After my visit to Laos, I proceeded west by air to one of my favorite places in Thailand, the ancient capital
called Chiang Mai, and I believe, Thailands' second largest city. In addition to the canals that at one time guarded the old city, there are many places to visit within a short drive.
It was December 25, and I thought that a great place to revisit....I go there every time I am in Chiang Mai, would be The Royal Park Rajapruek. It is about ten kilometers from where my hotel was so I took a taxi
rather than a tuk tuk. Taxi's here are mostly pickup trucks with an enclosed box, (except for a back door) There are bench seats along each side. The drivers usually run a route over an assigned area, and the rate is fixed for that route. To go outside the normal area, you negotiate a price. For this trip, I had to negotiate with the drivers daughter and her parrot.....it would squawk a few times, as if it were disagreeing with the discussion. The driver usually waits for the return trip, or will go to other runs and be back at a set time, several hours later. They are extremely reliable. The trucks are quite comfortable. Since there is no frost, the roads are quite good as a general rule.
There will probably be three pages of photos following this post. Two will be of this park, and the other will be of the Chiang Mai zoo. Of the first two pages, you will see mostly orchids, which I find fascinating.
On the subject of the problem with my VISA card , the bank informs me that the number to call is the 1-800 number on the back of the card. While I tried both numbers when I had the problem, there must have been some glitch in the system. I am considering getting another card, not Visa, for travel in the event of problems. I will probably do another post about January 28. Enjoy!.
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