Ferg & Jude\'s Thailand Adventure 2002

Friday 8th November
Chiangmai orientation

After settling in to the Lai Thai Guesthouse we went for a orientation walk through the town. Found a beautiful Wat built in the 1500's called "Wat Pan On". Grabbed a tuk-tuk down to the Mae Nam Ping River and went in search of the Riverside Guesthouse. Checked out the rooms and decided to book for the next night. (400bt inc. breakfast). It's a family run guesthouse with a lovely garden and the rooms were clean with air con and hot water. It is well positioned within easy walking distance of the night markets and right on the river. We got side tracked in the night markets on the way back to the Lai Thai. Bought some trinkets, downed a couple of Singha beers and sampled some of the delicious Thai food on offer.

Saturday 9th November
Doi Sutep

Up early for breakfast then caught a songthaew to the bus station where other songthaews leave for Doi Sutep. We had to bargain hard, probably not hard enough, we paid 300bt for a return trip. It was a pleasant trip up the mountain and there were numerous vendors situated at the base of the 300 steps up to the temple with dragons on either side. It was worth the climb, fantastic gold Buddhas, umbrellas and chedi. There was some sort of celebration on that day and there were lots of school bands playing musical instruments.

We left our shoes outside the Wat and wandered around inside. It had beautiful carved wooden doors. In the grounds there was a magnificent row of gold bells. The view from the mountain top of Chiangmai was spectacular although a little hazy on the day. Our songthaew driver was waiting for us when we came down and dropped us back to the Lai Thai Guesthouse.

We grabbed our bags and got a tuk-tuk to the Riverside Guesthouse. Once checked in we took a walk along the river and crossed over on a footbridge to the Warorot Markets. Lots to look at, 3 floors of everything you can imagine. This market is aimed more for the Thais than the tourists and is a lot more interesting than the night markets.

Later that night we walked back along the river to a nice restaurant called "The Goodview". It was very pleasant sitting out on the veranda overlooking the river. We ate too much, food was delicious and decided to walk it off. Went down the river again and back over the footbridge. Found a wonderful flower market, the colours were fantastic. Pity we hadn't taken our camera. Eventually we came to the night market, there was so much to see. Many local handicrafts, wooden carvings, laquerware, handmade baskets, embroidered jackets, handwoven silk scarves and clothing. Our feet finally gave out and we headed back to the Riverside for a cool drink in the serene garden and a well deserved sleep.