So, another year has come and gone, and whilst it is tempting to write a post about what I have done, and what I’m going to do next year, frankly, I’ve not really had a chance to think about it so far.
So instead I’ll talk about another mini-break. This time we went to Thailand; Chiang Mai to be precise. If you listen to the locals, they’ll tell you that Chiang Mai is Thailand’s second city, so a sort of Thai version of Birmingham then. Possibly, on paper, but in reality, it is a very different sort of place, so far unaffected by the hussle and bussle that usually afflicts large cities.
Chiang Mai was a place to do new stuff. The Dodgess and I went for a spa afternoon. A whole afternoon of being looked after by a gang of masseurs. We had foot massage, body massage, body scrucb, steam, a milk bath, a facial. All sorts frankly. It was all very nice and is a really nice way to spend an afternoon.
Not the spa, but our hotel, which was quite idyllic.
The other speciality of Chiang Mai is night markets. They go around from location to location, and sell all sorts from food to musical instruments, via Asian trinkets and clothes. The Dodgess, built on our collection of textile art by buying lots of weaving and silk; sadly some of them will end up on her classroom walls rather than ours, but they are nice! There is also an awesome set of markets, with all sort of fruit and veg, and other nick nacks.
The indoor market – our favourite probably
One of the night markets
Chiang Mai would, I daresay, be very interesting to Buddhists, with a plethora of temples, all coated in gold, and very impressive, if that sort of thing impresses, but for us – not so much. Equally, somewhat disappointing was a dinner with Asian dance – the costumes were amazing, but we were a bit far from the action, and the food was a bit...
Inside one of the temples
A couple of the fancy costumes
And a mad dancer with swords – rather him than me!
Happy New Year to anyone who may still read this!
