Following our first few days in Bangkok we boarded an overnight train North to Chiang Mai. As far as inland experiences go the train was a wonderful way to see the jungle and various landscapes of northern Thailand. We spent hours talking to a new aquaintance named Change. We discussed Thailands social services programs and their fight against the well known child sex trade. So wonderful to hear a natives perspective on his own country. Change actually stopped off at an outlying town just south of Chiang Mai and he kindly asked if we would help him off load his motor cycle which he had purchased in Bangkok. We were all to eager to help until we realized that there would be no ramp involved. We were to lift it off of the train! So, me and my bad back plus three young men lifted a roadster style motorcycle off of a train in Thailand. Who gets to say that! By the way, my back is fine.
Once in Chiang Mai we began to walk the streets in search of that perfect hostel. You know, the one that would let four guys sleep in a room for two. After about an hour we found it. Julie's Hostel (found in our handy lonely planet travel guide) was nestled back in an alley and was home to 
many hippie's and European travelers. Almost everyone there was white, which says two things loudly: 1-It's probably safe and 2-this is a tourist area. The good news is that Julie's hostel is located in an awesome part of Chiang Mai. Coffee shops and massage parlors were at every corner. Chiang Mai was full of eco tourists and European adventerers. I don't think I have ever seen such a mass mix of culture in one place before. Americans, Europeans, Burmese and Thai filled the streets and yet Chiang Mai still held a since of authentic Thai culture. From it's architechture to it's night street markets Chiang Mai hits the top of my travel experience chart I think.
many hippie's and European travelers. Almost everyone there was white, which says two things loudly: 1-It's probably safe and 2-this is a tourist area. The good news is that Julie's hostel is located in an awesome part of Chiang Mai. Coffee shops and massage parlors were at every corner. Chiang Mai was full of eco tourists and European adventerers. I don't think I have ever seen such a mass mix of culture in one place before. Americans, Europeans, Burmese and Thai filled the streets and yet Chiang Mai still held a since of authentic Thai culture. From it's architechture to it's night street markets Chiang Mai hits the top of my travel experience chart I think. The guys and I grabbed a coffee later that afternoon and I remembered a contact someone gave me before I left the states of a pastor who ran an orphange in Chiang Mai. I wasn't sure if I would call him or not when I was first handed his number, but all of a sudden I felt moved to give him a call.
