Empress Chiang Mai

Arrivée à Chiang Mai et accueil à l'hôtel. Rencontre du groupe de touristes et de nos guides Best Tours.

Après la journée d'hier, nous sommes perplexes quant aux excursions proposées par Best Tours... Néanmoins, nous sommes là pour découvrir et donc nous choisissons l'excursion "Découverte de la nature" pour 1330 THB la journée par personne. Nous passons alors une journée dans la beauté et le calme de la nature en faisant une promenade en charrette à boeuf puis une promenade à dos d'éléphant à travers les forêts et la verdure pour terminer par la descente en radeau de bambou sur le Mae Taeng. Re...

Visite dans les quartiers Sankampaeng et Bor Sang. Depuis longtemps, Chiang Mai est renommée pour ses spécialités artisanales (tailleries de rubis, saphirs, jades, orfèvrerie, ateliers et tailleurs de soie, sculpture sur bois,..). Nous observons les artistes et artisans en train de fabriquer des objets à la main avec beaucoup de patience et de compétence. De la colline qui a 1600m de haut, une belle vue panoramique sur la ville de Chiang Mai s'étendra sous vos yeux. Presqu'au sommet du Doi Su...

The flight early this morning was only two hours long, and arrived in Bangkok at around 06:00. I slept perhaps forty-five minutes. We had a two-hour layover in Bangkok which we spent in the same bustling business-class lounge. Once in Chiang Mai we took a taxi to the Empress Hotel, checked in and had a wonderfully welcome shower and change of clothes. I called Marjolaine right away to catch her before she went to bed. She's missing me, I can tell by her voice. It's hard for both of us to be a...

Today we slept in a bit, much needed, and enjoyed the nice breakfast buffet at the Empress. Then I got caught up on some computer work and e-mail. We had another long talk with Leon and made arrangements for the teachers to have transport to the Riverside Restaurant, one of my favorites in Chiang Mai - right on the river, for dinner. They were to arrive at 18:30 at the Empress, but didn't arrive until after 19:00. We took the hotel shuttle over to the Riverside and got a table for eight. Most...

Today we spent the morning doing office work and getting caught up on my journal and various other things. Leon came by about 14:00. Gloria came too, and we talked for about three hours. Dave and I made a number of suggestions to help and also to review the parameters of Youth Corps volunteers' work for Legacy. I had told the teachers I was planning to come out and video tape them in brief interviews, but by the time we finished with Leon it was past 17:00. Daniel Miller called Leon's cell ph...

Given the level of interest my mention of attending a particular birthday party here before I left home, I thought I'd do a quick post with a few photos before we head off to Laos, where Internet connections may be few and far between. So, here's the back story... Anh, who operates the tour desk at the guesthouse where I'm staying throws himself a birthday party every year and invites everyone. This year, he pulled out all the stops and hosted the party at the tres-posh Empress Hotel on the r...

My trip is coming to a close. I have not been able to keep up with my blog at all, as we have been busy from morning to late at night. During the days, it's AGM and working with the kids. In the evenings, it's dinner, sightseeing, shopping, etc. Thailand is great! The people are very friendly, the food is good, and the opportunities are one of a kind. Some highlights of my personal time: Sitting on an elephant's trunk and back Riding the elephant through the jungle and seeing it paint a pictu...