Chiang Mai Archives - Roaming Unbound

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Chiang Mai: Royal Pavilion & Park, The Samoeng Loop & Palm Villa

I love Chiang Mai. It was good to be back for a few days before heading to Vietnam for a visa run. Highlights included the Royal Pavilion & Royal Park, Queen Sirikit Botanical Gardens, the Samoeng Loop, and an unexpected stay at the Palm Villa. The Royal Pavilion and Royal

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Hurling (Thailand Travel Diary #5)

Enjoyed a very pleasant flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, on Thai Smile Airlines. The colour scheme was blindly bright orange and purple, including the uniforms that the super cheerful flight attendants wore. Got fetched by my friend immediately after landing. He stays in a flat near the top of

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Date Night (Thailand Travel Diary #6)

I’ve been on the dating apps since arriving. I would say that 50-60% of local matches are simply offering sex. I had been chatting to one Thai girl (May, of the same age) who was keen to meet under normal circumstances. This was my first solo outing and I could

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Confident Smile No.1! (Thailand Travel Diary #8)

It was the “Magic Festival” across the road. A loud and proud band played on stage facing four rows of food stalls. I’ve sampled a few different things, but not from the insect stall (yet). Need to start getting used to the future of food. There was also an animal

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A Farang Takes a Stroll (Thailand Diary #9)

One has to appreciate how easy travel has become with technology. A good camera, e-wallet, translator app and your Navigatrix, all exist in your pocket, cheerfully guiding you around. A dual SIM keeps your current number and WhatsApp intact and uses a Thai SIM for calls and data. Forgot your

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Festival of Lights and Darkness (Thailand Diary #30)

Some loud explosions were coming from outside. They were fireworks. The Thai were gearing up three days early for the Festival of Lights in Chiang Mai and were doing test runs. You don’t usually see the stars in such a city, but large lanterns assumed the role as they soared

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Confident Haircut No.1 (Thailand Travel Diary #25)

I love flip-flopping down the little side streets of Chiang Mai and seeing what I might stumble across. I got a haircut at “CUT ‘EM ALL” with the slogan “All Men Must Cut!” The barber was a follicle surgeon! A real Professor Keratin. Okay, I’m embellishing. He was good. I