After a very comfortable and restful journey on the night train towards Chiang Mai, Bryden and I arrived easily in northern Thailand. While leaving the train, we were surprised by how cool and comfortable the air was. Although it is the cool season in southeast Asia, Bangkok was still hot, and very muggy. We have become accustomed to sweating and overheating constantly, so the pleasant air was a great surprise. We had a few ideas of what we wanted to do upon arrival, so we decided to see how much we could get accomplished early.
First, we walked towards our hostel. Although we knew that we couldn’t check in, we figured we would store our bags, change clothes, and do some research to see what to do next.
Next, we wanted to see if we could rent motorbikes. Being able to be mobile and prepared for the upcoming motorbike loop sounded appealing. We had a couple ideas of where to get bikes, however each place that we visited didn’t have any available. Eventually, walking in a loop which passed about 6 motorbike rental shops, we returned to the first place we visited, feeling somewhat defeated. We walked back in to the first shop again, expecting that they still didn’t have anything available. When we walked in, we were placed in front of two 125cc bikes that we were looking for! We were so lucky to be able to rent from this shop, which was the highest rated one of TripAdvisor. As we were being shown the bikes, another two people walked up trying to rent bikes. We had come just in time.
With wheels, we headed out to try and find some food. We had passed an Indian restaurant which looked great, so we headed towards it. This restaurant was closed, so we instead went to a Thai place across the street which was great. While I ate some delicious ginger chicken, Bryden and I planned the rest of our day. We decided that with the bikes we wanted to go somewhere. When looking up at the hills which stand prominently on the western side of the city, we saw a pagoda. We decided to aim for it and see where it brought us.
We headed out onto a beautiful, windy road which brought us out of the city and up the hill. Although it was a crowded road, with many tourists wanting to head up to see the pagoda, it was still extremely enjoyable to be able to ride. As we headed up the mountain, we eventually got stuck in a huge traffic jam full of people trying to see the pagoda. We pulled over at a waterfall, and decided what to do.
We continued heading up the mountain, passed the jam, and as we ascended we found ourselves surrounded by cold fog. This feeling was great. We kept heading up.
Eventually we found ourselves at an ethnic Thai Hmong village called Doi Pui. We parked our bikes and walked in. I still am not sure about how I feel about the village. On one hand, it’s quite pretty and people are there selling lots of crafts, making some money. On the other hand, it feels too touristy, and I am worried that I am being disrespectful towards their culture by visiting. After some more walking around, and getting coffee from a local grower/brewery (with our barista being a 12 or so year old kid), we back out to continue driving up the road.
We headed up some slippery (yet very slow, so still safe) roads towards another village. This one didn’t have all the tourists the last one had. It was much more remote. After walking through it, we headed back down to Chiang Mai.
Back in Chiang Mai we checked in to our hostel, had a shower, and relaxed after a fairly long day of riding. Then we set out for dinner. We ended up at an Israeli restaurant around the corner which was extremely good. The guy running was extremely friendly, and after a meal of breaded chicken and salad, Bryden and I headed back to our hostel to relax.
We will be spending the short rest of our time in Thailand based out of Chiang Mai. We will spend one more day in the city, three days on motorbikes heading west in a loop, and one day visiting an elephant nature preserve.