Journey to Chiang Mai

We are in Chiang Mai now, which is in the north of Thailand.  After leaving Ton Sai we spent a day traveling to the Malaysian border to get a new visa.  We then took an overnight bus to Bangkok and spent a very sleep deprived day killing time until our evening train to Chiang Mai.  I cannot emphasize enough how much I enjoy train travel over the bus.  The train trip was wonderful and I got a full 12 hours of sleep, we also picked up some real cheese and crackers and gorged ourselves.  There are definitely some foods we miss, cheese and bread seem to be high on that list right now.  Upon arriving in Chiang Mai we walked to our guesthouse, dropped our gear and found the rock climbing shop.  They were super helpful and we picked up the guidebook, they also have a bouldering wall and show movies.  The next day we started climbing after renting motorbikes and cruising around town a little so I could learn how to ride, I was a bit nervous but got the hang of it.   We rode the 40k to the crag and climbed the limestone cliffs, which is what we've been doing for several days.  The climbing here is good, not great and there isn't a lot of it, but it should keep us busy for the rest of our time in Thailand.  It's different to be back in a city,  it's noisy and smoggy, but it's a nice city to be in.  There are a lot of Wats and old architecture and monks in saffron robes, and markets and coffee shops.  And most important a 7-eleven on every corner!  We'll be here for another week or so and then on the Laos.

Ian enjoying the artwork in Krabi.

  

Interesting statue in a mall in Bangkok.

CHEESE!!

My motorbike, I liked the color.

Exploring the caves at Crazyhorse Buttress.

Ian on the train.

They let us back in!