Chiang Mai: Temples in the Old City & the Night Market

I loved wandering the streets of the Old City. It's the definition of Past-Meets-Present when you see the most regal Bhuddist Temples amongst scooter-drivers disobeying traffic lights, massage places staffed by ex-prisoners and every kind of elephant-printed pant-skirt you could want (I'm still trying to figure out how to pull off those Bali/Harem/Hippie/MC Hammer pants). In summary, all of life's necessities packed into a perfect 2km square.

I walked from The Green Tiger House by Chang Phuak Gate (the North gate) to the Night Bazaar outside Tha Phae Gate (the East gate) and passed by many of the well-known temples along my way.  It was good practice for me and my new BFF -- the Olympus E-M10 Mark II mirrorless camera -- because I still haven't figured out what 2/3 of the buttons do.  Yes, that's right... me and my buddy Mark are fulfilling all of your Asian stereotype fantasies.

P.S. If you are even remotely thinking about buying a digital camera... do yourself a favor and read this techradar guide first.

Monks are real people who get wedgies, too

I was on a weirdly obsessive mission to find the best Khao Soi in Chiang Mai.  It's a traditional Northern Thailand dish that's Burmese-influenced. You can read more about it and the best places to find it the city here and here.

Khao Soi

The Night Bazarre... very similar to Taiwanese night markets but there was more of a shopping vs. street food emphasis here.