[Wat Srisuphan, Chiang Mai - Thailand]
In a distinct change of pace from the uniform Thai wat style, Wat Srisuphan is covered in pure silver.
Walking Buddha, Sukhothai – Thailand
Walking Buddha at Wat Sa Si at the Sukhothai Historical Park, Thailand.
Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai – Thailand
Wat Phrathat is an impressive Buddhist temple on Doi Suthep, a mountain that overlooks the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Lonely Beach, Koh Chang – Thailand
[Lonely Beach at Koh Chang, Thailand.]
Like Koh Samet, I heard mixed reviews about Koh Chang, particularly about the overdevelopment of the island. Travel is a relative experience though, and I found Chang not as developed as Samui and Phuket, thus not as developed as I thought it would be.
Lonely Beach is the backpacker enclave on the island and one the furthest beaches south on the island, away from the more developed beaches of the north.
Sai Kaew Beach, Koh Samet – Thailand
Hat Sai Kaew (Sai Kaew Beach). Koh Samet is close enough to Bangkok to make it an easy weekend trip, but it wasn’t as overrun as I thought it would be. Maybe it was because it was the first beach I had seen in a while but I liked it here. The sand is soft and white and it is not as developed compared to the bigger islands.
Wat Bupparam, Chiang Mai – Thailand
[Wat Bupparam, Chiang Mai - Thailand]
There are seemingly as many Wats as there are Songthaew (public pick-up taxi) in Chiang Mai.
Now if only there was a 7-Eleven somehow in the frame, and this would have been the quintessential Chiang Mai photograph.
On On Hotel, Phuket Town – Thailand
[On On Hotel, Phuket Town - Thailand]
Phuket Town is a good alternative for accommodation away from the touristy beaches of Phuket, such as Patong Beach. The town has a good stock of Sino-Portuguese houses and no tacky tourist shops (or girly bars).
On On Hotel is not the best hotel in town, it is just famous for being in the film. The Beach. You can find better places to stay, unless you want to have a go at staying in the same room that Leonardo DiCaprio stayed in.
Bangkok’s full name, Bangkok – Thailand
[The full name of Bangkok, inscribed in front of the Bangkok Administrative Building]
Bangkok’s name in Thai is Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Krung Thep for short). It’s official long name is a whole other mouthful all together. In fact it is the world’s longest place name, according to the Guinness Book of Records.
Bangkok’s official full name in Thai translates as:
“The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarma”.
I’ll stick with Bangkok.
Chiang Mai: My Second Home?
The Malaysian government run a program called My Second Home, an incentive program for cashed up foreigners to reside in Malaysia on a multiple-entry social visit pass. Flying so often with AirAsia has seemingly made KL my second home, which is where I am now for the third time this year. While KL has become familiar to me, I would say that Chiang Mai has a better chance of becoming my second home.
I have just come from 3 weeks in Chiang Mai (and off and on since Christmas), and it is now starting to feel like a second home to me. Maybe not second home (London would fight Chiang Mai for that title), but certainly home base in Southeast Asia.
Chiang Mai ticks all the boxes for liveability. Life in the old city doesn’t require a car, cafes are plenty, and there is so much quality street food here that you could get by without ever having to step foot into a restaurant.
[30 baht ($1) Mango and sticky rice - I can live with that.]
On top of all that, there is also a great community there. I have been hanging out with a group traveller geeks who happened to converge on Chiang Mai at the same time.
To give you an idea of the geekiness of this group, here are some of us celebrating Pi Day.
[Crazed for Pi - Eating pies on Pi Day (photo)]
Among the group who have been in Chiang Mai at some point recently are fellow Nomads, Vagabonds, Exploring, Wandering, Wanderers, Flashpackers, Passport Holders, Photographers, a Russian Spy, those on on their own path, and one who is A Little Adrift, to name but a few.
[Hat tip to the Bangkok visitors to Chiang Mai The Mad Traveler and Ray and drop in traveller Justin.]
Most of us here have some sort of online presence, even if just a twitter account. Introductions usually start by way of a handle indroduction. Take for example this typical greeting:
New Person (to me): Hi, I’m Paddy
Me: Hi, I don’t believe we’ve met
New Person: I’m Dizzy Elephant
Me: Ohhh, Dizzy Elephant, we meet at last!
It is an eclectic bunch, for sure. I never would have imaginged meeting an Asian-American with a degree in Psychology called Bubba.
For me, Chiang Mai is a great place to work. I think I have the best job in the world, but no job is perfect. While I enjoy being my own boss, and working my own hours (usually more hours per week than working for someone else, btw), I don’t have the proverbial office cooler to stand around and shoot the breeze. I have had this in Chiang Mai.
While you can do this online easily enough, there is nothing like a face to face meeting to ask questions. I find people tend to give up more information in a face to face situation compared to online. It does for me anyway. I’ve gladly given out few trade secrets over a coffee that I wouldn’t normally give out otherwise online.
While I was here I had to make the most of the reservoir of knowledge that was in town. I got some tips on SEO from a resident search engine expert, and I also plucked up the nerve to have a website appraisal. This was the first time in 8 years of working for myself that I have let someone give me an honest run down of what I need to change. That was hard, but a good hard. One of the outcomes of this is to step out of my comfortably anonymous world of online affiliate marketing, web design and development, and more into the blogging and social media aspect of the business.
So I am now back in Malaysia for the rest of the week. If you are around contact me here or via twitter.
Next stop, India.
Chiang Mai: Cafe wonderland
Having secured a visa for India, I have been happy to stay put in Chiang Mai, get some hours in for work and hang out with the large remote workers community that calls Chiang Mai home.
If there is one thing I love about Chiang Mai, it is the cafes. There are cafes everywhere, which as a caffeine fiend from Melbourne, it is probably why I am feeling at home here (that, and the $1 (approx) sticky rice and mango carts). From the side of the road street vendors to big chains, and everything in between. Most cafes have free wi-fi as standard. It’s a remote workers paradise I tell you.
On fridays my location independent associates meet up for lunch at Free Bird Cafe, which is a non-profit organization helping Burmese refugees.
When I first saw the building I knew I was going to love this place. Look at this building, it is so warm and inviting.
[Freebird Cafe]
If you are heading to Chiang Mai, drop by and say hello.