Chiang Mai Charms

We took the shortish yet interesting flight experience to Chiang Mai with HKExpress, one of Hong Kong's low cost airlines. I can't disagree it was low cost indeed, however they contacted us 24 hrs before the flight to say that it was to be delayed by three hours. So was that either very bad planning or did they have some kind of aviation type crystal ball where they could see into future aircraft movements. The main difference it made to our trip was, that instead of arriving mid evening, we now were scheduled to arrive after midnight, not ideal on such a short trip.

I digress, our transfer was waiting for us at the airport, and we were soon on our way on the short trip to the hotel, Le Meridien, just outside the old town centre of Chiang Mai. Check in in was efficient, and our room, clean, spacious, well appointed, and quiet. It had been over 20 years since we first visited Chiang Mai, albeit very briefly on a tour of Northern Thailand, but we did remember it had a good feel to it, and we were looking forward to getting out and about to see how much had changed over the years

After a leisurely breakfast, with real bacon too, we wandered outside the hotel to be met by a few tuk-tuk drivers offering their services. Tempting though it was we decided to take a walk through the streets to the old town. The weather was sunny, very hot, so we had to frequently stop for refreshment (always a good excuse for cake), with many of the coffee shops doing a nice line in real fruit smoothies, and air conditioned eateries, what's not to like.

We were told that there are over 150 temples around Chiang Mai, and that morning I think we saw quite a few of them, unless you have a keen interest to visit any in particular, my advice would be just to get out and walk about, if you don't like the temple you are in, walk a little further and there will be another. It's quite scary how much ground you can cover while just on a wander, with no particular plan, and as we had planned to visit the night market , we wanted to make our way back to the hotel, and get some respite from the heat.

The hotel pool was a welcome relief for an hour just as the sun was starting to go down over the nearby hills, a lovely way to spend an afternoon. What I omitted from saying was that the hotel was situated right on the corner of one of the main night market areas, so we didn't have to venture far to make our visit. It was full of the usual goods you'd expect to see in any Asian night market. Clothing, artwork, jewelry, and all the other things you think is a great idea to buy on holiday and realise when you get them home, you'll never use or wear, but it is good fun to look, enjoy some banter with the locals and hone up your bartering skills. As it happened we did buy some carved soap (as you do) for relatives back home..oh and a suitcase, and a few tshirts....so even we, as seasoned travellers, were still taken in by its charms.

The following day was just as warm and humid as the first, so we decided to do as little walking as possible, listening to what services the tuk-tuk drivers were offering. What became quickly apparent was once you showed interest their bargain basement prices of yesterday had disappeared and we were now talking big money for a trip. So we decided to give those a miss and walked to a temple near the hotel which we had overlooked yesterday. When we came out a driver approached us and asked if we wanted a drive around, which of course we did, and he gave us a good price,, all of 100 baht, for one hour, which I am ashamed to say is around £2..and we haggled for that.

He was very knowledgeable, said he had been a monk, and took us to some amazing temples, like the one made of silver which we would never have attempted to find if left to our own devices. After a tour of three temples and a short, fast city tour (there is no other speed setting on a tuktuk) we asked to be dropped in the old town, and made our own way back to the hotel.

I had to make preparations to leave early, as my wife was staying for a work conference for another two days, where I feared for our bank balance, her being let loose in a night market, unsupervised. The ride back to the airport was quick and cool. One word of advice at Chiang Mai airport, all your luggage is screened at the door, so you have to queue to enter the building. Don't do the typically British thing of politely standing, waiting, hoping someone will let you in. If you see a way in, go for the gap, if you don't, someone else will. The flight departed as per schedule and in no time I was back in Hong Kong, quite sad the trip was short, but knowing it wasn't too far away if we wanted to make a return trip.

On one final, personal note, anyone who has read previous blogs or knows anything of me, knows I am passionate about safe guarding wildlife, and sharks and elephants in particular.

There are all sorts of excursions available to take from Chiang Mai, many of them include elephant experiences, the best one of these is www.elephantnaturepark.org. it promotes animal well being and husbandry, it does NOT promote elephant riding, and you should really consider not supporting the places that do.

Just saying!