"Chiang Mai, the Northern attraction" Chiang Mai by PS_Lee81

I always wanted to visit Chiang Mai since i was in college... why? Because i heard Chiang Mai was a beautiful place, preserving the nature's beauty and also its own culture. I personally don't really like to visit a big city, a place packed with man, machine & concrete building... i rather like to go to sub-urban area where life's in a slower lane, a place with nice people, green surrounding...

Finally i got my chance to visit Chiang Mai when AirAsia again giving out free ticket to the first 500,000 (if i can still remember) lucky passangers. So the fellowhip of the tour began with 8 companions heading to Chiang Mai...

The first thing i noticed when i stepped my foot on Chiang Mai was the temperature was much more cooler then i expected. I thought August would be a hot and raining season. My friends keep saying it will be a very hot time to visit Chiang Mai in August... luckily the temperature turned out to be very great for me!

We checked in to a guesthouse named Daret's House & Restaurant, close to the Tapae Gate. The place was very clean and it worth every Baht that we paid. I was surprise when the owner speaked a much more better English than most of the peoples in Bangkok did...

Our songthaew driver listening carefully

Our journey began with Wat Phra Doi Suthep, Wat Chedi Luang and a walk around the old city. Along the way to Wat Phra Doi Suthep, I noticed the traffic in Chiang Mai wasn't that bad, although during the peak hour the road would be full with cars, tuk-tuks, songthaews and motorbikes. But it was only for temporarily about 15-30min... after that everythings went back to normal...

Our songthaew driver fetching us to Wat Phra Doi Suthep was really a good guy. Alghouth he can't speak English, but he tried his best to understand what we were saying. What ever we wanted, he followed. It was the smile in his face that made us feel warm...

A walked in the old city told a thousand stories... Looking at the old Wat Chedi Luang, we can imagine what actually happened to the temple and how it survived though the centuries. Around the wat, there were a few young monks cleaning the compound, while the elder monks were chatting with anyone who wanted to have a little chat with them. You can ask them about the religion, their life, Chiang Mai ancient story, etc... everyone was very friendly... Besides that, they even set up a few donation boxes for the dog!

While in the city, i noticed the streets were very clean... can't see any piece of paper/plastic or even cigaratte on the ground. I believe the religion & culture really played a very important role in their good life. On the road, you would see a lot of motorcyclists didn't wear helmet, eventhough it was illegal here... They wear helmet for their own safety, not because of the law. That's why enforcement was not really an issue here... Everybody just have to play their own part... As long as they do not do harm to others and keep the good thing in themselves, the whole community will be very great!

myself at the Karen Paduang Longneck village

it was a short one... 4D3N... what can i do? most of us can't really put a pause on their work... but anyway, i still enjoy a lot the stay in Chiang Mai...
Below were our trip schedules:

Day 1: Wat Phra Doi Suthep, Wat Chedi Luang, Old City, Night Bazaar
Day 2: Chiang Rai, Golden Triangle, Mea Sa Border, Akhla & Yao villages
Day 3: Elephant Safari, 'Lisu village', Rafting, 'Karen & Big Ear villages'
Day 4: Free & easy before the flight...

There are still a lot of places i wish to visit in Chiang Mai... the Zoo, Doi Inthanon National Park, the city, Wats, and the most of all will be the life in Chiang Mai... Hopefully one day in the future, maybe in 3-5 years time i will have another chance to visit Chiang Mai. When the time come, surely i will make myself free and have more time to explore Chiang Mai....