Welcome to Chiang Mai
Last night, I caught a nice 2nd-class overnight bus from Bangkok (along with my mate Jutta; and this morning, I arrived in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand's largest city. The bus last night was quite luxurious (very comfy seats, snacks served in-trip), but not exactly perfect: they played a loud and annoying Thai movie for half the night; and the air-con was on far too strong, which meant that I almost froze to death in my t-shirt and shorts. As such, I barely slept during the trip, and I arrived in Chiang Mai groggy and exhausted. Still, it's very nice to be here: after the hustle and bustle of Bangkok, Chiang Mai (although still a big place) is refreshingly serene and peaceful.
After grabbing a ute-like taxi (where you sit in benches installed on the trailer) from the bus station to central Chiang Mai, the hunt for a guesthouse began. Unfortunately, we arrived a tad too early: at 9am, most of the decent places in town were full, as folks generally don't check-out and vacate their rooms until 11am or midday. We settled on a cheap but extremely dodgy little place, where the rooms were infested with mozzies (and with no nets over the bed), and where the bathrooms contained "squat toilets" (toilets that are little more than a hole in the floor which you squat over, and that you flush by pouring a bucket of water into).
Brekkie in Chiang Mai.
Seeing as I was completely buggered from the night's ride, I made it a quiet one today. Jutta and I enjoyed a nice Chiang Mai breakfast; I explored the town a bit; I found plenty of cheap eats for lunch and for dinner; and I relaxed online. Hopefull I'll be a bit more alive tomorrow.