Chiang MaiTranslated meaning 'many elephants' though there aren't any
to be seen inside the Old City walls.. It's an up and coming place
where old meets new, inside the city walls - surrounded by a fish
filled moat and with partially rebuilt city gates - there are numerous
Buddhist Wat temples of varying design and age, the oldest being the
700 year old Wat Chao Phraya once home to the Emerald Buddha now to be
found at the Grand Palace in Bangkok (check out its apparent tale,
pretty incredible..!!)As former Thai PM was from the area it
apparently is the focus of a certain amount of regeneration, tourism
is certainly a booming trade and high rise hotels can be found nearer
the Chao Phraya river outside the central city..Around the town you
have tour operators for visiting the many elephant parks,
tree-adventure trails, waterfalls, tiger parks and local long-neck
Karen villages. We arrived last friday with a bump, quicky followed by
a bout of food poisoning from a mystery meat club sandwich for myself,
by wednesday we set off West to the province of Mae Hong Son - only a
5 hour drive away . . .