Chiang Mai 26-28Oct12 (2)

After the segway tour, we were really excited and relieved to find a massage parlour that looked pretty decent (too many dodgy ones around). I highly recommend this Tong Ta Massage as it's super cheap and good! So relaxing that I didn't even bother with the free wifi. It's at the start of the Night Bazaar street I think. Some stalls were open during the day but judging from the merchandise, I can see how this bazaar would have been too touristic & dull for us. Did some shopping at Boots (similar to our watsons) just opposite.

Continued walking to the Whole Earth Restaurant (88 Sri Donchai Rd) also recommended by a friend. As usual we over-ordered but the fried fish was excellent.

Full and satisfied, we walked back to the hotel and crashed. We were tempted to veg out the rest of the evening but I had the inkling that their much-talked-about Saturday Market should not be missed. So we left the hotel around 8pm for Wua Lai Market at Wualai street. We were pleasantly surprised by the uniqueness of the market and we super highly recommend it! Lots of mystery meats, street sushi, traditional thai nimnoms, creative handicraft, on-the-spot handicraft, performances... Love the authencity of it. A true local market that caters for the local crowd, not like those commercialized ones that can't wait to get their hands on our $. The street is long but we gladly walked the entire stretch. Too bad about missing out on their Sunday Market.

Indeed on the last day we had a long breakfast, lazed by the pool, ordered room service, lazed some more, checked out at 3pm, and had a foot massage near the hotel before leaving for the airport. I love our holidays =)

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.