I arrived in Chiang Mai on Saturday morning after my overnight train ride from Ayuttaya suprisingly refreshed and ready to go. The options for adventure in Chiang Mai are virtually endless: 
elephant riding in the jungle, 1-3 day treks, visits to hillside tribes, white water rafting, snake farm visit, Thai cooking classes, etc. I was going to sign up for a 2 day trek and then it dawned on me. I don't want to be walking about the jungle for 2 days, I want to relax! I mean, I'm on vacation right? I decided to walk around and get my bearings for a bit, which was easy in Chiang Mai. It's the perfect sized city, pretty walkable, not polluted and more easy going than Bangkok. One activity that Chiang Mai is famous for and I happily indulged in was...shopping! Many handicrafts of wood, metal, and ceramic are made locally in Chiang Mai and there is a nightly bazaar to sell them. On Sunday there was a HUGE bazaar right down the street from my guesthouse and everything you could possibly want was for sale. Now, a lot was cleary mass produced for selling to tourists as you see the same thing every few stalls, but there were genuine crafters selling items and I was able to get a hammered steel relief print, a custom fashioned necklace and a handmade shirt for very cheap. There was also a plethora of designer knockoffs like in Bangkok. It was almost too much! There were many items I would have loved to buy, but I never would have been able to take them with me or mail them home for fear of breaking. I'm going to miss the night bazaar since the rest of my travels will see a marked increase in prices, except for some parts of Malaysia possibly.
Once in Chiang Mai I also went through my pack again and made a pile to send home along
with my new purchases. I also consolodated some items (removed packaging, refolded, abandoned) and now my pack is where I want it to be - perfect weight with room to spare. You realize after being on the rode for more than a week what you're capable of living without. One thing you can really indulge in over here are massages. I got a 1/2 hour foot massage for $2 on the street at the night bazaar as massage schools have chairs setup and you just sit down and you can ask for foot, head and shoulder, or full body. It's super awesome and I almost feel bad for paying so little. Almost :)
elephant riding in the jungle, 1-3 day treks, visits to hillside tribes, white water rafting, snake farm visit, Thai cooking classes, etc. I was going to sign up for a 2 day trek and then it dawned on me. I don't want to be walking about the jungle for 2 days, I want to relax! I mean, I'm on vacation right? I decided to walk around and get my bearings for a bit, which was easy in Chiang Mai. It's the perfect sized city, pretty walkable, not polluted and more easy going than Bangkok. One activity that Chiang Mai is famous for and I happily indulged in was...shopping! Many handicrafts of wood, metal, and ceramic are made locally in Chiang Mai and there is a nightly bazaar to sell them. On Sunday there was a HUGE bazaar right down the street from my guesthouse and everything you could possibly want was for sale. Now, a lot was cleary mass produced for selling to tourists as you see the same thing every few stalls, but there were genuine crafters selling items and I was able to get a hammered steel relief print, a custom fashioned necklace and a handmade shirt for very cheap. There was also a plethora of designer knockoffs like in Bangkok. It was almost too much! There were many items I would have loved to buy, but I never would have been able to take them with me or mail them home for fear of breaking. I'm going to miss the night bazaar since the rest of my travels will see a marked increase in prices, except for some parts of Malaysia possibly.Once in Chiang Mai I also went through my pack again and made a pile to send home along
with my new purchases. I also consolodated some items (removed packaging, refolded, abandoned) and now my pack is where I want it to be - perfect weight with room to spare. You realize after being on the rode for more than a week what you're capable of living without. One thing you can really indulge in over here are massages. I got a 1/2 hour foot massage for $2 on the street at the night bazaar as massage schools have chairs setup and you just sit down and you can ask for foot, head and shoulder, or full body. It's super awesome and I almost feel bad for paying so little. Almost :)
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