Welcome to Chiang Mai

The flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai was on time and in a small little Boeing 717 plane. For an hours’ flight we were still served snacks (hot noodles – mmm!). It almost felt as if we took off, reached a decent height and then flew back down. I got some cool photos of the sky above the cloud.

We landed at 10:30 AM and took a taxi from the airport to our hotel (B140), the Baan Orapin. It’s a bed and breakfast place and we had a really nice room, with a sitting area and a porch! The property is lush green and extremely beautiful.

After settling down, we were famished and so we headed into the city to get some lunch. We were in mood for some Indian, but the LP-suggested place did not exist where it should have. No one on the street had even heard of it. Instead we stumbled upon the Gallere Restaurant (no spelling mistake) by the river and they made some tasty green curry and fried rice for us. We really enjoyed lunch overlooking the Mae Ping river.

We walked back to our hotel and on our way back Heena picked up some “awala” and we also got an ice-cream (the weather was hot) from a 7-11. We were glad when we got back to our hotel, since it just started to rain for a bit; which was good since it cooled things down a bit.

As soon as the rains stopped, we headed out again. We decided to visit the Hindu temple in Chiang Mai. It was really quiet when we got there and so Heena and I spent some time quietly in the peace of the temple. Later we chatted with a gentleman who is from Chennai but lives in Chiang Mai and works as a Yoga teacher. Just general talk his impressions of Chiang Mai (all positive). After a while, we met someone who spoke to us about Sanatana Dharma and put forth his point of view on the need of a guru and why one must follow the path of Sanatana Dharma. I did not agree with almost any of his points, but he did not give me a chance to put forth my views, which was good because I was not in a mood to get into one of those pointless endless philosophical debates. I heard him out, said goodbye and left.

We left the temple and headed towards the night market. It was nearing dinner time, so we got some Indian food, Noodles and Felafel (really good) at the night market food stalls. Afterwards, I mostly followed Heena around as she made her round of the stalls. She was so happy bargaining and checking things out. I was in no mood for taking any photos so I just walked about soaking in the place. It’s quite touristy, and so are the prices. Fun, nevertheless.

Around 9:30 pm, I was bored. So we made our way back to the hotel. On the way we saw a lot of people bursting crackers by the river. They were doing it right by the firecracker vendors and some power cables.

Got home, watched some Indian Music Channel (I watched more hindi songs on this trip than I have in the past 5 years), fell asleep almost instantly.

Initial Chiang Mai Impression: Chiang Mai was love at first sight. It’s like a small (3^rd tier) city in India. People here are friendlier than in Bangkok. Even the style in which they say “Sawathee kaa” is so sweet. There is a touch of true hospitality and welcoming in this place. The people just seem much more innocent. There is much less pollution and madness in this city. During the day, this place is quiet, but at night, life starts and it’s market is buzzing with activity. There is also a lot of activity near our hotel due to Loy Krathong. We’re in love with this place!