galmc2Report

(With a tip of the tennis cap to Michael Chang, 1989 French Open Champion)

(I may be recycling this title from the original galmcreport blog)

We’ve now said goodbye to Vietnam and moved onto the next stage of our adventure, which meant a return visit to Chiang Mai in Thailand. We visited here for a few days on the last trip and loved it. The fond recollection was mainly due to the lovely little spa we discovered on day 1, and continued to visit each day

Once we landed we cleared immigration super fast. Thailand has relaxed its visa policy greatly to invigorate the tourist market. No pre-approvals required (unlike Vietnam). Just show up, hand the guard your passport and you’re in.

We stayed in a different hotel in the old city then the last time (another winning selection by Heather – she’s on quite the streak), but we did wander over to see if the place we first stayed was open still. It was, and they’d even expanded. Wandering that street we played a version of “what do you remember?” Mine was a local Irish pub that promoted how it showed North American sports. Last time here I remember staying up late to catch a Canucks game. No such luck this time LOL (given how they are playing that’s probably a good thing)

On the opposite side, we sadly discovered that the spa we visited was no longer open. Just a reminder that things move on. Not a surprise given how many spas are in Chiang Mai that it wasn’t around anymore.

Like many place in SE Asia, Chiang Mai has a thriving night market scene. As we wandered over to check it out and get some food, we noticed how clean (compared to Vietnam) the streets and sidewalk were, how relatively quiet it was (much less honking), and how we could actually walk on sidewalks without having to dodge merchandise, vendors, or scooters!

Street food was also a bit of a different experience. In the midst of the night market we found basically a street food “food court.” Very yummy. First of many Pad Thai dinners, although I seem to have challenges with adding the proper amount of chilli sauce.

Given our old spa was no longer an option, we had to land on a new choice. After some online research, we headed off to check out a mid-high level spa which would provide private rooms for a couples massage. Otherwise from what we saw you’d basically be in a big room with many people getting a treatment.

Not unsurprisingly, that spa was booked solid. So onto Plan B. Across the street was a slightly lower end, but well reviewed establishment, the Women’s Massage Centre by Ex Prisoners. They had a opening for us so off we went! And it was great! Not the private experience we had envisioned, but great (and way cheaper) than the other place!

Now it’s time to move on again. This time we are heading to Northern Thailand. New ground for us, to check out a couple of cool spots. All we need to do is survive the very windy, nausea inducing roads……but that’s a tale for another time!