Our second stop in Thailand was the northern city of Chiang Mai. On November 3rd, one day before we wanted to leave for Chiang Mai, we went to the train station in Bangkok to buy two tickets for the overnight train. It turned out, however, tickets were sold out for the remainder of the week, as we learned there was a festival in Chiang Mai.
Our second choice was taking the bus. This required us to go 10km out of Bangkok to the bus station, in a somewhat sketchy area, but we managed to get ourselves on the bus. The journey was pleasant, and we arrived in Chiang Mai around 6 in the morning.
Chiang Mai itself is rather small. We explored the town in one day, which turned out to be plenty of time. The second day, we took a songthaew (these red trucks serve as taxis for locals and tourists) to Doi Suthep, a temple located on top of a mountain. After climbing the 300 stairs, we were greeted with a beautiful golden temple and great views.
Back in the city, we concluded our stay in the north by experiencing the festivities around the Loy Krathong Festival. This yearly festival is held during the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the Thai lunar calender. It includes decorating streets and houses with lantarns, making a wish and releasing a lantarn, and fireworks.
