Posted on Wednesday, 6 January 2016

As Thailand's second city, one might imagine Chiang Mai to be a throbbing urban metropolis akin to the capital, Bangkok. But this ancient settlement in the jungle-clad north feels like an overgrown country town, with a laid back tourist-friendly atmosphere seldom found in Bangkok.

Night Train to Chiang Mai

I boarded the 12-hour overnight train from Hualampong station to Chaing Mai, costing about £16. Luckily I chose a lower bed, which, after it had been converted from a seat by the train guard at around 7pm, was a far more spacious affair than any of the poky upper berths. Unlike other sleeper trains I have travelled on, it was actually possible to get some sleep on the Chiang Mai Express.

As we trundled through the night I was only vaguely aware that it was Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day I emerged groggily from Chiang Mai Station, greeted by calls from songthaew drivers looking to take passengers into town – for a greatly inflated fee. I decided to walk the mile or so in to the centre.

Tuk-Tuk in Chiang Mai, Thailand (Perfect Lazybones/Bigstock.com)

The old heart of Chiang Mai is a square mile, marked out by an ancient moat and accompanying rectilinear road.

I passed a Thai girl in a Santa hat, who drew my attention to her restaurant's menu. Tired and hungry, I gave in to her smile and ordered a Christmas breakfast of fried eggs and toast.

Ben

I was in Chiang Mai for two reasons: the first was to catch up with my rather aloof friend Ben. We had both been in Bangkok for a full two weeks but I had only pinned him down to a single meeting. I wondered what he had been doing in the Thai capital for so long by himself? Most people could only stand the noise and bustle for a few days (I myself have grown to like 'BKK' very much).

GoPro

The second reason for being in Chiang Mai was to try out my new GoPro. I had actually intended to buy a (much) cheaper Chinese copy in Bangkok's MBK shopping mall, but, having seen the amazing footage on the GoPro demonstration screens, couldn't help myself. Besides, it was Christmas Eve and in my money belt was a thick wad of cash waiting to be spent (although in fact this was meant to last me two weeks).

GoPro camera (ymgerman/Bigstock.com)

Chaing Mai offers a wealth of activities for the GoPro user – from quad bikes to white water rafting, elephant treks to mountain biking. There's plenty of potential adrenalin-pumping footage to be captured here.

Rubber Dinghies

However, once I had tracked down Ben for some Christmas Day beers, he suggested we float down a local river in rubber dinghies. This wasn't what I had in mind, but I agreed and on Boxing Day we were picked up by the Chiang Mai Tubing Company, who took us to a placid river, gave us a dinghy each – plus another with a freight of ice-cold beer. All three dinghies were tethered together.

Under the blistering sun we began our steady voyage.

While it was a hugely enjoyable four-hour catch-up with Ben, I doubted whether the makers of GoPro would be hankering after the resultant footage: two sozzled Englishmen in yellow rubber dinghies getting occasionally stuck in the gravelly shallows of an almost-dry river.

The Grand Canyon

Ben is a lot like a cat: he can go missing for days, then casually turn up suggesting a day of quad biking or jungle trekking (although admittedly few cats are into quad biking or jungle trekking).

One of the days Ben turned up was New Year's Eve. We decided to visit 'the Grand Canyon' – as it is called by the locals. This impressive system of sheer-sided pools is actually an old quarry that has filled with rainwater. The local tourist board doesn't appear to promote the attraction – partly, I suspect, because a number of people have had serious accidents while jumping off the cliff sides into the greenish water.

Despite being great potential GoPro footage, one look at the lofty cliff edges and I decided not to try it. I did, however, enjoy watching lots of foreigners make the jump. Very few Thais, who are not known for their swimming prowess, attempted the feat.

New Year's Eve in Chiang Mai

That evening we met up with a Spaniard who we'd befriended a few days before. Together we would ring in 2016. Chiang Mai is famed for its New Year's Eve celebrations and we soon discovered why: the locals release thousands of Chinese lanterns into the night sky as the New Year approaches. Each of these simple paper boxes are pushed into the air by a firelighter fixed to a wire cross at the base. The air was thick with a galaxy of these lanterns, often bearing written messages to deceased loved ones or hopes for a successful New Year.

As the countdown concluded, the air was further enlivened with a truly dazzling fireworks display, presenting a wonderful spectacle for my new camera.

2016 was looking good already.

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