Culturally different from Phuket and Bangkok, Chiang Mai is far more laid back and less touristy and definitely my favourite place in Thailand. I was not surprised when we had to remove our shoes to enter a wat (temple) but pleasantly surprised when asked to remove our shoes when entering some restaurants and even some stores. We stayed at the Chiang Mai Plaza Hotel minutes away from the Night Market. The hotel is one of the older hotels in Chiang Mai and has traditional Thai decor but somehow seemed too quiet and empty. Many of the vendors and taxi drivers complained that there were far less tourists and that business was slow. We took day trips to see Chiang Rai, Doi Inthanon national park, Wat Phathat Doi Suthep, Hang Dong handicraft village and the local hill tribe villages. In Northern Thailand, several tribes have relocated from Burma and China and unfortunately since they are not Thai citizens, they are restricted to their villages. The villages however are well maintained but I'm sure they would be prefer to be free and live in their homeland. Many sell handicrafts and the Thai government charges money for entering their villages. In the evenings we had dinner and strolled at the night market.One evening we went to a Khantoke dinner, they served a traditional northern Thai dinner on the floor later followed by music and dance which was entertaining however the food was not very good. It was chilly in Chiang Mai and we needed light sweaters during the day and night, but the cooler weather made it easier to sight see, Bangkok was very hot and we found our visits to Ayuthaya and the Grand Palace to be very tiring because of the heat.
Mr Lee Company made the van arrangements for us, he was trustworthy, friendly and reasonably priced. We took hundreds of pictures in Chiang Mai, I took the same picture multiple times with different aperture or shutter speed and drove the family insane. By the end of the Chiang Mai trip, the children were overdosed with sightseeing and ready to relax in Phuket.
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| At the Khantoke dinner |
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| With one of the dancers at the Khantoke dinner |
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| The bamboo stick dance performance by children |
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| Two Pagodas at the Doi Inthanon National Park. |
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| Hill Tribe market |
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| Two Pagodas park |
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| At the Hmong tribal village . Picture of tourists dressed up in the hill tribe costume. |
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| Poppy flower |
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| Hmong shopkeeper |
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| Hmong games |
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| Wat Doi Suthep dancers |
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| Wat Doi Suthep |
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| Waterfall near Doi Inthanon Park |
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| White Temple in Chiang Rai |
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| Golden Triangle - Thailand, Burma, Laos borders. This used to be a huge opium trade center. |
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| Night Market in Chiang Mai |
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| Night Market |
