |
| View from the summit |
We had made a decision to go to Australia, largely based on very cheap air fare tickets becoming available.. so Australia in the winter!! Its been a while since I felt cold! In the meantime we have returned to our friends farm just outside of KL, and its raining...
