Although Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand, it feels like a small town compared to Bangkok. It is pretty, walkable, and easy to get around. The city is marked by Doi Inthanon mountain in the distance at one end, and the Mae Ping river on the other–a local gave me that tip to always keep my bearings. After an intense month of volunteering and trying to absorb the situation at Mae Sot, we were pretty tired and ready for a vacation. With a week in Chiang Mai we were able to take it slow and spend a lot of time wandering around.
Our guesthouse in Chiang Mai was perfect–comfortable, clean, not expensive, run by such nice people. Korn and his wife organized all our activities for us. Korn even rented a tuk tuk to take us around so Jackson wouldn’t get carsick. (He did much better in the open air tuk tuks.)
Rachamankha Flora House
We spent our first day visiting Wat Doi Suthep, the temple at the top of the mountain right outside the city. The temple was impressive, with elements from different eras. We wished we had a good guide with us.
This hilltribe girl makes a living for her family looking cute for tourists on the steps of Wat Doi Suthep. The boys got so mad at me for contributing to her exploitation by taking her photo. I snapped it without thinking–she was so adorable. Now, of course, we think more about these issues, even though the answers are not always so clearcut.
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