We landed at Chiang Mai airport just as a storm was coming in, Danielle was waiting for us at the arrivals gate which was nice. She drove us to the place we were staying for one night and agreed to pick us up the next morning and bring us to her home. This place was in the middle of nowhere and looked like a 70's council block but for one night it was fine. We went for a walk to discover we were near the main road where there is a shopping center and a McDonald's so we were sorted. The next morning we met a South African couple also staying in the same place and we arranged to meet up for a meal one day in the week. Danielle picked us up and took us on a quick tour of the town and then to her home. From the outside it looks a nice house on a gated community and inside is a basic family home, it seems Thai homes don't have running hot water. We got around this by boiling water in a saucepan for washing up but they did have one hot water shower in the house. We met Pancake the 9 month old pug we were caring for and like most puppies she was cute and a bit of a handful.
We also had the use of a scooter which was good as we were both a bit nervous of using them over here but after a few trips out we were riding like the locals. The bikes tyre's both needed some air which we did but then 2 days later the rear tyre was flat again so took it to the garage for repair and for a new tube it only cost £3 and they did it straight away. Across the road was a 7/11 and Tesco store and also a night market everyday which was great for us. 6km away is a massive store called Big C which we took the bike too so we could do a bigger shop rather than the little stores close by, the prices are no different but you have more choice. I finally got a SIM card for my phone for emergency calls and a small amount of data. The house has a cleaner who was due today, she is a lovely lady who doesn't speak any English but with sign language we got by, she comes twice a week and the gardener comes one a month but we missed him. The estate has a pool and we spent a few hours there, Sally had a swim and I read as my shoulder is playing up again.
We are about 10km from the city and the old town so we have to get a local bus which was easy getting into town but a nightmare getting out. The old city has a wall around it and within those walls are loads of temples, there are two main temples the Wat Chedi Luang and the Wat Phra Singh temple. Both are magnificent places and have been looked after by the Thai's, we brought a roof tile where you can put your name to it, real tourist thing to do. When we got home after a long walk and two bus rides we found the gardener had been and the place did look a lot better.
Today we jumped on the bike and headed for the Grand Canyon water park, it's a massive canyon that is now filled with water. Half is just for swimming and the other half they have made into a inflatable water park. We only went for a look but will go back another time for a swim hopefully.
Once we have walked and fed Pancake in the morning the day is ours really but as she is only a puppy we do tend to only leave her for a couple of hours at any one time. As we had use of the scooter it was easy to get to the shops and a few of the local sights quite easily. On one of the walks I slipped on some mud and went straight down on my knee, I was covered in mud and bleeding so I headed home and left Sally to carry on walking Pancake. It was only a scuffed knee but it hurt like hell and once the scab grew it then became hard to walk. We met up with couple we had met at the hotel we stayed at for one night, we had a very nice pizza but no beer as it was an Election Day.
It's a nice day today so we decide to try and get to the Doi Suthep Temple, on the main road we got a red bus straight away and he took us there for 300THB. It was such a winding road up this mountain but the views were worth it when we got to the top. The temple is a huge structure with a much larger structure that surrounds it, the outer buildings seem to be the monks quarters. Although all these temples are all for the worship of the Lord Buddha they are all so different in size, color and design.
Wednesday nights at the outlet center is food market night and was told it's the best food in town so off we go on the scooter. I must admit the market was huge and very busy so a bit challenging on the scooter but we made it and brought lots of food to have as a picnic when we got back home.
Just as my right knee is healing I get up in the morning to find that Pancake had wee'd on the floor and I went flying and landed on my other knee, at least this knee wasn't cut just bruised.
We finally got to visit the Care for Dogs Shelter and was expecting to stay most of the morning but the guy giving us a reluctant tour had other ideas. He showed us around for 10 minutes and then said we had to leave as he had dogs to walk, we didn't feel at all welcome there and wasn't able to spend any time with the dogs. We did another city day but this time we took the bike to the Big C and then jumped on a yellow taxi and in 10 minutes we were back at the old city wall. We discovered some more temples and Buddhas that we missed on our first visit there. As it started to rain we headed into a cafe until it stopped, I do enjoy the coffee culture here and the cheap prices help. So now my knee has healed it was time to head to the pool for some light exercise as I've noticed that my knees are hurting so much more now, whether it's old age or they are worn out not to sure but the pool does seem to help.
The whether this week has been very overcast and we were running out of things to keep us busy so today we rode to the Royal Park. We were both surprised how big it was and how much we enjoyed the afternoon there. Standing high above the Royal Park is Wat Phra That Doi Kham temple which we said we would attempt to ride up to the next day. What a ride up this was, so steep and windy but we made it on our little scooter. The view from the top was amazing but the temple was just another Buddha temple, as the t-shirts say "same same"
So the day has come for us to say farewell to Pancake and Chiang Mai, we both enjoyed our stay here and Pancake was a dream to care for. We booked a taxi to take us to the bus station to catch our bus to Pai a little place high in the mountains north of Chiang Mai. I took a few sickness tablets and as normal they made me sleepy so the journey wasn't so bad and in 3hrs we were there.
We walked to our B&B which is a cosy little place with very small rooms but for two nights it was fine. Pai has a colorful past with a hippy and drug taking culture, but nowadays it's a place to chill with lots of bars and coffee shops. The Walking Street is where it all happens and that's where we hired a scooter from which cost £2 for 24hrs. The day we had the scooter it did nothing but rain but that never stopped us from visiting the main tourist sites even if it was a bit hair raising.
First stop was the Temple on the Hill which has a temple and a huge Buddha sitting high up on the hill. From their we walked across the WW11 bridge that helped the Americans get across to Burma.
Everyone said you must visit Pai Canyon so we did, not sure I would call it a canyon but it was nice to walk and climb around, although as it was raining some of the slopes were very slippery. Last stop was the Pam Bok Waterfall which took ages to find and not sure it was worth the effort. Now we are both soaked through and time for a coffee and cake break so we went to the best place for cake. Om Cafe has brilliant reviews for their food and the cake was not a let down either, set in nice gardens with friendly staff.
That night we went out and ate at the street food stalls washed down with a cold beer then back home to pack for our bus ride the next morning. So back on the bus at 10am which will get us back at 1pm then onto the airport for our flight to Myanmar that afternoon.
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