Chiang Mai!

I hopped on an overnight train from Bangkok and arrived in Chiang Mai early yesterday morning, successfully getting a room at A Little Bird Guest House, a place a friend had recommended me to go. Turned out to be a good find. Excellent place to meet people, and at 120 Baht a night for a dorm, Kyle is happy. The train ride up here made me question why the hell I had been taking buses so much in the south when the trains in Thailand are obviously ok. Pure luxury compared to India. My AC sleeper car was very nice and clean, and the conductor even makes and strips your bed for you! The food was a little expensive, but you get a lot and it's quite good.



So far Chiang Mai is in my cool books. It's the second biggest city in Thailand at roughly 150,000 people, but it still has a small city feel to it. On my first stroll around the city I ended up wandering into a Wat (temple) and ended up sitting in a lecture from a Buddhist Monk, which was really cool. It was interesting hearing the rundown on Buddhism straight from the horses mouth. That night I cruised up and down the Sunday night market last night with a couple other Canadians I met in my Guest House. It seems to sprawl on forever, covering three or four city blocks, not including the cross streets. The food there was amazing, I ate the cheapest sushi I've ever had, pigged out on Thai sweets, and even braved trying a fried cricket. I wouldn't go as far as recommending it.



Tomorrow I head out an one day jungle trek/elephant ride/white water rafting trip, so there will be another blog post, if I survive...