Escape to Chiang Mai

We’re having Christmas in Chiang Mai with warm weather, huge smiles and way less stress. We came away feeling under the weather so this is the perfect spot for not doing very much. None of that rushing around like a headless chicken the day before looking for last minute sprouts, roses chocolates and sellotape! It’s chilled and calm with the odd Christmas tree and decorations. The bars and restaurant owners are all wearing red velvet reindeer antlers and being very jolly. Thais love a celebration.

I really do miss the large family and friends Christmas dinner gatherings of yesteryear but for me, now, this is the place. Thais don’t do Christmas but they love to join in and make it fun.

The city and surrounds is boisterously busy with traffic, out of town cars, a squillion bikes it’s like whacky races, lots of people milling around.

We have visited a Thai style car boot which was fun and different just out of town. Some very interesting items and a ton of stuff which should have gone straight in a skip. It was fun to look around

Jing Jai, which is a makers’ market we really like, was heaving with people. Never seen it so busy, shoulder to shoulder people, vloggers , meanderers, space cadets not knowing where they are going so we plan to return in the New Year. Way too many people.

We needed to get out of the city so went for a long bike ride out. We have a friend with us, Andy, we headed off into the mountains.

Cool mountain air on deserted winding roads, the air like champagne for your lungs. I need it at the moment I’ve had an everlasting cough, I still sound like a honking goose.

We always like to go off the main mountain roads through the Hmong villages passing all the orange groves, well off the beaten track. It’s deserted on the roads apart from trucks carrying oranges, cabbages and other produce. The orange harvest is just in, lovely. 60p a kilo for juicy lush orangeness. It’s now their winter so they are now growing tomatoes and strawberries.

There is a tiny coffee shop which serves an excellent iced coffee and has a bathroom, bonus or it’s a pee in the woods!

Just after leaving the cafe pottering along, a really cute puppy comes loping along eyes wide, tail like a helicopter joyously approaching us then another 2 arrived, equally giddy. Hard not to say hello really. It was a good day out.

We now have an apartment. We loved the hotel we’d stayed in for years but needed more space and a COMFY SOFA woo hoo, which we now have and a small kitchen. This is the view from the roof terrace, a view of Doi Suthep.

The mountain has 2 temples a big highly regarded blingy one at the top and the ‘secret temple’, my favourite, half way down. It had a football sized crowd there a few days ago so it isn’t so secret anymore!

The mountain is 1,676 metres high and has an enormous zoo, a large university campus with a large reservoir and an arboretum. The King has one of his many palaces tucked away up there with a helicopter landing pad, you can go in the gardens it’s called Bhuping Palace. The mountain majestically overlooks the city.

It’s the Thai winter, high season for tourists in Chiang Mai. The Thais wear coats and hats and even the dogs join in.

The temperature is 28 degrees daytime and 16 at night, I’m English and that’s pretty damn good. Accommodation in January and February is very affordable, great food, lots to do. What are you waiting for, got to be worth a try 😎

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year.