Chiang Mai - the 'lay of the land'

The city has a population of 150,000, with outlying towns taking it to over a half mil.

The city is 'flat-as-a board', but is surrounded by hills/mountains, on ALL sides.

Easily reachable, on the western edge of Chiang Mai, is the 5,482 foot, Doi Suthep.

Near the top of Doi Suthep, is one of the most famous, and beautiful, wats (Buddhist Temples) in all of Thailand; the 625-year old, Wat Phratwat Doi Suthep.

On a clear day on night, the view from the top, is nothing short of SPECTACULAR!!!

I've never counted 'em, but there is rumored to be 309 steps up to the pagodas. I suppose if you're a wus, you can take the tram.

----------
The city is 435 miles north of Bangkok, and has very good, frequent, and inexpensive air service between the two cities. If you like to 'experience' travel, or are simply 'cheap', you can take the trains or busses.

----------
Many cities around the world are either on a bay or a river. Since the nearest bay is +300 miles away, Chiang Mai had to settle for the Mae Ping. The Ping River, depending on the season, is often slow and somewhat muddy.

The Mae Ping flows south, where it becomes a major tributary of the Chao Phraya River, which was in it's day, the life-blood of the ancient capital of Siam, Ayutthaya.

The Chao Phraya continues on right smack through the middle of Bangkok, and then on for another 35km before reaching the Gulf of Thailand.

-----
I think a beautifully written description of the Chao Phraya 'Lord of the Rivers' is in a book titled, “Memoirs of a Bangkok Warrior", by Dean Barrett.

"The river rolled leisurely under a bright blue cloud-streaked sky, from its origin far above the old capital of Ayutthaya, to its inevitable merger with the Gulf of Thailand at Paknam. Its muddy brown water carries patches of green weeds, flotsam, ferries, naval craft, heavily laden rice barges, heavily laden tourist boats and fast moving vegetable boats skifully paddled by Thais every bit as colorful as their poscard counterparts."

----
photo: 'Believe it, or Not!!!'; it's moi, doin' a little moonlighting.

I hump Singha Beer up, and 'Ballpark Franks' and 'Thai crackerjacks' down.