The only reason for me to come back from Pai to Chiang Mai was picking up my repaired Canon lens. After I had done this yesterday, my preparations for the next step began. I started looking up bus and train connections from Chiang Mai, tried to find out which cities in Thailand’s north would be worth visiting and simply tried to create a plan. This task turned out much harder than expected, as it seems like Pai and Chiang Mai are by far the most popular (and easiest to travel) cities in the north, and all the other places need more preparation. Its not only about finding out how to get to a place, but also where to stay. The less popular cities offer a lot less options, making it harder to prepare something before arriving there. Places that I took into consideration were:
- Chiang Rai
- Nan
- Doi Ithanon National Park
- Khon Kaen
After a bit of research and viewing all the places on the map I decided against Chiang Rai and Nan. Both are a bit far off the path, and both seem to offer a lot of historical stuff, but not too much else. When visiting Sukhothai (another city with a lot of history) I quickly learned that ruins and temples are not my cup of tea, and that I get bored quickly.
So my new plan looks like this:
Tomorrow I will rent a motorbike and leave early for a daytrip to Doi Ithanon National Park, which is featuring Thailands highest mountain. Its about 100km to get there, and my respect of this long way is huge, but I really want to see that park. I hope to be back in Chiang Mai by 6 or 7 PM. Then, at 9PM, I will take an overnight bus that should get me to Khon Kaen.
If this works out, I should arrive early in the morning, just perfect to explore the city. After that? I have no idea, as always. I hope to be able to blog about my daytrip tomorrow, but it might get to hectic and I will have to deliver the article a day late. Whatever happens, I will keep you posted!
Yours