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  • Day 112

    Nature's Way, Chiang Mai, Day 1

    December 9, 2017 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Another early start and this one feel's tough. The prospect of the seven hour train journey ahead of us doesn't help. We get some toast and have a coffee before the incredibly cheerful woman who owns the hotel books us a taxi. She is a character, and is very helpful despite recently breaking her neck.
    We get our tickets with no trouble, £1.50 each for a 7 hour journey. You might be able to get a few miles on a train in England for that price. As the train pulls up to the stop, it is packed, but miraculously almost everyone gets off, leaving us a choice of seats. We get sat down and get our bags put in the luggage compartments overhead and settle in. The train journeys here seem to go much quicker then the bus journeys. This one in particular is a good one, as it goes through mostly untouched (apart from the track) land which is great to see out of the window. Hills loom in the distance, some of them barely an outline against the overcast sky. It is similar to the North of Vietnam, and seems a million miles away from Bangkok. It is so far out that the toilet on the train is simply a hole onto the tracks that pass by underneath. This could lead to an awkward situation if someone has to go while the train is stopped at a station. After watching the scenery pass by, and watching a few episodes of some Netfliix shows, we arrive in Chiang Mai.
    After getting a tuk tuk into the city, we arrive at our hostel. It is nice, despite the bathroom being on the balcony. We then head into Chiang Mai, and there are so many placees to eat at that we feel spoilt for choice. After the recent few days it is great to have a choice, and right on our doorstep. We grab some food and chill out for a bit, before heading out again later for another meal (there was about 3 hours inbetween them, think we got a bit excited) and head out to explore Chiang Mai. We plan to maybe go to a few bars, but are distracted by some sort of festival that is going on. We walk in and grab a beer, before sitting down and watching some of the local bands that are taking the stage. It is a very cool place to wander about, with loads of people there, and different types of music being placed all over. There are loads of stalls selling different homemade goods, and lots of places selling all kinds of food.
    We find a band playing some rock classic which warrants another beer, before heading back. The walk back to the hotel isn't as enjoyable as it could have been as I am bursting for the loo, but we almost stop in at some very cool looking bars anyway.
    As we get back it doesn't take long for us both to fall asleep (beer and an early morning is one strong cocktail) but we are already very excited at the small bit of Chiang Mai we have seen. It is also very Christmassy, and we are chuffed to be spending it here. There's even a place cooking a roast dinner!
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