Escape to Chiang Mai

We usually miss out the Saturday walking market as it’s very busy and shoulder to shoulder people. If you are anyway claustrophobic it would be a nightmare but the city seems quieter than normal so we chanced it and went in early. This is quieter believe it or not..

There are very few Europeans or non Asian people here at the moment it might be the strong baht or that it’s just a couple of weeks earlier than we normally arrive. The food is always good and plenty of things to buy and wonder at.

People here are so creative.

A young entrepreneur selling off his toys

Because there is no welfare state people have to find other ways to raise cash. We have seen these guys many times, all blind who sit in a row in the middle of the market and play instruments and sing.

Many Thai people give small amounts of money to them and so do the visitors. It makes you realise what a great social service we have at home and that people who moan have no idea how life can be so hard. There are many with no legs, no arms victims of land mines and work accidents all trying to make a few baht without begging. There are very few beggars most try and sing, entertain or make items. There is absolutely no social safety net for these people only the goodness and generosity of the Thai people.

We hadn’t been out into the mountains so decided to do the Samoeng loop which goes all around Doi Suthep (the main mountain in CM) and is a very scenic route which takes about 3 hours. Once you are out of the city and past all the zip line, monkey shows, elephant tours, snake farm tourist attractions it’s bliss. Locals just doing their thing passing all the fruit growers and little rural markets, it’s heavenly.

The aromas of cooking and produce, animals and life itself surrounds you. Now I feel at home, this is what we really enjoy.

This is how the Thais like their Sunday lunch with the family. There are many small rivers around the mountain and you find them with little seating platforms which hang over the river.

You order your food and sit on the platforms. Kids play in the water it’s a fun day out. Everything revolves around food in Thailand

We stop at a Temple every year to see how it’s progressing. It’s now covered in scaffolding for its paint job, the inside is mostly finished. Another couple of years and it might be done.

Another really blingy Temple, full of mirrors is also on our way back so we stopped and looked. When we last came it was still being built and a lot of women work on the building sites, mostly Burmese they work really hard. It’s finished and looking good.