Chiang Mai

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After leaving Ko Tao, we took the catamaran back to Chumphon, followed by the night train to Bangkok and a flight to the Northern Thai capital of Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai has over 300 temples - almost as many as Bangkok although the city is far smaller in area! After a day of wandering the streets of Chiang Mai, we lost count of how many temples we had seen and lost track of many of their names. One of the most striking ones, however, is Wat Chiang Man which houses a 1800-year-old crystal Buddha and a 2500-year-old marble Buddha. The old city of Chiang Mai is surrounded by a square of moats with several ‘gates’ which feature ruined parts of its ancient walls. We have never seen so many statues of elephants everywhere – gorgeous!! It’s quite striking how dry and dusty the city is though – just walking around the streets in flip flops for a couple of hours leaves your feet, literally, black. On 13^th, 14^th and 15^th April, Chiang Mai will have its Songkran Festival. It’s the Thai new year, when the sun moves from Pisces into Aries, and is celebrated with a huge water festival. We are told that anybody leaving any building will be soaked with water. Kids are already selling super soaker guns at street stalls!