09.11 Doi Suthep Temple !!! Or not ?!

The plan for today was clear, but things turned out differently than expected.

Rent a scooter, visit the most famous temple in Chiang Mai, Doi Suthep, and drive back to the hotel.

While having a leisurely breakfast, I discuss the plan with Grandma. She has little interest in temples since her first visit to Thailand, so I decide to explore it alone. After the hotel provides me with a good scooter rental address, I take an Uber driver to the city for 65 baht.

Once there, I first rent a regular scooter for a day.

I try to avoid the heavy traffic as much as possible and prefer to ride on narrow streets. Suddenly, a police checkpoint! Luckily, I have my international driver's license with me, so I pass through. I hear someone from the group of three in front of me say, "Well, the €15 was worth it, right?". "Ah, Germans," I think to myself as I follow them. When they stop again, I approach them. Their destination is NOT the temple, but a village that requires a longer drive. I think, "Why not?" and follow them. Once we arrive at the village, we introduce ourselves. Ulrike and Sharon (both 23) and Heinrich (23, engineer). Together, we explore the beautiful, tourist-free, and extremely remote village and search for a temple that Sharon is eager to see.

After lunch, we head to a waterfall but realize that we don't have enough time. Instead, we decide to make a detour to a nearby and relatively unknown lake reservoir. The best decision of the day! During our stroll around the lake, we discover a small restaurant where we dine on rafts. Since we are all hungry, we order plenty of food and enjoy the cozy atmosphere until a park employee chases us away (the park closes at 6 pm). I say goodbye to my new acquaintances and ride home in just 25 minutes at dusk. It was a super interesting and spontaneous day, and I learned that things always turn out differently than planned.