Chiang Mai is the main tourist destination in the North - a gateway for people looking to see elephants and go trekking in the jungle, but also a bustling city with many attractions in its own right.
I have been here once before, during my first visit to Thailand in 2004, but felt like coming again before hitting the islands and beaches. Chiang Mai is, as you would expect, totally geared up for the tourist trade, but with enough character to mark it out from other Thai cities.
Given that the day before had been a write-off, I decided to spend today generally mooching around. Fortunately today was more overcast and less hot than had been the case recently, and so I strolled through the centre of town to have an inevitable look round some of the temples. Some of these I had been to before and that, along with the fact that I have visited so many similar places in South East Asia over the years, meant there was very little 'wow' factor for me. I don't mean to sound like some philistine who thinks that if 'you've seen one, you've seen them all' - I just didn't find it as interesting experience as I had done previously.
After more walking around, I started to make plans for the coming days. Tomorrow I'm spending the day at an elephant sanctuary, and then on Thursday I'm flying to Ko Samui for some unashamed fun seeking.
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