The Best Laid Plans

Usually when we travel to Thailand we spend the bulk of our time in Chiang Mai. On this relatively short trip we planned to go on a journey of discovery and scout out new and potentially longer stay destinations in this beautiful country.

After our very relaxed week in Samui, we spent a few days in sleepy Ban Krut and then five days in the much larger and more interesting Rayong. Our initial idea was to stay around the Rayong area and explore Thailand's fruit basket, as it's known, to keep gorging ourselves on fresh and cheap exotic fruit.

But then Thai Lion Air made us an offer we couldn't refuse.

Brenda spotted a promotion for one way flights to Chiang Mai from Rayong for 575 baht ($24.00 CDN) and, at that price, we couldn't resist the allure and familiarity of the country's original capital city.

On our way back from Suphattraland on Monday we arranged with our taxi driver to pick us up from our hotel on Wednesday morning at 5:15.

This morning we crawled out of bed at 4:00, showered, finished packing and headed down to the lobby. Our taxi showed up ap 5:05 and we were on our way to the airport by 5:10.

During our overland travels here we've noticed a huge amount of infrastructure work underway just about everywhere. New or improved highways, subway or light rail expansion and road resurfacing works were seen in Bangkok, Ban Krut and Rayong. And this is supposed to be a developing country. Our Canadian dollar is down 25% against the Thai baht over the last five years. So which is the developing country?

The brand new U-Tapao airport is located right between Rayong and Pattaya, two large urban centers, which ensures a steady flow of travellers through its gates.

Our flight boarded and took off right on schedule and we arrived in Chiang Mai at 8:30. After a short taxi ride we checked into the Thanyawintra Boutique hotel where we'll spend the next nine days. The last time we were in Thailand this hotel wasn't even under construction and, in fact, it only opened in April.

As soon as we dropped our bags into our room, we headed out to our favorite market in the world, Kad Muang Mai, which is only a short ten minute walk from our hotel. We found mountains of mangoes, reams of rambutan, a plethora of pineapple and a deluge of durian, all at prices better than or equal to those in Rayong.

We ate a small durian at the market and carted back a bunch of mangoes and pineapple to our room, some of which we promptly gobbled down since we hadn't yet had anything to eat.

We've spent so much time in Chiang Mai over the years, it almost feels like coming home everytime we visit. There have been some changes since our last trip here (songthaew rides have gone up 50% to 30 baht), but overall the vibe, the sights and the people are still as welcoming as ever.Read more