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Days 9 & 10 Chiang Mai
I had a couple days without any plans so it gave me a chance to explore the city, although I didn’t venture out as far as I usually do. It’s a busy place; the streets are always bustling with people. Some of the merchants say tourism is down this year possibly due to the military take over; however you don’t see any sign of that. I bought a Nancy Chandler map as suggested on TA; it’s a big help because it has many bars, restaurants and civic buildings shown, and I navigate by landmarks so it has made getting around easy. I visited the Waroot Market, a section of the city with food stands, produce, souvenir shops and restaurants. Lunch was at the market near the hotel, grilled octopus tentacle, grilled squid, spit roasted quail, deep fried pork belly, sushi and a fresh mixed fruit smoothie; all tallied up about $7. Later in the evening I met Max and Emily for some beers at a small pub, we drank and chatted till about midnight then went back to the hotel.





Part of the wall and moat the kept the city safe from invaders in ancient times, it was mostly dismantled so the bricks could be used to build raods



Quail on the spit



A food stand at the Waroot market


The next day I decided to try some more tourist stuff, so I negotiated with a tuk tuk driver for a ride to Tiger Kingdom and the Longneck Tribe village. The Tiger Kingdom is a place where you can get in the pens with live tigers, they are hand raised from birth, but you still have to stay away from their face and front claws. A trainer accompanies you and since I was alone I hired a photographer to take pictures while I was in there, combined it was less than $25.






The Longneck village was nothing special, you pay to get in and then just walk along a road lined with stands each selling the same stuff, I would skip it unless you really want some photos of the women with their neck rings.



Later that night I met up with Emily and Max again for the Sunday walking market, the main attraction in Chiang Mai. They close the main road off and in just a short time it is transformed from a busy road to having well over a thousand vendors selling all sorts of goods, mainly aimed at the tourist market; it is not for the claustrophobic. The temples open their gates food stands, Max and I tried some omelets filled with ant eggs and bee eggs, you could feel them but they didn’t have any taste.
Having now been promoted to “Uncle Sammy” we again found our way to a small pub and finished out the night having some beers; they are traveling on tomorrow so this was our llast night together.

Beautiful pictures! And an amazing experience with the tiger!

...and I can almost hear Sammy saying "nice kitty" or at least that's what I would have been saying.
Keep up the great reports.
Fred

Is a tigers fur soft like a domestic cat?

The tigers fur is dense, giving it sort of a water repellent feel, the bottoms of their feet are smooth and they like to have their bellies rubbed.

Thank you Sammy . I can't imagine rubbing their bellies . I would be so nervouse! Awesome reports as always. Take care