I woke up, lodged my Indian visa application (again) & this time it all went through. I've now entered the same information 4 times!

I then started to do some research to figure out where to go for the next few days. I thought about going out to a climbing & eco-retreat about 2 hours north, but the accommodation is a little too basic for this heat!

I then looked at Siem Reap but that's 9-10 hours by bus plus there are all kinds of visa complications to consider when you do a land border crossing. Air flights are $300-400 and I'm not sure I want that much extra expense, although it looks really interesting.

I then remembered that quite a few friends had said how much they liked Chiang Mai. When I looked into it, I thought it seemed much more interesting: jungle, whitewater rafting, hiking, mountains, climbing... plus the tickets are only $100. Yep, I think I'll go there rather than just staying in Bangkok. I booked a flight for a few hours time!

Went downstairs for some breakfast & saw a very elaborate engagement ceremony happening outside the restaurant. Very beautiful Thai girls all dressed in their finest with lovely flowers, singing, drums, chanting ... it's quite different to a Western engagement!

Went back to the room after breakfast & checked my emails, only to find that my Delhi-Shimla flight was cancelled by Air India. No explanation or offer of assistance: it's just cancelled.

I tried calling them but the local Thai numbers on their website don't work! It's not easy sometimes. So I tried their online chat instead.

That worked but the guy on the other end didn't have any solution except "We'll refund your ticket". So now I have more adventures in store once I arrive in Delhi as I have to figure out how to get to Shimla without flying!

Lucky I didn't pre-book much for this trip!

In some ways it's starting to become fun as I work out what's next for each part of my trip. It's not going as I'd originally planned but it's still quite fun, working out what I'm doing each day & where I'm going!

With the flight to Chiang Mai, I thought I'd requested extra baggage allowance for both legs of the journey but it turns out that I only had the extra allowance for the return trip because I'd booked so late.

That's OK as their solution was for me to just take 2-3 kg out of my suitcase & take it on with me in a plastic bag as carry-on baggage.

Somehow that won't affect the plane as much as if it's in my checked baggage! I don't understand how or why they have such low limits on checked baggage. Are their baggage guys really weak or something?

It was a very short flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai - just one hour - so before knew it, we were descending over beautiful green plantations of rice, fruit trees and vegetables, then landed in Chiang Mai. The air hostesses were wearing some of the cutest outfits I've seen in ages.

I'm not sure what I expected of Chiang Mai, but it's much bigger than I was thinking. Apparently there are about 2m people who live here ... that's the size of Perth!

Took a short taxi ride to "Swiss-Lanna", the Airbnb guesthouse I hurriedly booked just a few hours earlier, and checked-in.

The host, Toto (a girl), was very friendly and helpful, and they have a cute brindle cat/kitten (though it could just be a stray that hangs around). After removing my shoes, she gave me a refreshing welcome drink of iced tea, then we did a quick tour of the place & she showed me my room. It's huge with a king-sized bed, a Chinese gong, an outdoor jacuzzi, and open air bathroom. I felt like I chose well this time!

She and her assistants gave me some great advice about what to do, then helped me book a tour for tomorrow.

After unpacking a little, I went into town to take a look around & visit the night markets she'd mentioned.

I walked part of the way then a tuk-tuk came by so I got him to take me the rest of the way so I could get there before losing too much more of the day

I was constantly amazed by how clean everything is. All the pavements are swept, even the dirt is neat, and there's hardly a single piece of rubbish to be found anywhere. Other Asian countries could learn a lot!

The old city is surrounded by a wall I went to the closest gate: Tha Pae.

The walls were originally built around 1294 & were originally surrounded by a moat, but by the time the first British explorers reached the city in 1885, they had largely fallen into disrepair.

The gate I visited is in very good condition however this is probably due to the fact that it was re-built around a concrete framework in 1986! Anyway, it's one of the main tourist areas and there number of selfies & photos are outnumbered only by the number of pigeons (encouraged by locals selling pigeon seed to tourists)!

I took a few photos there & gradually wandered around the streets for a while, eventually making my way down to the night markets at the southern end of the walls, after dodging the brief deluge of rain by taking refuge in a small bar/cafe for a while.

It seems most of the central area is now cafes, bars, hotels, shops, temples, and of course Thai massage parlours!

On my way, I found the only rock climbing place in Chiang Mai. I'd called them earlier but they said they didn't have anything available on the days I was free. I thought I'd try going in to see if that would make a difference. Eventually, we worked out a plan where I could go climbing tomorrow, & move the tour I'd originally booked for tomorrow to the next day. Perfect! Now my first 2 days are sorted & I just need to figure out what I'll do on the last day. Later.

The night markets were interesting, though relatively small. Mostly a collection of hawker stalls selling various types of food ... great for photos however.

I'd seen a few temples along the road that I wanted to check out so walked back past those & took a few more photos. Then, since I was nearly home anyway, I just kept walking. I'm not sure exactly how far it is but it took me about 45min to get back ... the tuk-tuk ride made it seem so short!

Everything was quiet at the guesthouse so I tried to be as quiet as I could. I had a quick shower to wash off the day's sweat & try out the outdoor facilities, then hopped into bed.