Day 41: Taste of Home

Seems like half of this trip is spent getting from place to place. But we finally make it to Chiang Mai, where an old childhood friend was so gracious to pick us up from the airport. Thanks to Facebook, we were able to reconnect when she saw that I was coming to her new hometown, having recently moved from Indonesia. I love having International friends!

Even though we hadn't seen each other in person for over 20 years, we recognized each other immediately and it felt like no time had passed at all. We quickly caught up on our goings-on in the last two decades and then it was just like we were hanging out back in the day, as we reminisced of our days of yore.

My first impression of Chiang Mai was that it is much more civilized than the rest of the country with cleaner, more paved roads and the usual comforts of home, like air-conditioned grocery stores and shopping malls. The city is full of ex-pats and the area where my friend lives is filled with English-speaking folk.

The biggest difference, though, is how cheap the cost of living is. The house where my friend is staying only costs them $400/mo! Even compared to other cities of Thailand, things were notably cheaper here. Stupid tourist tax!

Well, the power of the US dollar apparently got us a "premium" upgrade at the Empress Hotel, complete with bonus amenities and perks. And I believe it only cost us $50/nt! No hostel for us tonight :)