When we arrived in the Chiang Mai airport, we were less than thrilled with the, "No, we can't pick you up from the airport because they've all gone home." Whatever that means. So after the hilarious Konglish phone conversation (note: I was totally into it, as evidenced below...
...but Leanne was RIGHT over it),
we took a cab to what turned out to be a remarkable place to stay: Chiang Mai Thai House. For only 400 baht a night (about $13), we got our own bathroom equipped with hot water (yes, these are issues there), a luxurious pool, and Lucinda, the lady-boy who staffed the front desk at night and cooked breakfast in the morning. She (he?) was just fabulous and every encounter was unique and bordered on hostile. I loved her (him?). Here are some pics of the place. First the hallway leading from our room. To the left, you could see the pool if you looked down:
Then our room, where we shared a very comfortable bed. Though there was no air conditioning, the cool night air and the fan kept us very, again, comfortable.
...but Leanne was RIGHT over it),
we took a cab to what turned out to be a remarkable place to stay: Chiang Mai Thai House. For only 400 baht a night (about $13), we got our own bathroom equipped with hot water (yes, these are issues there), a luxurious pool, and Lucinda, the lady-boy who staffed the front desk at night and cooked breakfast in the morning. She (he?) was just fabulous and every encounter was unique and bordered on hostile. I loved her (him?). Here are some pics of the place. First the hallway leading from our room. To the left, you could see the pool if you looked down:
Then our room, where we shared a very comfortable bed. Though there was no air conditioning, the cool night air and the fan kept us very, again, comfortable.
Lastly, our bathroom: colourful, clean, and full of hot water bliss.
After we checked in, we took a trip to a temple on a hill (blog to follow). To get to the base of the hill (which turned out to be a 12-kilometre winding road), we took our first tuk-tuk ride. It was truly remarkable. You would think that sitting on the back of a three-wheeled vehicle with nothing separating you from the open road but a thin steel bar about four inches off the seat would be scary, but it really felt safe. The driver had mirrors all over the place, so he could talk to us the whole ride, not missing a beat as our hands roamed over the numerous pamphlets he had ready to peruse. We dashed in and out of traffic, somehow completely nestled in our little spot for two, me snapping pictures all the while...
View of our driver
Behind us (those trucks will come in handy, very handy, later)
The glorious river, flanked on either side by sidewalk, road, shoppes, and restaurants. Lovely.
And your favourite gals out for a day on the town! And when the day was done, we headed out to dinner to what became known as our favourite place. There, a very strange old man came by to offer us gifts of beer and a cinnamon bun. Seems an odd combo, perhaps for you, but after six loooong months in Korea, virtually nothing shocks me anymore.
Best part of our hotel (aside from Lucinda [note this is not actually her name, but rather what she was coined, as I chose the name that I thought best exemplified a lady-boy. My first lady-boy, keep in mind. It was a hard choice)? The proximity to Starbucks. At long last...a freshly brewed cuppa joe. I'm in heaven :) Next up: our tour of Doi Suthep.
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