Chiang Mai - Temples as far as the eye can see

After so many days on the beach, we decided that we need some culture and headed straight from Koh Samet via Bangkok up to Chiang Mai. Once more, we tried our friend the night train and were not disappointed. The train was on time and everything went well, no elephants in sight.

Right on our first day here, we ran into Thomas and Tony, whom we met on Seraya, Indonesia back in October. The world really is small!

Thomas, Matthias and Tony at Doi Suthep

You can do loads and loads of things in and around Chiang Mai, but since I had caught a cold on the way here from Koh Samet and had to spend quite a lot of time in bed trying to get well, we opted for the temples, markets and handicrafts. And Chiang Mai with surroundings sure have lots and lots of all three of them!
In this city, you have temples everywhere you look. It is just incredible, one more beautifully built than the other. As a tourist, you can literally spend hours and hours just exploring the temples.

Other main tourist attractions are the Saturday and Sunday Walking Streets, where you have an entire street blocked off from traffic and a wonderful market to stroll through. These markets open in the afternoon and go on until midnight, but after six or seven, they get so crowded that it is difficult to really enjoy shopping here. But the things on offer are very very nice and the food stalls are just brilliant. If you ever visit Chiang Mai on a weekend, these markets are definitely worth a visit!