No Sleep 'til Chiang Mai

February 26th

After Kanchanaburi we made a brief return to Bangkok in order to book rail tickets to our next destination, Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai is a good thirteen hours away from Bangkok by train and so we booked the overnight sleeper. As all the first-class berths had gone we settled for second-class (train travel is cheap here!)

Unfortunately, 'sleeper' is a bit misleading in this context; imagine a dormitory of 16 people speaking simultaneously in different languages, coupled with the noise, heat and motion of a fairly aged train, plus the constant to-ing and fro-ing of various train staff (conductors, police, caterers) and you get the idea. We managed about two hours sleep each, but it's the experience that counts...!

So, Chiang Mai. The guide books accurately sum the place up as 'a city that feels like a village', and despite a mind-boggling one-way traffic system, Chiang Mai is pretty fantastic.

The older, more traditional 'villagey' part of the city where we were staying is surrounded by a huge moat beyond which lies the more commercial 'Starbucks - shopping mall - hotel complex' type stuff.

Our accommodation an absolutely terrific hostel called the Seven Suns. I highly recommend this place to anyone; clean air-conditioned rooms and really friendly, accommodating staff. Oh, and great chefs!

We'd come to Chiang Mai in the hope of taking a three-day trek into the surrounding hills, which also offers the chance to spend a night with one of the indigenous hill-tribes. As luck would have it, we were quickly able to book one which left the next day.