To Chiang Mai With Haste

Thailand was not originally on the plan. When we slipped a few weeks of it into the itinerary at the last minute we figured it was going to be a well touristed country that we'd get over quickly; see it, tick the box and move on.

Five days stretched to two weeks roaming just a fraction of the Andaman coast, and we have learned that it is not possible to see everything. We have been lured in, overwhelmed and captivated, then left pining for more. However unless we were to take a dive and follow the footsteps of numerous expats ditching their professional lives back home for life akin to a sea-gypsy, we needed to move on, and with that thought we realised we had to make up for time that had simply sailed by.

A journey from Phuket to Chiang Mai by buses and trains promised a minimum of 36 travelling hours, not to mention the time and pain of transfers and stopovers. Baulking at this, we realised our destination was actually quite far; with budget flights comparatively cheap we figured surely we'll be forgiven for choosing to fly. And so we did.



Chiang Mai's photogenic city streets welcomed us as we found our way to a bed and breakfast located centre of the historic old town.