So in the past week I've had the opportunity to visit a little town outside Chiang Mai called Chiang Dao. Little known to tourists as it's not in the lonely planet! We took a local bus there which stopped at every little village along the way so it took two hours instead of one! The seats were obviously meant for thais, it was a normal sized bus but rows of three seats on one side and two seats on the other side meant very tiny seats! We arrived at Chiang Dao in the late afternoon and rented what seemed to be the only automatic scooter in town! Since we had to get the last bus back at 6 we decided to rent it for just an hour. Of course this was not a normal request so the Thai family who owned the rental had a long discussion about this, asking us several times 'one hour?' and laughing lot! Anything that is not straightforward is always met with confusion and hilarity by the Thais! Eventually they gave us the scooter for 50baht, so off we went to explore the countryside. It's a lovely picturesque quiet town with a very northern Thai feel. I will definitely go back again and spend more time there. We managed to find a mini bus that was going back to CM at 6 with no other stops which was great. I tried to get on and sit at the back without realising there was a monk in the back seat (women must never touch a monk or even his robe) and the driver pulled back the seat in front of me to indicate that I was to sit there!

Another day I went to Chiang Mai lake with some friends. Huay Tung Tao lake is set at the foot of a mountain, and has some beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. There are quite a few simple restaurants set around the lake, with huts on stilts in the water that you can sit in if you prefer some shade. It's really pretty and mostly locals go there as it's not very publicised to tourists.