Charming Chiang Mai

 Chiang Mai is like Bangkok without the overdose – the night bazaar is medium sized, but similar to the Khao Sanh markets in the products sold except that there isn't so much rushing and over-hawking. It's a lovely place, based on a square grid with a moat surrounding the central township.Unfortunately Bec got sick, so once she was settled in to the hotel room I went exploring in the aim of finding a supermarket. Everything's clearer in hindsight, but had I known that the nearest supermarket was 6km away I may not have engaged in such a task. Anyway after an hour of walking I found this place, and was in heaven – anything I could have wanted at the Rim Ping Supermarkets including cordial, peanut butter, teabags and fresh baked bread. More than that, I wanted something to go with the bottle of red that Bec had brought over, and managed to find gruyere cheese and fresh green olives. The hour walk to the hotel in the midday heat left the olives slightly worse for wear but nothing ever tasted better than gruyere cheese on baguette with wine than eating it in the courtyard of my hotel in Thailand, surrounded by flowering orchids.

The next day we rented a manual scooter for 150baht, which gave us the freedom to check out Chiang mai at a slightly faster pace. After a quick zip around, we headed up to Mae Rim, a valley half an hour to the north of Chiang Mai. First stop was the Tiger Temple, where Bec had found out you can pat live tigers. She wanted to pat the cubs and the big ones, while I settled for just the big ones. They were so beautiful that I want one for a pet, although they seemed a bit too docile (I felt sorry that their killer instincts had been toned down so much!). We then headed up to a snake tamer show, which looked too tacky to enter, and to the waterfalls nearby, which turned out to be 220baht just to look at, which seemed too steep so we turned back (I was offended – in Australia, waterfalls are free; I feel like you shouldn't be able to put a price on natural attractions). On the way back, Bec pointed out a lovely cafe, which had freshly baked cakes, organic coffee and... Scones! I was over the moon, I'd been looking for scones since I was in India. That afternoon tea, although expensive by Thai standards, was the loveliest I have had in a long time, sipping my Darjeeling tea and savouring scones with organic blueberry jam and whipped cream in the shadow of a Thai villa with a beautiful tropical-themed garden surrounding it. We stopped by an orchid farm on the way back; it was stunning to see the sheer mass of orchids; and the different hybrids and colours were awesome. What a day!