Chiang Rai

The northern part of Thailand is a popular getaway, with the cooler temperatures and the slower pace very appealing. Chiang Rai is an hour or so from the famous Golden Triangle where Thailand, Burma and Laos meet.

One of the most important places in the city is Wat Phra Kaew. Thais believe this was the original home of the Emerald Buddha, now found in a temple of the same name in Bangkok. The Buddha spent a long time in Laos and they tell you that it was actually stolen from them.

Chiang Rai is a small city but quite charming. The clock tower is certainly unique as you can see.

There are some impressive old buildings like the one below.

We passed by a procession that was in honour of some of new Monks which was quite colourful and loud.

A recent addition to Chiang Rai is the White Temple, Wat Rong Khun. It was built by a local artist, starting in 1998. It is certainly different to your usual Thai temples.

This is another Wat in the same complex.

One of the nice things coming from Bangkok is the green and the mountains.

It was a bit of a walk but the impressive waterfall, Namtok Khun Kon, with a 70m drop, made it worthwhile.

The Condo Part 2

I do like my little condo.

This is the corridor down to my unit, with both the pool and the gym on this level.

This is what you see when you step in the front door. You enter the living area and the bedroom is in the distance.

From another angle you see the TV and the door into the kitchen

This is looking from in the bedroom back to the living area.

The bedroom has a nice leafy outlook and a big comfortable bed.

You can close off the bedroom from the living room with the sliding screen doors you see below.

The kitchen works well and in typical Thai style the washing machine is out on the balcony.

With food on the soi so cheap the kitchen doesn't get that much use!

Hive 65 Condo

After a year out in the suburbs it was time to experience Bangkok city life. I found a brand new condo in an area called Phra Khanong, a few minutes from the BTS or skytrain and on a very lively soi.

The condo is located next to a very big temple complex called Wat That Thong. You can see it behind the wat - it is the yellowish building. This shot was taken on zoom from Ekkamai BTS Station.

My street comes off one of the main roads in Bangkok - Sukhumvit. You can see why it is a better option to take the high route on the skytrain. The grey car on the left is coming out of my soi.

The streets coming off the main roads are given the name of the main road and a number. Mine is Soi Sukhumvit 65, which is also known as Soi Chaiyaphruek.

There are lots of shops along the soi and many, many great food stalls where a big dinner can be bought for the equivalent of about $1. If you look closely you can see my yellow condo in the distance in the next two photos.

Here it is up close - a nice leafy and quiet location.

This is the view from the front of the condo back down the soi.

One of the features that made this condo so appealing is its beautiful swimming pool. It is surrounded by trees and is a lot bigger than many of the pools in the other condos that I checked out. I spend plenty of time in the pool!

Another great feature is the gym - just near my unit. I have got myself into the habit of working out and as there are not a lot of people living in the condo yet, I usually have it to myself.

Next week I will show you inside my place...

Ko Phi Phi

One of the things that Thailand is famous for is the beaches and I had a weekend away at one of them at Ko Phi Phi.

It was a bit far for a weekend - an hour in the plane to Krabi then a two hour boat ride to the island - but it is not hard to relax once you are there.

The boat landed at the main Pier, just one of many boats of all shapes and sizes, the bay offering good shelter. Most of the boats are there for the tourists to take a trip to one of the other islands.

The weather was not very kind to us but the sun came out for long enough to get an idea of the beauty of the place. I will let the photos speak for themselves.