It's all about timing

For the last month or so here in Chiang Mai the weather has been a toasty 25 to 30 degrees with clear sunny skies. The very day I bomb in to do a 3 day hill trek it starts a monsoon rain. At least I won't be sweating too much...

As far as interesting places go Chiang Mai is pretty cool. It's a lot like small towns in Malaysia but the people are friendly and less abrupt. I've also seen more foreigners here in one day than my whole 2 months in the DRC. A refreshing change to say the least.

Cost of living for a farang is also pretty good. The boutiquy hotel I'm in is only 1000baht a night. About $35 aussie at current rates.

Had a wonder down to the night markets tonight. There are 2 different sections. The first one where you'll struggle to see one white man, is the local food area with roadside stalls and fruit vendors. Makes for a great dinner location. Chilli lime squid, dumplings, fresh juices.
To my amusement, I get treated as a local (initally anywhay) so I get to move around without getting hassled too much.
Down in the next section however, is where all the local trinketry is sold and where you'll find the grazing grounds of the 'Great White Tourist'. You'll see them milling around their favourite food dispensers of such variety as 'Burger King' and 'MacDonalds'. Kind of defeats the whole purpose of a culture change if you ask me, but no one is so moving on...
The foreigner radar was a bit keener down there. What was funny was looking at vendor faces and seeing them trying to work out whether I was a local or not and what language to start in. One industrious lady covers it all and produces a version of "Hello, hello you look see" in 5 languages all in one breath.

Bearing in mind I've got a 3 day trek ahead of me and I'm carrying everything I've got, I restrained from buying too much. So I only escaped with 3 pairs of cotton pants, 2 silver neck chains and a silver ring. I reckon I did alright.