Chiang Mai 26-28Oct12 (1)

Flew direct to Chiang Mai on Silkair. They don't fly everyday but the timing is excellent. Departed first thing in the morning and arrived at the airport before noon, upon which we took a cab straight to the Alpine Golf Resort (~45mins). It's a very scenic course surrounded by vast mountains. We really enjoyed it but we advise against taking the expensive buggy as it's buggy on cartpath only and we ended up walking a fair bit. Quite silly really. Also, the weather's no longer as cool as it used to be. Almost as hot as Singapore and we even got caught in a sudden downpour. Weird climate these days...

Reached The Chedi hotel at 6-ish. We were treated to a free upgrade to the club suite as they were fully booked. How nice of them! Late arrival has its perks. We love how huge the room is. Straightaway we decided to stay in on the 3rd day instead of checking out early to play golf :p Naturally we opted for room service instead of going to the night bazaar (which fortunately we did not).

Had a late breakfast next morning. The buffet selection is very limited but you can order quite a number of things on their ala carte menu. Riverside outdoor area can get crowded but there's reason for it. Spiral staircase leads to the gym. This hotel restaurant occupies a restored colonial British Consulate building and we love the style. Overall a very neat and peaceful accom that can pass off as a recluse resort.

Finally headed out to the city center. Main mode of transport is tuk tuk. Things are pretty closely-knit so moving area isn't any hassle. Recommended by a friend, we went for a Segway Gibbon Tour! S was rather reluctant as the machine looks intimidating but I managed to get my way ;) Ok, Segway is "the world's first electric, self-balancing personal transport vehicle". Pretty cool. We started off with some training with the instructors, then went out to the streets! Can be a lil wobbly at first but it's surprisingly easy to get used to. Unless you're like the punky boys who zipped around like F1 cars and eventually met with some flips and falls. So I'd say it's actually potentially dangerous.

 

Anyway, we rode on the Segway and visited some of Chiang Mai's main attractions. Very touch-and-go. Not that I really minded cos standing on the machine can get tiring too! Conclusion: Great for a new experience, not cheap (S$65pp for a 2hr tour), dangerous if exceed 6 persons per group.