Quite a few of my own personal highlights from Chiang Mai so far have been doing very little, or sitting with a book or craft project, while looking out over this magnificent view from our villa, which has quickly become one of my favourite places:

We’ve taken several trips into the centre of Chiang Mai to wander around, take in the atmosphere, look around temples and find a nice restaurant for lunch or dinner. We’ve been fortunate so far not to have had a bad meal here – whether ordering Thai food or something more westernised, we’ve been really impressed by how delicious the food has been. The service we’ve found to be a bit more hit and miss, as it seems to depend largely on whether the servers speak any English. And occasionally, some strange cultural differences pop up. The other evening, at a seafood restaurant on the river, we were told they couldn’t serve hot drinks after 9pm. When our ice cream arrived, it was given straight to us in those little cartons you can buy during theatre intervals!

Yesterday we took a longer trip to see two of the most famous temples in the area: Doi Suthep, on top of a sacred mountain, and Wat Pha Lat, on the hillside further down. I only slightly regretted taking the 200+ steps to the top of Doi Suthep rather than the cable car, but the views of Chiang Mai from the top were spectacular (and would be even better on a clearer day). The temple itself is extensive, with lots of outer shrines surrounding the inner pagoda where pilgrims queue up to offer flowers. The areas surrounding Doi Suthep are unsurprisingly full of tourist shops of variable quality. Wat Pha Lat is also worth a visit as it has some beautiful shrines and architectural details.

A few days ago, we went on the Ping River cruise in the early afternoon. It’s a straightforward experience and not touristy at all – just relaxing. The buildings of Chiang Mai slowly petered out as we headed into the countryside. After about 45 minutes, we docked at a farm where we were served ice cream (in bowls this time!) and had the chance to buy some local handicrafts, before heading back to the city centre.

My dad and I took a walk yesterday to the former leper colony, which is just across the river from when we’re staying. The site has a long and interesting history. It operated for most of the twentieth century and became a thriving community with its own town hall and entertainment venue! The patients were housed in simple, good-quality housing with plenty of space in between them. Most of the houses are dilapidated these days but a few are still occupied. We also walked past the Men and Women’s Dormitories, the former of which looked like it was still treating a few patients.

Talking of patients, I had my follow-up hospital visit today and the doctor confirmed that I’m responding well to the medication. I’m not totally better yet but I hope I can put this issue behind me soon! I’m looking forward to a visit tomorrow to the local sausage factory (really!) where we will cook some sausages and enjoy a traditional North Thai lunch.

More in a couple of days!

Cross-stitch progress update