Friday, December 01, 2006
Chiang Mai Day 2
Nov. 20th
Nothing like a late sleep and a dip in the pool to get you going after some serio
us sight seeing. So that is just what we did. Eventually we worked our way out of the hotel and headed over to the Chiang Mai Tribal Museum. It is a small but nice museum that provides a good overview and history of the major tribal (hilltribe) groups of northern Thailand. There are about 7 main groups that migrated into present day Thailand from Southern China, Burma and Laos over the past several centuries. We learned a lot and it was a nice slow paced early afternoon. Plus it was hot!!!
After the tribal museum we headed to the Royal Flora Exhibit. It is a very large international floral show to commemorate the King's 60th anniversary on the throne. The venue is enormous and maintaining a floral show for 3 months is no small tas
k. We only toured about a third of the show because it is so large. We did see the corporate/agricultural area, including the giant corn exhibit, the international gardens (the pictures of South Africa, Laos, Belgium), and the bug house. Of course the bug house was the biggest hit with giant walking sticks and moths. Always a big hit.
We enjoyed the floral show but it was large and really required either more time or two days, or both. Once it got dark, we got hungry. So we hopped in a cab and
headed back into town to the Gallery Restaurant. It is a nice restaurant on the banks of the Ping River. Excellent atmosphere and very good food. Dinner was very nice and very relaxing. If you are ever in Chiang Mai and are looking for a nice riverside restaurant, and why wouldn't you, the Gallery is a great choice.
Although we were tired, no trip to Chiang Mai is complete without going to the night market. It is THEnight market of Thailand and a lot of fun. Good prices for good Thai souvenirs, plus you get to hone your bargaining skills. Nick, Gioia and I went back to the hotel after about an hour, but Anna, Molly, Carol Lee and Elizabeth displayed superior shopping stamina and carried on for another couple of hours. By the looks of their loot when they returned to the hotel, I think they had a good time.
Nothing like a late sleep and a dip in the pool to get you going after some serio
us sight seeing. So that is just what we did. Eventually we worked our way out of the hotel and headed over to the Chiang Mai Tribal Museum. It is a small but nice museum that provides a good overview and history of the major tribal (hilltribe) groups of northern Thailand. There are about 7 main groups that migrated into present day Thailand from Southern China, Burma and Laos over the past several centuries. We learned a lot and it was a nice slow paced early afternoon. Plus it was hot!!!
After the tribal museum we headed to the Royal Flora Exhibit. It is a very large international floral show to commemorate the King's 60th anniversary on the throne. The venue is enormous and maintaining a floral show for 3 months is no small tas
k. We only toured about a third of the show because it is so large. We did see the corporate/agricultural area, including the giant corn exhibit, the international gardens (the pictures of South Africa, Laos, Belgium), and the bug house. Of course the bug house was the biggest hit with giant walking sticks and moths. Always a big hit.
We enjoyed the floral show but it was large and really required either more time or two days, or both. Once it got dark, we got hungry. So we hopped in a cab and
headed back into town to the Gallery Restaurant. It is a nice restaurant on the banks of the Ping River. Excellent atmosphere and very good food. Dinner was very nice and very relaxing. If you are ever in Chiang Mai and are looking for a nice riverside restaurant, and why wouldn't you, the Gallery is a great choice.Although we were tired, no trip to Chiang Mai is complete without going to the night market. It is THEnight market of Thailand and a lot of fun. Good prices for good Thai souvenirs, plus you get to hone your bargaining skills. Nick, Gioia and I went back to the hotel after about an hour, but Anna, Molly, Carol Lee and Elizabeth displayed superior shopping stamina and carried on for another couple of hours. By the looks of their loot when they returned to the hotel, I think they had a good time.
# posted by Joe Spatafora @ 6:04 AM 
