Chiang Mai

Well, we finally made it to Chiang Mai, Thailand! It only took an 8 hour bus ride from Cambodia and a 17 hour train ride from Bangkok (was suppose to be 12)! It sounds worse than it actually was. The train we were on was a sleeper train, so we had a ‘room’ with four beds (bunk beds). We shared it with a couple from London and it was packed with young tourist/backpackers. We slept most of the way and then just kinda relaxed in bed and enjoyed the view as we cruised up to Northern Thailand.

Chiang Mai is in Northern Thailand and it is surrounded by mountains. Chiang Mai was built in 1296 and it was a walled city surrounded by a moat. Only parts of the old wall still remain now and are popular tourist attractions. Its main draws are the elephant parks, hippie vibe and old town feel. In 2012 TripAdvisor rated it as one of the top 25 destinations in the world.

So far we have experienced Chiang Mai’s laundry mat, some bike riding and their famous Sunday night market. It’s a cute little town and very easy to get around. We decided to rent bikes since it’s the easiest and most fun way to see a city!

The Sunday night market was pretty awesome! The whole town basically shuts down besides this one area where everyone gathers (25,000 people). It has music, shops, street perfomers and food. BONUS! We were able to sneak a peek of the sunset over the mountains and the market on top of our hotel!

The food in Thailand (and Cambodia too) is very fresh. They literally have everything and cook it up for you right then and there. Here are a few snapshots.