Thailand Chang Mai And The Night Market

C hang Mai is the largest          restaurants, stores selling art    city in the north of            and spas. The stalls on the side   Thailand and well worth a       of the road tend to sell cheap     trip. In many ways, Chang Mai is      touristy products, but you should  similar to Bangkok, but without       check them out anyway to sample    the mass of people.                   some of the food items. Thais                                            seem to take great humor from      Chang Mai                             cooking anything they can get                                            their hands on so long as they     Chang Mai is perhaps the most         can gross out the tourist. Yep,    serene big city I have ever had       you can munch on fried roaches,    the privilege of visiting.            spiders, crickets and so on. For   Located at the foot of a large        a good laugh, one can hang out     mountain, the city nicely meshes      around the stalls and watch        older areas with modern               tourist try the delicacies. It's   conveniences. Serene Buddhist         like the show Fear Factor without  temples stand only a few blocks       the washboard stomachs and breast  from bustling universities. Much      implants.                          of the city can be walked, but                                           moped rentals are cheap and           To find the "good stuff" at the    plentiful. Street markets are         night market, you should head off  common, but the hustle and bustle     the street and up into the open    of Bangkok is not.                    air malls. As you move towards                                           the back of the malls, the         The night market is perhaps the       quality of the products goes up    most noted thing about Chang Mai.     dramatically. You'll find artist   Located in the eastern side of        not only hocking their wares, but  the city, the night market runs       also creating them before your     about a mile down the length of       eyes. There is some serious        street dwarfed by malls,              talent in the back of those        malls.                                domestically in Thailand is very                                         cheap. A one-way flight from       If silk is your material of           Bangkok to Chang Mai will run you  choice, Chang Mai is a good place     about $40US. There is no need to   to purchase it in bulk. Do not        book ahead. Just walk into the     buy it at the night market.           airport in Bangkok and buy a       Instead, ask your hotel for a         ticket on the spot. If you prefer  recommendation to a shop. Prices      to spend the night in a bunk on a  are low, but quality is high.         train, knock yourself out. Just                                          keep in mind Thais tend to have    Traveler's Tip                        smaller body masses than                                                 Westerners. Much smaller.          Guidebooks will tell you the best                                        way to get to Chang Mai is to         Of all the cities in Thailand,     take an overnight train from          Chang Mai is my favorite. Yes,     Bangkok. Liars! Flying                even more so than Bangkok.         About the Author: Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com - makers of writing journals. Travel journals are great travel accessories and travel gifts for student travel, family vacations and adventure travel. Visit http://www.nomadjournaltrips.com for more travel articles. Source: www.isnare.com