Chiang Mai : Temples and treats

To end our tour of Northern Laos and Thailand, we have spent 3 days in Chiang Mai, the 2nd largest Thai city. It could hardly be more different from the brash, modern city of Bangkok. There is not a single skyscraper, no motorway, no crazy intersections, and no metro . For a métropolitain population of nearly 2 Mio, it's very calm, laid back, and understated.

The town was originally the capital of the Lanna kingdom, and some of the temples are from that period, in particular Wat Pha Lat, which has an unusual set of tunnels. The centre of the old city is surrounded by a large moat about 1.5km square. Somewhat strangely, the more interesting temples are outside of the moat. I have no idea why.

Anyone who has visited Asia will know that at some point, your brain can't handle any more temples, so we decided to end the 3 days with a treat of a big meal in a top local restaurant. That cost $90 for all six of us, which was 8 times more than the previous night, but still only a fraction of what we would pay at home. And it was super good.Leer más