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CHIANG
MAI
Founded
by
king
Mengrai
in
1296.
|
Day
20
Chiang
Mai.
We
walk
to
Thanon
Moon
Muang
to
rent
4
bikes.
However,
we
hardly
find
2,
because
all
the
other
bikes
are
too
low
for
europeans
-
the
saddle
is
much
too
low
and
can
not
be
adjusted
properly,
although
we
have
a
normal
size,
not
too
tall.
Carine
and
Peter
walk
furtheron,
while
we
bike
to
Sankampaeng
Road.
This
area
is
well-known
for
lacquerware,
silk,
woodcarving.
umbrellas,
silver,
celadon,
etc
...
We
buy
some
silk
and
other
fabrics
in
Jolie
Femme.
We
meet
again
Carine
and
Peter,
when
leaving
this
shop
-
they
have
rent
a
motorbike
and
they
have
made
also
a
reservation
for
next
day
to
make
a
tour:
rafting,
elephant
ride
etc...We
ride
together
and
we
are
looking
after
a
woodcarving
shop:
Chiang
Mai
Sadulak
Co.
We
visited
this
factory
for
the
first
time
in
1987
and
also
afterwards.
We
bought
several
wooden
elephants
for
us
and
for
friends
by
fax,
but
we
lost
contact
in
the
mid
nineties.
We
believed
that
they
stopped
working.
But
we
find
their
shop
back
again
and
what
a
shop
-
much,
much
larger
than
before,
with
thousands
of
wooden
items
:
animals,
statues,
bedrooms,
garden
furniture,
etc...Anyhow,
the
end
of
the
story
is,
that
Peter
and
Carine
buy
a
very
nice
garden
furniture,
made
from
tropical
wood.
Then,
we
have
a
picknick
together;
once
finished,
we
cycle
to
town
and
the
younger
people
drive
on
the
motorbike
to
Mae
Sa
valley,
where
they
visit
an
orchid
farm.
We
look
in
town
after
a
shopping
center,
where
Liliane
bought
in
1989
a
very
nice
dress,
but
it
had
been
replaced
by
a
Computor
Plaza.
It
was
very
inviting
to
buy
PC-parts,
but
at
the
end
we
were
suspicious
to
do
it.
Day
21
Chiang
Mai.
The
young
people
have
their
tour
today,
We
walk
to
the
area.
where
we
rented
bikes
yesterday,
but
now
we
will
try
a
motorbike.
After
some
fierce
argueing
(
because
my
wife
was
afraid
for
the
traffic),
can
I
convince
Liliane
to
rent
a
motorbike
for
today
-
we
do
not
get
helmets
-
not
needed
said
the
shopkeeper.
The
moment
we
start,
a
european
arrives
in
panic,
shouting
STOP
-
police
at
the
end
of
the
street
-
you
get
a
1500
Bt
fine.
What
to
do...,
we
turn
and
we
take
a
small
sidestreet
and
we
disappear
east.
Strange
-
because
practically
no
driver
has
a
helmet
on.
Once
on
the
super
highway,
we
turn
west
and
then
north
to
Mae
Sa
valley.
It
is
a
very
nice
wooded
valley,
with
hills
and
water,
butterfly
-,
orchid
-,
snake
farms,
elephant
camps
etc..We
have
a
walk
in
the
last
one,
we
see
the
show,
have
lunch
and
we
return
in
the
late
afternoon
to
town.
We
do
shopping
in
the
Kad
Suan
Kaew
Shopping
Center
-
buying
clothes
for
the
grandchildren
We
return
to
the
motorbike
shop
-
the
traffic
is
dense,
but
easy
moving.
We
find
Carine
and
Peter
in
the
Chiang
Inn
Hotel
-
they
had
a
nice
day
too.
Afterwards,
we
stroll
together
to
the
nightmarlket,
only
50
m
from
our
hotel,
do
some
shopping
and
we
have
dinner
on
the
square
of
the
market.
There
are
many
foodstalls
and
a
show
is
going
on
-
the
nightmarket
is
a
real
touristic
spot,
drawing
lots
of
people
away
from
other
areas.
Day
22
Chiang
Mai
-
Bangkok.
Our
sleepertrain
leaves
in
the
late
afternoon,
so
we
have
ample
the
time
in
the
morning
to
visit
the
old
towncenter
and
its
many
temples.
The
weather
is
again
marvellousIy
good.
I
am
here
for
the
4
th,
Liliane
for
the
3
rd,
Carine
for
the
2
nd
and
Peter
for
the
1
st
time
and
I
am
really
looking
forward
to
visit
the
temples
inside
the
citywalls.
We
have
been
here
many
times,
but
never
visited
these
-
always
too
busy
with
other
things.
Note:
I
was
in
Thailand
in
1973
for
training
technicians
of
the
company
:
World
Travel
Service.
They
had
bought
several
buses
from
Belgium;
they
were
very
pleased
with
these
and
used
these
for
25
-
30
years,
until
it
was
impossible
to
get
spare
parts
anymore.
We
leave
Chiang
Mai
by
train
around
4.30
pm
and
we
will
arrive
in
Bangkok
at
5.30
am.
We
had
a
good
rest
in
a
comfortable
bed.