So what if Chiang Mai has become touristy. I’m having a good time anyway. I like the size and layout of Chiang Mai. I like that there is a university here and a national park right outside of town. I like the place where I am staying overnight. I could only get one night at the Riverside Hotel so I have moved on to the RCN Court. An affordable, friendly, clean place in central Chiang Mai where I can have a hot shower, air con, and internet access. I’m in heaven. I will wait until I go further north to do my shopping for craft items, but right now I am taking care of some things that you can’t do in smaller towns. For example, if you decide that you need to ship something back to your home country, there are several pack-and-ship places in Chiang Mai that are willing to handle it for you. Another example, recently, I have developed an addiction to frozen coffee drinks and I have had a ball running around to all of the coffee places and taking the Pepsi Challenge with their mocha frappes. I liked the one I got at The Caffeine Fix the best. My pattern has been something like this, two temples and then a coffee shop. In addition, Chiang Mai is one of the few places I have seen in Thailand that has coin-op washing machines. I put in a load of laundry, went to a pizza place a few doors down, had a slice of cheese pizza and a coke, chatted up the expat who owned the joint, and then went back to claim my laundry. Okay, you may not be able to get the authentic “Thai experience”, but you can still get an authentic Thai massage.
Really, if I can’t afford to retire in Sedona, Arizona, I am thinking of coming back here.
