Why Chiang Mai?

Relaxing

I love Thailand and Malaysia when it comes to the buffet breakfasts at the hotels. Today was no exception at Imperial Mae Ping’s coffee shop. It was the usual East-West spread of congee, kwayteow, eggs, pastries, fruit etc. It was a busy place as there wasn’t a table in sight when we entered but fortunately some cleared away.

We took a little wander around the shops and checked into an internet café as I was waiting to hear back for a job.

We ate back at the hotel before waiting for a tour pick-up. The hotel buffet was about NZD10 per head but after the big breakfast we couldn’t do it. We settled for a Salad Nicoise and a Green Curry totalling NZD10. There was enough time to fit in a refreshing swim at the pool afterwards.

Why a Chiang Mai stopover?

Our stop in Chiang Mai is like an “extra”. The rules of the ticket allowed one free stop which from Hong Kong to China (Chengdu and Kunming open-jaw) and back to Hong Kong.

I had chosen Chiang Mai to be our stopover on the return leg utilising a once-a-week flight from Kunming to Chiang Mai. The fact that we have a connection after that in Bangkok, on the way back to Hong Kong, doesn’t count.

And we didn’t utilise the possibility of a Bangkok stopover on the way out as we didn’t have enough time. And besides we had been there before.

Local Industries Tour

Because our stay is quite short, I had booked three cheap tours over three days to have a stress-free exploration of the region. I seldom do tours but there’s a time and place for everything.

We were picked up at 1400. Our firs stop was an umbrella and paper factory. The colourful umbrellas were hand-painted by women. And the paper crafts were well-made to. Here, the heavens opened.

At the umbrella factory.

Next stop was a jewellery factory which was meant to be the “biggest in the world”. It was big but I’m never sure about these claims.

This was followed by a stop at a lacquerware then Thai silk factory.

These tours are a bad way to buy souvenirs. The tour operators take customers to expensive places where they get a commission. One is better off to strike a good bargain on the streets. But it is a good way to see the products being made.

Cultural Show

We had a light snack at McDonald’s tonight as we are out for a proper dinner and show later. Chicken rice and a burger cost only NZD3. We killed time with a massage each. Kim had a good facial one while I had a 30 min so-so body massage. It’s not really enough time to do a good job.

We were picked up at 1900 for a khantoke dinner. Khantoke refers to a pedestal tray used by northern Thais (and others) as a table for serving meals. The awesome food was served in front of us, seated on the floor. We enjoyed a one hour show of both Thai and hilltribe dances in nice costumes.