We stayed for two weeks in Chiang Mai at the Four Seasons. We were given Trek Marlin bikes and Audre's 13.5" was a great size for her. We tooled around the resort on them and went on the quiet roads of the Mae Rim district on them too. We found a temple complex with elaborate statuary and an amazing "nara" (dragon) staircase up from the road.
One Sunday, we went to the Sunday walking street market. We had been a little scared of going into COVID-carrying crowds so Dimitri intended to be double-masked. There were only designated entry areas for the market. There was an attendant there checking our Thai Pass and vaccination records, as well as our temperature. We needed to sign in with a contact telephone number, presumably for tracing. EVERYONE was wearing a mask in the market! The market had lots of souvenirs and food. Audre bought cashmere shawls to bring back to friends. We found a food stand barbequing tiny crab shells filled with whipped crab roe. They were really, really good.
On a good day, it took about 40 minutes to get from the Four Seasons Chiang Mai to downtown Chiang Mai. On a bad day it took 1 1/2 hours. Dimitri drove in the city traffic with aplomb! The darting motorbikes and motorcycles were only two of the threats to our safety. The car we rented was fine, not as good as the one we rented in Koh Samui but good enough. We would plug our phone into the car radio system and listen to our music while stuck in traffic.
We did go into Chiang Mai for dinner many times before we found really wonderful restaurants in the Mae Rim area. Click here to read our Chiang Mai Restaurant Reviews. In addition, of course, we walked the old, moated town of Chiang Mai. We visited ancient temples. We saw the Christmas lights along the old city walls.
One day we drove to Doi Suthep mountain (at 3,456 feet) to see the most famous and important temple in Chiang Mai--Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. It was so crowded at the entrance (and the start of the 300 stairs up to the chedi), we drove past and parked in the campground. We were able to walk down to the temple area. Dimitri took the tram up to chedi from the temple area and Audre walked up from there (only 217 steps). We were not able to find the trailhead where we were supposed to start our hike that day from there so we had lunch in the campground instead. Do we get credit for physical activity if we only plan for it but don't do it?
It might be fun for you to review our doings and plans in a Google Map. We don't know how long Google lets this type of map stay active. The items in green color are those that we visited, the red color indicates the high priority ones that we intended to visit but never got around to, and the blue ones are just normal priority.
Click on "Older Post" (yes, it is counterintuitive) or the arrow on the right under the comment box, to read our next post and to continue the saga.
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