As part of traveling independently, a person ends up sometimes in places that they wouldn’t have necessarily chosen had they planned ahead. Liberia, Costa Rica is one such place. I started out yesterday from Playa Del Coco and couldn’t make it all the way to La Fortuna on the public bus (cheapset way to go). I almost got stuck in an even less desirable place and quickly got back on the public bus and backtracked to Liberia. I’m going back to La Fortuna today and from there to Tortuguero to go to that huge wildlife park they have there.
Here’s a quick run-down of my favorite places in Northern Thailand. Again, this was at the request of a friend of mine who will be visiting the area. Hope it helps!
I also really liked Northern Thailand so I hung out there for quite a while. When you get close to Northern Thailand, you’ll want to start looking at Pai (Laid-Back Hippy Town-eat at The Good Life and stay across the street at Baan Pai Village), Chiang Mai (Beautiful-100’s of Temples within inner city walls) and Mae Hong Song (visit Mae Awe on Thai/Myanmar border-magical little town-hit at sunset…not sure if they have places to stay-buy the best tea you’ll ever find anywhere-the ginseng is amazing!) to visit in Northern Thailand.
You’ll also want to go to Doi Inthanon (highest point in Thailand and amazing Stupas near the top-and I mean amazing…hit them right at sunset for best pictures) and Doi Suthep (on hill right by Chiang Mai, nice way to cool off from the heat of the city-rent motorbike at Smile Rentals from a female named Joe 1 block into inner cityfrom Thapae Gate which is right by the Sunday and Night markets). Whew!
That should be enough to keep you busy for a while. 
WT
Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep is on the Doi Suthep hill right next to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Some folks might call it a mountain-I, being from Colorado, call it a hill. There are very nice views of Chiang Mai from both the Wat itself and also from the viewpoint coming up the hill. The temple is very large and nicely kept. It has two huge dragons for handrails going up steep stairs to the temple itself.
I borrowed Jonn Serrie’s music for it, I hope he doesn’t mind. It fits so well. Sorry again about the jumpiness of the video…hand-held is tough at best and the monopod I brought is next to useless. I’ll have a tripod next time I’m guessing, but who wants to carry it?
I am still staying in the Inner City of Chiang Mai in one of the best bang-for-buck places that I stayed in Thailand, Pachkit House. I literally walked all over the inner city and this was the best deal that I found. They have AC and Internet (wired) for cheaper than the other places were with a fan. This is a hi-tech backpacker’s dream! Before moving here, I was staying at The Chiang Mai Thai House which I liked very much, as well. I was able to stay in a fan room there because they have a very nice pool to cool you off on those hot afternoons. They also have wireless Internet for a small extra fee. However, I wanted to be within the Walls. I have a friend who stays without fail on the Ping River which runs through Chiang Mai on the East side of town.
Also, you might notice the haziness that is in all of my long-range shots. This is because April is not only the hottest month, it is also the month that they burn all of the brush in the jungle to keep it thinned out. It was explained to me that they do this to avoid full-blown jungle fires that would kill everything. Northern Thailand is dry in the Summer and I could see how this would easily happen if they didn’t set these fires.
Basically, when you go to Northern Thailand in the Summer, everything is on fire. This is alarming at first but then I noticed that the fires couldn’t get out of control because the trees were totally immune. Since they burn every year, the fire isn’t big enough to cause much damage. Their strategy of jungle management seems to work quite well but my Tourist pictures suffered!
WT
