Chiang Mai

So we left KK, and flew into Bangkok for one night before heading north to Chiang Mai. We stayed in the place we were in last year, right near Khao San road, which of course we visited and bought cheap clothes and good food from. Yesterday, we hopped on a V.I.P. bus from Bangkok and drove ten hours to Chiang Mai, where we are now. That bus was nice. Lots of leg room and an attendant who served us coffee and snacks. All for about 25 US dollars. I think we're spoiled now; trying not to expect that every time!

We arrived last night and found a nice, kind of sparse, but clean hotel within the town. We didn't have to walk far to find some amazing Thai food and fruit shakes.

We are now in the middle of exploring Chiang Mai, which is such an incredible place. It's much more laid back than Bangkok, of course it's much smaller, about a million people or so. The city center is in a square surrounded by a moat. The old wall is visible in some parts. This city is famous for its handicrafts, made by numerous mountain tribes that surround the area. Lots of silver, umbrellas, and textiles. All are so beautiful. We're heading to a night market later on, and hopefully tomorrow we're going to ride elephants and bamboo rafts on a short day trip out of the city.

We've also booked a van/slow boat journey to Luang Prabang in Laos for a couple days from now. That was a relief, because once we got here, we realized that it might not be so easy to find an easily accessible place to cross into Laos. So now that's out of the way, we're having a great time relaxing and wandering the town.

More later!