We then flew an hour north to the city of Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is the second largest city in Thailand, but its population of 180,000 ranks far behind Bangkok's 10+ million. Chiang Mai sits at the foot of a range of beautiful tropical mountains -- it was the capital of the Lanna kingdom for many years. As such, a number of truly beautiful temples and stupas can be found throughout the city. One, Wat Chedi Luang, was ruined in an earthquake in the 16th century. However, even in its crumbled state it's still one of the tallest Buddhist stupas in all of Thailand.
We couldn't let the opportunity to hike in the mountains slip by, so we spent one afternoon hiking through some serious jungle. We saw a number of gorgeous waterfalls in full flood, given the fact that it was the middle of the rainy season. The trails, on the other hand, weren't in such good shape ... given the fact that it was the middle of the rainy season!
Chiang Mai also features some of the best shopping in Thailand. The Night Market is legendary, featuring everything from high-end antiques to knock-off sneakers. We spent a few hours walking around each night -- followed by a good foot massage, of course! We did splurge on a couple of things -- the hill tribes around Chiang Mai produce beautiful textiles from silk and cotton. We'd visited the Chiang Mai History Museum and the Hill Tribe Museum earlier, so we knew a little bit about where the fabrics came from and how they were made.
Upon our return to Bangkok for the last couple of days of vacation, we decided to experience one of the greatest hotels in the world, the legendary Oriental. We booked three nights in the same hotel where Robert Louis Stevenson, Joseph Conrad, Graham Greene, Noel Coward, and many other famous authors have stayed, written, relaxed and enjoyed a luxurious few days. Patrick went into the office (USAID Regional Development Mission / Asia) for a couple of days, while Jennifer stayed at the hotel and worked from there. Chatchai, our floor butler (yes, every floor in the hotel has its own butler!), made sure we were taken care of. All we had to do was press a button and he’d appear to bring fresh orange juice, shine shoes, or do anything else we needed. It was outrageously easy to get used to. (Good thing we didn’t stay longer!)So why “the Ireland of Southeast Asia”? Well, that’s easy. It’s a small, green country with a booming economy, a young & optimistic population of very friendly people, deep religious traditions and a bright future. And like Ireland, Thailand’s a place we’d love to go back to.
