Flight

PCR test fest and Scoot ran very late!
Quarantine

Jim Thompson house

Tour round Jim Thompson house - not allowed to take photos inside the house, but awesome collection of ancient pottery, silk tapestries and furniture. Houses were old, transported from elsewhere andEn savoir plus
Exploring Bangkok

Slightly exciting trip to Chinatown, attacked by a dog (!), first temple, boat ride down the river back to the hotel, food court Thai basil rice for dins.
Temple exploring in Chiang Mai

Hundreds of Wats dotted around Chiang Mai - spent the morning/ early afternoon exploring about 15. All free to wander in, lots of practicing monks around, and very empty atm because not many touristsEn savoir plus
Cafe lunch

Lunch - some skewers, Pad Thai, fried rice and some cold drinks in a peaceful cafe courtyard
Walking night market

Night markets are opened up now, though they check your vaccination status and temperature at the entrance. Wandered around and got some street food
Monks trail and Wat Pha Lat

Hiked up a trail in the mountain to a fairly unbelievably beautiful temple. River running through, with a lovely pond looking over the city, lots of beautiful statues, temples and old buildings dottedEn savoir plus
Doi Suthep

Carried on up the mountain once we managed to hail a red taxi/bus (shared, only a pound or so per trip) and went to Doi Suthep, a temple overlooking the city
Khao Soi lunch, silver temple and swim

Got Khao Soi for lunch - classic Chiang Mai dish, spicy noodle soup with crunchy noodles on top. This was a v busy place popular with the locals, they'd run out of chicken by the time we arrived soEn savoir plus
Cooking class

Went to a cooking class recommended by the hotel - pretty fab! They took us to a local market to buy some ingredients, then out to a farm in the countryside where they've got a huge bamboo barn.En savoir plus
Doi Inthanon cloud forests

Hotel sorted us a driver to take us to Doi Inthanon national park - includes the highest mountain in Thailand (a mere 2500m). First stop was a a couple of nature trails round the cloud forest at theEn savoir plus
Doi Inthanon Stupas

Next stop in Doi Inthanon, two stupas! These are pretty recently built
Lunch, waterfalls and coffee

Headed lower down Doi Inthanon to have lunch at a trout farm/ hydropower station, see a couple of waterfalls and have a quick coffee stop before driving back
Dinner at Dash

Last night in Chiang Mai, went for dinner at a place called Dash, in a teak house. The guy in charge lived in West Hampstead for a bit! He grew up in Chiang Mai and the house is rebuilt from hisEn savoir plus
Bye to hotel and flight to Krabi

Early departure from Terracotta Arts hotel - fab hotel, some pictures here. The staff here were super friendly and helpful, breakfasts delish and huge and the hotel was filled with terracottaEn savoir plus
Boat to Koh Yao Yai

Waited a couple of hours at the pier in Ao Nang for the boat, grabbed some street food for lunch, then speedboat to Koh Yao Yai
Checked in to Santhiya resort and dinner

Pretty awesome hotel! Did a bit of scouting around, quick swim and (average) dinner in one of the restaurants.
Day 1 at Santhiya

Lots of swimming in the pools, sea and a quick kayak session. Abandoned the resort restaurant for the small hotel restaurant next door for lunch and dinner, which was much tastier! Massaman curry forEn savoir plus
Boat trip to Khai islands

Hired a longtail boat from Captain E on the beach and went for a tour of Khai islands, three small islands not too far from ours. Beaut and deserted (until one big boat tour at the first). Chilled onEn savoir plus
Day 2 afternoon at Santhiya

Bit sunburnt after the boat trip so mainly chilled in the shade. Decided to get the hotel restaurant's Christmas buffet, which was hit and miss, but featured an awesome fire dancing display on theEn savoir plus
Day 3 in Santhiya

Alternative Christmas! Bit burnt still, but did a fair amount of swimming and chilling. Went to a new slightly inland restaurant (Isaan Fine) which was bril. Had crispy chicken skin salad, red curryEn savoir plus
Final morning at Santhiya

Final morning at Santhiya was pretty active - went paddle boarding first thing in the morning, then breakfast and a final swim in the infinity pool. Checked out and went for lunch at the same place asEn savoir plus
Ayutthaya tour

Up at 6 for a tour of Ayutthaya, which is the old capital (around 500ish years ago) before it was invaded by the Burmese. Very hot (33) so good that we started early and had an air-conditioned tourEn savoir plus
Swim and exploring Bangkok at night

Much needed swim to cool off after the tour and doing all the flight admin and testing. Hotel pool had a great view of some of the skyscrapers. Then went exploring Bangkok to get some food. First gotEn savoir plus