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My plane left Siem Reap at 11:00 A.M. Back in Bangkok, I walked over to the domestic terminal and got on a huge 747 that was about half-full and flew up to Chiang Mai, in the north of Thailand. I arrived about 3:30 P.M.

Thailand and Cambodia 2000 - Part Two - Chiang Mai & Hua Hin

Dougburnett
2003-11-22 18:05:19

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Chiang Mai, Wednesday, February 23

My plane left Siem Reap at 11:00 A.M. Back in Bangkok, I walked over to the domestic terminal and got on a huge 747 that was about half-full and flew up to Chiang Mai, in the north of Thailand. I arrived about 3:30 P.M.

Outside the terminal I found the taxi stand and paid 100 Baht for a ride to my hotel, the Diamond Riverside. It was a large, modern place that caters mostly to Asian tourists. While a little worn, my room on the 7th floor had a great view of the river - it cost 950 Baht ($27) a night.

After a short walk in the area around the hotel, I went looking for dinner. I found a restaurant in front of the hotel that looked interesting: I believe it was called the Antique House - it sat in a little garden. I ordered a beer and chicken curry soup. It came with the same little incendiary peppers I had in Cambodia. Soft Thai music played in the background. When I was done I asked myself, "Does it get any better than this?" Clearly the answer was, "No!"

After dinner I walked across the street to the tut-tut stand. "How much for a city tour?" I asked one of the drivers. "How long you go?" he replied. We agreed on an hour tour for 150 Baht ($4.) We drove past several night markets, a large resort hotel, a couple of hospitals, a shopping mall, the bus station and of course massage parlors and girlie bars. There was a whole area of them and the driver slowed way down to give me a good look. I guess he thought I might be interested.

It was a very pleasant way to spend an hour: the evening was delightfully cool. Chiang Mai is at a high altitude and turned out to be much cooler than either Bangkok or Siem Reap. I finished the evening by sitting at a bar near my hotel, having another beer and bringing my journal up-to-date.

Chiang Mai, Thursday, February 24

After breakfast ...