My TEFL course finished last week and I made my way, with a few classmates, up to Northern Thailand, seeing both Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. The purpose of the trip was to trek in the hills around Chiang Rai and to spend a few nights with the minority villagers. I had great fun mostly because of the companions I was with but I was disappointed with the overall authenticity of the cultural villages. Despite opting for the ?less touristy? home stay it failed in comparison to trekking around Sapa?s minority villages.
In Sapa villagers still walk around in their traditional dress and speak their native languages. In the hills of Chiang Rai villagers wear western cloths and speak Thai. Instead of walking to the market lugging sticks of bamboo, Chiang Rai?s hill population drives motos and pickups to and from local markets. Lets hope the minority villages of Sapa don?t head the Chiang Rai route.
Chiang Mai was a vibrant city with ancient architecture and a laid back atmosphere. I only spent a day there but we rented push bikes and road around the city and its outskirts. Weaving through cars creates quite the adrenaline rush as the traffic during rush hour is almost as bad as Bangkok. The day ended with a tuk-tuk ride to the departure terminal of Chiang Mai International Airport.