In Chiang Mai, we first stayed at a generic hotel that was picked for its nearness to the seminars.

Michael was in meetings all day, so the kids and I spent most of our time at a mall. Unfortunately it was raining almost every day for a week.

One evening we did go to Nic’s Restaurant and Playground. The boys really needed to burn of some energy…Nic’s was fun, creatively beautiful, and had delicious food. Normally when we travel we try to do things that we wouldn’t be able to do anywhere else (like eat Thai food when in Thailand). But, with kids, sometimes the rules have to be changed.

Michael did have one day off so we hopped into a van full of other tourists, and saw elephants…

and tigers…

and snakes, OH MY!

Then it was on to another resort (Suan Bua) for another set of meetings. Fortunately Suan Bua has fantastic grounds so the boys were able to run to their hearts content.

The hotel is getting run down, but it still glints and glitters, and I enjoyed it.

Finally, for our last night in Chiang Mai we moved to a hotel of our own choosing: Chompor Lanna.

Gorgeous.
And, a great deal on Agoda.
And, so close to the Sunday Night walking market.

We spent Sunday Night sampling the amazing foods all along the walking street, getting bargain after beautiful bargain,

and taking in the beautiful temples.

We ended the night with foot massages for the boys and I. J promptly fell asleep, and had to be carried all the way back to our hotel.

The next morning, we had a late afternoon flight so we rented bikes to tour old town Chiang Mai.

We even had a picnic in a park, and fed the fish. Maybe that doesn’t sound like much to you, but in the towns around here there are never parks. And never fish to feed.

Afterwards, we rushed back to our hotel to check out. The hotel had kindly told us they could store our luggage for us while we continued the bike tour, but we had decided to head to the mall so the boys could watch the newly released Planes. With no theaters near us, it was an extra special treat. One nice thing about theaters (at least in Thailand), while the mall wouldn’t let us check our luggage, the theater would. So we bought our tickets, checked our bags, and then walked around the mall while we waited for our show to start. We all loved Planes in 3D.

Then, it was time to start the long trip home.