doi suthep - chiang mai

One of the best things I did in Thailand is renting a scooter. I did that in Chiang Mei and in Khao Lak. A scooter allowed me to get to places that would normally be difficult to get to. With a prepaid SIM card I could use my iPhone to figure out where I am.

 One day in Chiang Mei I went up the nearby mountain Doi Suthep that overlooks the city.

My DSLR lens failed very early in my trip but I managed to workaround the crippled lens in complete manual mode, stuck in a fixed aperture.

horse and rider as one - i managed to pick a almost new scooter; in 3 days I put on over 200 km

  you can see the Chiang Mai International Airport from here

 having been in Thailand a while I was having temple fatigue by now

this tree has striking flowers

 faithful worshippers reciting players while circling the golden pagoda

 the long stairs leading to the Wat Phra That temple

adorable hill tribe girl posts for tourists for a fee

 they are dolled up by the parents to bring in income

one of the few coffee farms - they sell brewed coffee in this building; as with most coffee farms who are not that good in roasting and brewing coffee, the coffee is drinkable but not great

 ripped fruits on a tree

 the machine removes the skin and flesh from the fresh fruit

the kids playing

 then they are sorted by hand and dried in the sun

 

 and in the drying green house

 i think these are young saplings

 coffee plants on a hillside slop

different stages of coffee bean - from the tree to the cup; my Thai friend me Chiang Mai University helped these coffee growers to improve their coffee; I later on saw their coffee research facility building there while riding along the the hilly road

It was a holiday and these are the students from Chiang Mai University here doing volunteer work on a stream for the coffee farmers

 a Hmong hill tribe village

these hill tribes originally from China; Hmong people 苗族 were historically considered as outsiders by Chinese; they are now without nationality in Thailand

 tribal children playing under a tree

 this girl is very matured for her tender age - she just calmly sit back and watch as other play

 many were building tiny huts with sticks

 this youngest one is impossibly cute i her traditional dress

breathtaking scenery of distant mountain ranges

a trip to Chiang Mai is incomplete without trying out a bowl of khao soi

 they do a brisk business here with mostly locals

 i always taste the fish sauces to see if they are better in Thailand than ones I buy in the US

a very small menu - is always a good sign

i also tried their chicken - while it is good the dipping sauce is too sweet for my taste; I prefer the Hong Kong version which is made with grated ginger, salt, and peanut oil

 the panoramic view of the city