Settling Into Chiang Mai

We moved about 1.5 miles from the Old City to an airbnb apartment in Nimman for a few weeks. Nimman is near the university and is a bit more modern and expensive, but very convenient. Our balcony looks out on the mountains and you can see Wat Doi Suthep all lit up at night. After staring at it for a few days, we couldn’t help but go up there and see what it was all about.

We were going to take a Songthaew, a red truck that acts as a shared taxi, up to Doi Suthep, but Priscilla read there was another way. So instead we hiked the Pilgrim’s Trail up to the temple. It’s a much better way to get there, in our humble opinions. We got a late start, so didn’t run into any of the Buddhist Monks that use the trail to get up to the Wat every morning.

Someone lost their marbles.

This spider was the size of my hand.

When you finally make it up the climb, you’re rewarded with Wat Phra That Doi Suthep and every tourist in Chiang Mai. It’s big enough for everyone to find a little space to themselves to enjoy the temple.
All hand carved from a single slab of wood. Incredible.

You get a good view of the city, but it’s pretty hazy most days.

Back in the city on another day, we chatted with a friendly Thai student at this Wat for about half an hour. He’s planning a trip to Oregon and wanted to practice his English for a bit. It also had this floating bridge across a pond filled to the brim with catfish. 

We keep stumbling upon markets as we wander around. There are two night markets on two sides of the Maya mall, every night. The bottom floor of the mall also has street stall-type food. We’re surrounded by food on all sides.

I think this is the market across the street from us. It’s getting hard to keep track.

Highlights of Nimman, Chiang Mai:

• Night Markets, particularly the one across the main road from the Maya mall
• Hiking the Pilgrim’s Trail up to Doi Suthep (though we did take a Songthaew back down… hehe)
• Having an apartment to stay in one place for a few weeks

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