For our October break this year we decided to do the trip we had originally meant for March 2020. We planned to head first to Chiang Mai, a city with a wat (Thai Buddhist temple) on every corner. However, our flight was very late leaving Jakarta and we missed our connection in Bangkok. Luckily, we were able to walk from the airport to Petra Poshtel and they had a room available. The owner suggested we walk down the road to find some street food and just like that! We were taken care of. We felt very lucky to have a clean room and good food, all very cheaply.
In Chiang Mai, we stayed at an AirBnB in the old city, which was fab because we could walk around to most of the sights and many great restaurants. We especially enjoyed the Sunday night market and all the street food in general. There’s so much good food in Thailand! It’s also a bit safer overall than street food in Indonesia, so we were more adventurous.
While in Chiang Mai we decided to rent a scooter so we could motor around to more sights. We took it to Doi Suthep National Park, just outside the city. Wat Phra is the temple there, and that is the most popular thing to do in the park. However, we took a winding road a few kilometers off the beaten track and were rewarded with a quiet spot by a waterfall. It was nice to be somewhere green after spending months in the urban sprawl that is Jakarta.
The other thing we discovered in Chiang Mai was the Museum of World Insects. This little museum is run by an older couple that retired from mosquito research and decided to open their home as a museum to celebrate the wonderful world of insects. The couple collected thousands of biological specimens and other natural treasures, and they are on display in a nondescript building outside the old city. It was amazing! I’m so glad we went. The scientists’ dedication to research and to the wonders of nature was truly enchanting, and we spent far longer there than I thought we would.
To get from Chiang Mai to Bangkok we elected to take the overnight train. By the time we bought tickets there were no more first class carriages available, so we settled for second class. It’s still a pretty nice ride, and you get clean sheets in a fairly comfortable bunk. Angie had done overnight trains before, but this was the first time for Adam. It was a pretty fun way to travel, though a little hard to sleep with the lights on all night. Still, it was great to move overnight while sleeping and arrive in Bangkok in the morning with the whole day to explore!
