We had a really comfortable drive to Chang Mai in our own, very posh, minibus complete with DVD player and movies (thanks Fon!). It was only a four hour drive from Chiang Khong, but we stopped off at two major attractions en route - Wat Rong Khun and a cashew nut factory!
The Wat Rong Khun temple was spectacular. It was designed by a Thai artist called Chalermchai Kositpipat. It’s a rather unconventional Buddhist and Hindu temple as it’s completely white and constructed mostly from glass (which made it very sparkly in the sunshine).
Even the public toilets, next to the temple were amazing (and probably the nicest toilets we’ve been to in Asia).
The cashew nut factory was pretty interesting too (who knew that cashew nuts came from fruits on trees!) but the shop was even better – so many different flavours of cashew nuts we spent a lot of time tasting before buying.
Chang Mai was a great place. Very much like Bangkok, but not quite as manic. Our best bits would have to be:
• Chilling out by the hotel pool.
• Visiting the old city (surrounded by a huge red brick wall).
• Shopping in the amazing night market on Walking Street.
• Drinking lovely cocktails in the River Bar while listening to a Beatles cover band.
We left Chang Mai around in the early evening and boarded our overnight train to our final stop – Bangkok.
