Back in Thailand: Chiang Mai & Pai

After another day in bustling Hanoi, we left the city by local bus towards the airport. The journey took about an hour and ended at the Domestic Terminal. Due to the overpriced taxi fares, we walked to the International Terminal (about 1km). After check-in and security control, we had our packed Banh Mi sandwiches. As expected, the airport food was ridiculously expensive (4-5 times more expensive than street food).

The flight to Chiang Mai took 1.5 hours and was smooth. From the airport, we took a Grab taxi to the city. Our hotel, or rather our hut, was very small but clean. For dinner, we had red curry. We were looking forward to the delicious Thai food and were not disappointed. Unlike the south of Thailand, the prices in the north are much lower.

Chiang Mai made a good first impression on us. The small old town is surrounded by a wall and a parallel moat. Inside the ancient city walls, there are many temples (there are about 200 temples in Chiang Mai, many of them are in the old town), restaurants, cafes, markets, etc. Compared to Hanoi, Chiang Mai felt calm and peaceful. But this might also be because of the low season. Not many tourists travel to the northern capital in May. The heat and rain make travel difficult.

On the first day, we visited the Grand Canyon of Chiang Mai. We were looking forward to cooling off and set off right after breakfast. The Grand Canyon is about 17km south of Chiang Mai and was easily reached by motorbike. For the first time, we were glad that Mathias had obtained an international driver's license. Shortly after we left, we were stopped by the police. We don't know exactly what happens if you don't have one. Presumably, a fine has to be paid. This would definitely be much higher than in Vietnam.

The Canyon used to be a former gravel pit. Apparently, stones were taken from here for the expansion of the Chiang Mai airport runway. The excavator tracks are still clearly visible. Over time, the excavations filled up with heavy rainfall during the rainy season. In some places, the water is up to 40 meters deep. With an outside temperature of almost 40 degrees, we were looking forward to the cool water. Unfortunately, the water was not really cold. But the swim was still refreshing. After the swim, Mathias conducted the first test flight with his new drone. He bought it on the last day in Hanoi. Flying it turned out to be surprisingly easy. However, recording a good video is a tricky task. We are happy that we can now also include aerial footage in our blog. :-)

Time passed quickly and we returned to the city. In the evening, we strolled through the streets. From 6:00 pm, many streets in the city center were closed off for the weekly Sunday market. The huge market offered surprisingly many useful and beautiful things - leather-bound diaries (handmade), paintings, wood carvings, silver prints, bags, all kinds of clothes, etc. We let ourselves get carried away by the crowd and bought snacks here and there. The food at the market was fantastic. There was even a small stage set up in one street. Singing and dancing took place here. Even the little ones had their own performance.

On the second day, we visited the Bhubing Palace, located on a hill outside of Chiang Mai. We explored the entire park area on foot. Unfortunately, the palace could only be admired from the outside. However, the small botanical garden was open. We continued to the Hmong village. It is a small mountain village that has been overrun by tourism in recent years. We didn't find the village authentic. Souvenir shops lined the way through the village. We stayed only briefly and drove back the same way to Wat Doi Suthep. The temple was completely golden. We liked that many locals come here to pray. The atmosphere was very pleasant. From the viewpoint, we could overlook Chiang Mai.

On the following day, we drove to Pai, a three-hour drive away, with a scooter. The road there was steep and winding, but extremely well built. Both the road conditions and the driving behavior of the riders are very different from Vietnam. Everything runs relatively smoothly in the north of Thailand. While we enjoyed the breeze, after three hours on a scooter, our behinds were quite sore! That's why we took a short break halfway - the blood circulation had to be restored. Shortly before Pai, we visited the Pai Canyon. It is a kind of rock formation in the middle of nowhere. We flew the drone at the canyon. It was incredibly hot. So we decided not to do a circular hike. After a delicious meal at a roadside stall, we continued our journey to Pai. The small town 'in the mountains' is especially popular with hippies. It is a quiet place to relax and feel good. We had reserved a room at Jan's Guesthouse in advance. It turned out that the room was a tiny hut. The furnishings reminded us very much of our grandmother's time - we affectionately called the room 'a dream in pink'. The saggy bed was surprisingly comfortable. Cost: 6 francs per night. Every evening, there is a night market in Pai. At a roadside stand, we ate one of the best green curries ever for very little money. Shortly after dinner, heavy rain started. We found shelter in a small bar.

The next day, we had a wonderful breakfast at a nice restaurant. It is run by a young Danish woman who bakes fresh bread every day. It was really delicious. Bread is one of those products that we miss. Strengthened, we drove to the bamboo bridge about 17km away. During the rainy season, visiting this attraction must be spectacular. The path runs two meters above ground through the rice fields. During our visit, it was a dry wasteland. The next stop was the white Buddha. Andrea put on the long robes and climbed the stairs to the temple. Mathias preferred to wait downstairs in the shade. The Buddha was beautiful, but the view was not sensational. We spent the rest of the day at the 'fluid pool' near the city. It is a large swimming pool. The water was not cold, but still pleasantly refreshing. In the evening, we returned to the street stall from the previous evening - the food was once again very good.

Early in the morning, we set off on the journey back. We made a short stop for breakfast at the Witch Cafe. By noon, we were back in Chiang Mai. After lunch, we went to the bus terminal and bought a ticket to Chiang Rai. Unfortunately, most buses were fully booked, so we had to wait four hours at the bus terminal.

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