Day 6 (continued)

18th November

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Chiang Mai, Thailand

The flight for this leg of trip was with Air Asia. They had messed us around with a couple of our flights so we weren’t holding out much hope that they’d be a good shout. As it turns out they were. No BC now until the end of our travels so slumming it with everybody else in ‘coach’ .

We had a very pleasant flight, adding to it was the surprise (for both of us) that Gareth had booked emergency exit seats . He had also booked an inflight meal, unheard of on budget airlines nowadays. Very tasty it was too . There were lots of children on our flight though I have to say they were the happiest children I’ve seen for quite a while on a plane. We couldn’t help laughing about how happy they were and we weren’t the only ones .

The flight on our A320 was 3 hours long. We left behind the heavy rainclouds of Kuala Lumpur and flew into bright sunshine over mountain summits peaking through the clouds, verdent fields and winding rivers.

We hadn’t booked a transfer with this leg so approached a taxi stand in the terminal and asked how much to our – quite close – accommodation. Baht 300 was their reply – double what our Airbnb host had quoted – so we declined, and walked to another taxi stand whose static price for central Chiang Mai is Baht 150. As it was, he only asked for B120, and Gareth gave him B200.

Seems very generous until you realise the exchange rate is B100 = £2.25!

Whilst at the airport we bought a tourist simm for our dongle = B600 for 8 days (15GB). – £14.

Our little Airbnb is so central we can’t quite believe our luck. We also have a shared courtyard with the other bungalow – outside space is a luxury after hotel rooms with no balcony.

After setting down our bags, we trundled off to the popular areas, just down the road. It got dark really quickly and the traffic was very busy. All of a sudden we were in amongst food and clothes and trinket stalls. It was so busy.

We settled on a lovely old colonial style bar, right on the corner by one of the old city gates, got a table outside and watched this part of the world go by.

All manor of transport flew by, whilst pedestrians took their lives in their hands crossing the street, 4, 3 and 2 wheeled taxis dropped off and picked up passengers, tour coaches squeezed by – not sure the road is wide enough for them actually – and street food was bought and consumed while we drank a cold bottle of Chang beer .

We then walked down a side road and chose a very busy restaurant for dinner. Gareth chose Pad Thai with chicken and fried egg, some spring rolls and I chose spinach with scrambled egg and we shared the lot. All washed down with a beer for Gareth and a cocktail for me – long island iced tea? Very nice .

A big beer on the way home was B80 (£1.83) compared to B130 (£2.97) earlier .

Popping into a well stocked supermarket we picked up some yoghurt for breakfast and essential pet food .

Walking back the way we came, the traffic had died down and the market was a bit calmer, can’t wait to explore tomorrow

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Day 7.

19th November.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Today was a walking tour of temples and markets .

After feeding the cat we set off to find a suitable place for breakfast. We didn’t have to go far.

I used the app I had downloaded in Abu Dhabi to start us off. The walk took us past loads of Wats – Buddhist temples. They are very ornate, some really old and made of wood but still lovely inside. Some still have old Stupas in the grounds – a mound-like structure used for meditation.

The walk also took us past the monument to the three Laos kings who founded Chiang Mai. The square is used for celebrations during the year.

There are a few indoor markets, we visited one for a bit – it was so big we got a little claustrophobic and escaped to the open air.

All in all our walk, with a break was 5 hours and as we made our way home we started to flag. Just as we thought of getting a tuk tuk back we passed a small massage parlour and so stopped for a gorgeous foot massage.

Not sure what hurt more the massage or our aching feet! Those girls may be slight but, my goodness, are they strong. I resisted wincing as she dug her knuckles into my shins , but when done, we felt like we were floating on air and meant we didn’t need a lift home .

We had a siesta and then came back out to go to the Sunday night walking market.

Not sure how, but the guide took us to a closed market so we tuk tuked back to the old walls and the correct market.

My goodness, it is huge! Just goes on and on and on. Funny, the food courts are stalls set up in the grounds of the Wats. We stopped at one and had a noodle soup dish called Khao Soi. Delicious .

More browsing of the market followed, as expected you can buy almost anything there. Strangely though, they have strict rules including ‘no smoking’ and ‘no alcohol’. The Thai people are so polite, there is no badgering to get you to buy from them, it’s all very pleasant.

We happened upon the same bar we stopped in today, so stopped again for a nightcap. We were thinking of a tuk tuk home but now know we aren’t far.

We really like Chiang Mai, it’s compact and caters well for the numerous tourists we’ve seen. We would definitely like to return, maybe for a longer stay.

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