DAY 8 and 9: Phuket to Chiang Mai

Just another breakfast at the Les Meridien Phuket:

We then found our way to Phuket Airport, for $20.  It took longer to get there than we expected.  When we finally got to the Air Asia counter, we were 10 minutes away from the check-in deadline.  Then it got worse, for the person who sat between us had a mask on and was coughing.  I tried to do as little talking to him as possible anyway, but we then found out he was visiting Phuket from CHINA!  How did he get into Thailand, we asked, for people from there are not allowed in.  He said something about the laxness of flying in from a small airport in his country into Phuket.  While most in the plane wore masks, except me, every few seconds someone in plane coughed.  Hope these were the ones wearing a mask.  Nevertheless, I had a beer with macadamia nuts while everyone was coughing around me.  Seemed like I was the only one eating.

We made it to Chiang Mai, and the cab fare to the Les Meridien was only $4.  What an oasis.

The last time I was in this city I was on a Tauck tour, and we stayed at the Four Seasons.  Real Japanese wagyu beef was served, and this was covered with the all-inconclusive price.

There is an executive lounge, where drinks are free from 5PM to 8PM, with food.  Took a photo of part of the staff:

We have a very nice room where our view just below us is the night market:

Chiang Mai at 429 miles is slight closer to Bangkok than Phuket:

While the city has 160,000 people, the metropolitan area has nearly a million.  Founded in 1296, Chiang Mai was one of the cities being considered for the 2020 World Expo, that will be held in Dubai.  A sister-city is Pyongyang, North Korea.  It can get cool in Chiang Mai, with snow in the hills.

Air pollution is bad from February to April, many times reaching twice the standard limits.  The problem is corporations clearing land for new crops.   That crop is almost always corn. The word is don't go to Chiang Mai in March.  Well here we are, towards the end of February.

There are over 300 Buddhist temples (called wats).  We just missed the flower festival, which is held annually in February.  Night bazaars are popular.  They're everywhere.  Like Phuket and Hawaii, Chiang Mai has around 10 million visitors/year.  It is particularly affected by the COVID-19 quarantine, for China tours were ramping up.

Among the things to do in addition to night markets are:

• MAIIAM Contemporary Museum
• a day with the elephants
• there is a kind of grand canyon (photo)

• but don't go Tiger Kingdom
• chat with a monk
• climb up sticky waterfalls
• eat gaang-hang-lair (fatty pork belly)
• Uber travel works
• there is an erotic garden

The executive lounge is below average in quality of alcohol and cuisine, but with a wonderful staff.  However, considerably better than the Les Meridien Phuket, which had nothing.

We then took a stroll through the night markets.  I bought a fabulous shirt for $6 and Chiang Mai t-shirt, two items I really don't need:

Another good night of sleep.  Breakfast. 

I'll tomorrow report on our trip to Tiger Kingdom, two butterfly exhibits at the Siam Insect Zoo and World Insect and Live Breeding Museum, plus orchid park.

To close, China has the most confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 74,516, and deaths, 2.113.  Slight less than a 2% fatality rate.  The Diamond Princess is #2 with 634 cases and two deaths, both in their 80's..  If no more cases are found, the number of deaths should just about reach double digits, or 10.  Thailand has dropped to #7, and, with no deaths.  Since we arrived almost ten days ago there might have been only one or two additional COVID-19 confirmations.

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