Under Hill and Over Hill

As I said before, business in Chiang Mai is all about referrals.  Our trip was at its very beginning when we were referred to Miss Anong at a Phoenix Happy Hour.  Such serendipitous suggestions clearly couldn't be ignored!

Miss Anong is a Taxi Driver/Tour Guide/Travel Agent, which as it turns out, is an extremely common occupation in Chiang Mai.  Her english and driving were excellent, and she had a few good suggestions for a tour including "caves and the temple on the mountain" which didn't require 8 hours in the taxi.

The day started with a 300 step warm up to reach Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep.  The dragon handrails on the staircase were almost as impressive as the shiny gold temple at the top.

Stop number two was lunch at a Thai place that Miss Anong suggested.  Our table overlooked a little pond which was surrounded by elephant statues.  The food was quite good, and I think the tourist delivery earned our driver a few bonus points with the restaurant.

Stop number three was the Muang-On cave/mountain.  Admission was approximately 60 cents, so we knew we were in for a treat.  Under the mountain first, up the mountain second (coming down the 500 rough stairs mysteriously fixed some knee pain I've been having).  The cave was really cool (but not in terms of temperature) but had a claustrophobia inducing entrance through a steep stairway / ladder!

The last stop was The Sankampaeng Hot Spring.  The Thais were clearly inspired by the sulfur smell in the air and started selling eggs and little baskets to cook in the 105°C water.  All in all, our day with Miss Anong felt like a very authentic tour of the area.

Dave