Park life

It did not take us long to see why Chiang Mai is dubbed Thailand’s capital of culture. Strolling along the laid back streets we spotted temples and stupas on every corner and in every style. We frequently observed young Buddhist monks learning from their elders and teenagers rushing past us on motos to get to university. It is the perfect place to relax with a glass of iced coffee, just ask Matt’s mom!

Coffee - Chiang Mai style

On our second day in Chiang Mai we decided to visit Doi Inthanon National Park. We hired a car and a driver for the day as the park is a few hours from Chiang Mai, not only did it make getting around a lot easier but it saved us money! We didn’t get to do as much walking as we would have liked because the park was so big but it was beautiful and spectacular.

Weirdly this sign was not actually at the highest point!

Driving through the park we were able to enjoy the wilderness surrounding us. Amongst dense forest, that appeared to go on forever, there were small villages full of people going about their daily lives. At the top of the mountain we emerged into a welcoming and blissfully chilly day, Matt was even able to wear the scarf I brought him for his birthday! It was the perfect weather for our trail through the mossy forest.

Mossy

Following this Ann was able to get her coffee fix as we enjoyed a coffee at the highest peak in Thailand and Matt experienced lens envy watching all of the wildlife photographers.

I wonder if that lens would fit in my backpack

Next up on the trip were two monumental stupas built in honour of the King and Queen’s 60^th birthdays.  The stupas were surrounded by picturesque gardens that even Disney would be proud of. Inside of the stupas was even more impressive; the walls were decorated with mosaic patterns of the Buddha’s life and his teachings and surrounded an impressive stone Buddha. Not to be outdone, the view from here was incredible, we were lucky that it was a clear day and we could see for miles.

His ...

and hers

Last stop on our trip was a short walk up the Nam Tok Wachiratan Waterfall, a great way to end the day!

End of a long but great day