Our journey continues, passing from one capital to another: from Sukhothai, the ancient heart of the Siam kingdom (before Ayutthaya and Bangkok), to Chiang Mai, capital of the Lanna, a kingdom that was conquered by what in the 1900s took the name of Thailand.
Compared to Sukhothai and Bangkok, the style of the temples is completely different: much more decorated and colorful. Furthermore, Chiang Mai is definitely smaller than Bangkok, with about a third of the population and the old city is enclosed by square walls that give it a unique charm.
You can breathe a different air, more relaxed and less chaotic but at the same time lively, especially because the famous Lantern Festival is celebrated on the weekend we arrived. This city immediately enchanted me: small, easy to get around on foot, and full of vegetarian and vegan options. A true paradise for me!
I had the opportunity to taste the delights of traditional Thai cuisine in a plant-based key. Among my favorite dishes, a special mention goes to the revisited Khao Soi: a soup of egg fettuccine (similar to ours) immersed in a mixed curry broth, accompanied by tofu (traditionally chicken is used) and completed with a crunchy garnish of fried fettuccine. Absolute goodness, super tasty and delicious!
But let's get to the question you're probably asking yourself: everything is beautiful, Khao Soi is good, Chiang Mai and the Lantern Festival are wonderful, but in the end did you meet the guys from Pechino Express? (For those who missed it, HERE is the article where I talked about it)
Unfortunately, no. And here I go back to the title to explain why. When we arrived in Chiang Mai, it was the week before Black Friday, one of the busiest periods of the year for those who work in marketing. In the first few days there, we spent entire days immersed in work: update calls with clients, strategy implementation, optimizations, analysis… Many hours spent in hotels or coworking spaces preparing advertising campaigns or participating in meetings and, unfortunately, very few exploring the city. In short, a real tour de force!
Chiang Mai, however, still had so much to offer, and we couldn't miss out on all the experiences we had planned. So, we decided to extend our stay: instead of staying just one week, we stayed two, to have time to explore the city and dedicate ourselves to some unmissable activities.
Among these, one of the most exciting experiences was visiting an elephant sanctuary - obviously ethical, with specimens saved from exploitation - and trekking on Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand. It was an incredible day, a succession of emotions: trekking through the rice fields and uncontaminated nature, contact with the elephants - feeding them bananas, petting them, washing them, observing them in their natural state. A magical experience!
Finally, after the stress of Black Friday, we had time to breathe and take part in a networking evening dedicated to digital nomads, just like us.
Chiang Mai is famous for being one of the most welcoming cities for digital nomads and that evening was confirmation of this. There were almost fifty of us, each with a unique story. It was really interesting to interact with other professionals: some had their own business, some were experts in SEO, some in email marketing or automation. A stimulating evening, which opened our minds and… not only that!
After that meeting, the following days were full of new contacts and collaboration opportunities with companies all over the world. It was that evening that I understood how important networking is in our work: getting to know new realities not only enriches you, but can also open the way to unexpected collaborations!
And, speaking of changes of plan: we decided to take a small detour before entering Laos. We will return to a country that is close to my heart and that I have not visited for about ten years… My beloved China!
I am writing to you from here and I can't wait to tell you how it was to come back after such a long time. In the meantime, enjoy the latest images of Thailand and... I'll talk to you very soon!
Follow us