Chiang Mai

I arrived in Chiang Mai on Wednesday after the 12 hour train ride from Surat Thani, 12 hours of hanging out in Bangkok, and 1 hour flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. I also met a friend while I was in bangkok and we had a great time together, he also took me to the airport. He showed me a cheaper way to get to the airport. We had a great time teasing each other and laughing most of the time.

People here in Chiang Mai are very friendly. I feel very good here and have decided this is where I will live and work. I plan to rent a studio apartment in the downtown area for around ฿4000 a month, which is around $110.00 a month. I could get something cheaper, but this place is where my best friend here lives. The security at this apartment complex is the best. There are security guards everywhere including 1 police officer I believe, security gates, swimming pool, and laundry included.
Chiang Mai is a small city like Cambridge, but only with a lot more history. The energy here is really good for me. It is very hot during the day, but I really thrive on that. The pollution is a bit bad here right now because they have not had any rain for a long time and there have been a lot of forest fires here as well. But soon that will change; rainy season begins in 2 months.
Everything is very cheap here also, contrary to what many people believe. For example: in the south part of Thailand (mostly the Islands) the hourly rate for an Internet cafe is ฿60 per hour, here in Chiang Mai it is ฿20; calculate $1.00=฿36

Bangkok is a nice city really, I felt good there, but it is just too big for me. On March 20 I will take an overnight train to Bangkok from Chiang Mai which cost ฿561 one way, and then I bought a one way ticket to fly to Surat Thani airport on the morning of March 21 for ฿1200 one way. After arriving to Surat Thani airport I will take a bus to the pier to catch a boat to Koh Samui Island. My TEFL program has moved the TEFL Teachers training site to Koh Samui and I am so happy about this. I am looking forward to staying on a new Island for 3 weeks! I can't wait! The accomidation will be better on Koh Samui Island, and frankly I am tired of the party scene that Koh Phangan has. Koh Phangan is an incredibly beautiful Island with mountains and the Local people are really wonderful, but it is also too expensive for me.
I will have more photos to add to this post soon.
I have been busy with my friend here,
but soon I will have more time to dedicate my time to photographing Chiang Mai.