The Rose of the North

Ahhh, Chiang Mai. The second largest city in the country, the aptly named 'rose of the north'. A charming old city, established in 1296 - sacked by the Burmese (twice) and now considered the 'cultural capital' of Thailand. There's a moat that runs in a pefect square around the center of the city, with old castle wall ruins on each corner. Fountains, flowers and wats (Buddhist temples) permeate the landscape. Some days I think I see more orange robed monks then bohemian style tourists.I left Singapore in December, managed to escape the most rule ridden country I can imagine without one slight infringement. Maybe the fact that they charge $8 for a bottle of beer helped keep me such a law abiding citizen....saw malls give birth to other malls...

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