Hello everyone,
It has again been a while since my last post. I have a lot going on in my life right now and haven't been able to find the time. Finally, after so many months of traveling, I made it back home. It feels really good to be back here even though I already kind of miss Thailand.
Anyway, I will continue from where we left off last time. After the amazing weeks I spent in Vietnam, it was finally time to make my way back to Thailand. Things had changed quite a bit since I had left though. Thailand legalized cannabis during that time and I was actually kind of excited to see how it all would unfold. Seemingly out of nowhere a bunch of stores had opened up and there was weed everywhere. It was the first time I got to experience legalization firsthand and it was very nice going around the dispensaries and seeing how happy the workers all were to finally be able to work their dream jobs.
I am not however here to talk about the weed too much but to share some photos from my trip up north to Chiang Mai. This was my first time going there and I was super excited about it because everyone had recommended I should go there. I went there with some friends and had an amazing time exploring the various mountains and temples that they have. I didn't have my new phone yet during the first couple of photos but it will be in this post! This photo is of a waterfall that is about halfway up one of the mountains.
We also visited this elephant sanctuary where they had hundreds of rescued elephants. I made sure to check on the places first before visiting since I have heard some bad things about some of the elephant parks here and how they treat the animals. So if you ever go there make sure to check if it's a good place that treats the animals well.
After that day in the mountains, we went back to the city and decided to go out for a walk around the weekend market. I love walking around these markets since you can find anything for sale and just taking it easy and slowly walking down the street is so chill to me. Even though I usually don't like crowded places, I absolutely love the night markets in Thailand.
The next day it was again time to go up to another mountain. This time we were gonna stay there in a kind of "glamping" spot. They have a lot of those in Chiang Mai and it's basically nicer-than-normal tents but they can also be small houses.
Driving up the mountains here can be a bit stressful considering the roads have sharp turns all the time and the locals drive pretty aggressively even though the roads are relatively small. After driving for what felt like forever we made it to the place where we were gonna spend the night. It was a really chill place and there were no other guests so we had the whole place to ourselves. Usually, at these places, they will serve you a barbeque for dinner which is included in the price.
The night went well and we had an amazing time. The next day it was raining a lot though and on the way down I had to drive really slow due to low visibility and as I already mentioned pretty crazy roads lol. The weather cleared up a bit on the way though and we got to take a few more photos on the way. Here you can see the city and it was a nice view even though it was a bit cloudy.
After that long drive down and back to the city we decided to take it easy mostly and we went out for a relaxing walk and ended up in a temple. That's where we ended the day and it was time to move on to the next adventure. These trips up the mountains were truly amazing and for anyone that visits Chiang Mai, I recommend driving up to see it all. It's way more relaxing and just more enjoyable on a motorcycle in my opinion but the car works well too if you don't feel comfortable on a bike.
Chiang Mai is an amazing city where you have so much to see and visit. The food is also a bit different and they have a lot of typical northern dishes. My favorite probably being Khao Soi which is delicious and one of the dishes that are not spicy. I did spend a bit more time there and I took more photos too. I wanna leave next time as a surprise so you will have to wait until then to find out where it is. It might be more Chiang Mai or maybe a whole new place. Stay tuned to find out!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the photos because I absolutely loved my time in Chiang Mai. Thanks again for dropping by and checking out my content. I'll see you again next time.
Peace, Straw