First day: It was a wet morning. Our trip to Chiang Mai began onboard the airplane - SilkAir’s plane. My wife and I were tremendously excited and we were on cloud nine when the plane started moving. When the plane was on air, friendly stewardesses served us drinks, followed by food. Upon arriving at Chiang Mai International airport, our tour guide welcomed us and bought us straight to Shangri-La hotel. It took us about 15 minutes to reach the hotel. The hotel was awesome. We then checked-in and went to the room to settle in.

The tour guide bought us to a local coffee shop for lunch where we had the chicken rice. It was fantastic! After lunch, we headed to the Leather Industries. There, they showed us how handbags, shoes and belts were made from cow, crocodile and elephant skins! We then journeyed to the Gem Industries where they showed us how they conducted the process of finding diamonds and transforming them into beautiful jewellery pieces like rings and necklaces. Lastly, we went to an umbrella shop and they showed us how to make umbrellas! It was very interesting but tiring day, so we decided it was the perfect time to claim our complimentary Thai massage. It was so relaxing that we extended an hour to the massage… After the massage, we headed back to the hotel for dinner. They had a variety of food and they were all so delicious! After dinner, we took a trip to Warora market, also known as China Town. They sell anything you wish to buy and we had a fun time bargaining for better deals.

Second day: We took up a local package tour to Chiang Rai. The first stop as at the hot spring - the water was about 90 Degree Celsius! My wife soaked her feet into the water. The water is too hot for me; you would think you could boil an egg at that temperature. Next, we ventured to Wat RongKhun ( White Temple). Although the temple was under construction, it was breathtaking as it was a pure white temple! Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the temple, but memories sufficed. We moved on to the Mekong River and took a boat ride from Thailand to the Burma border and the Laos border. We stopped at the Laos border for half an hour of sight-seeing then we headed back for lunch. Lastly, we visited Long Neck Karen village. We took a couple of pictures and made our way back to Chiang Mai. We reached the hotel at around 8:30pm and had dinner. After that, we went to Saturday Market. One can purchase a variety of things such as clothing, hill tribe products and wood carvings and the list goes on. You could even get antiques there! It was a shopper’s delight!

Third day: We went to Hmong Village and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep located at 1156 meters above sea level on Poi Buthep mountain. It is one of Chiang Mai’s most famous landmarks and had Holy Buddha relics in its golden pagoda. The ascent to the temple is by way of an impressive Naga staircase of around 300 steps or for the less energetic, by cable cars. We took the cable car up and toured the place but descended via the staircase.

With this, we end our 3 days free and easy trip. Even though the trip was packed and tiring, we still enjoyed ourselves. Last but not least, thanks to SilkAir and Happy 20 th anniversary Class 95!!!