I loved Chiang Mai. It is a quiet city, a city of backpackers, that is to say backpackers who are there to visit, to walk, to discover the mountain but not for the least friendly aspects of Thailand, that is to say the nightlife, the girls of the bars and the more or less sordid massage parlours.

This does not mean that we are necessarily bored in the evening in Chang Mai; we can go out, there is life in the streets, there are also very lively night markets.

But it is a city that changes from the frenzy of Bangkok or southern cities like Patong (in Phuket) or Pattaya.

Few cars, almost empty streets at certain times of the day.

It’s a city where you can cross the street quietly, there are even people who stop if you’re on a pedestrian crossing it’s the only place in Thailand where I’ve seen this so far.

And life is not so expensive for Guesthouses, hotels as for restaurants.

As in all cities of Thailand there are magnificent temples, an amazing and modern historical museum

and especially Chiang Mai is the ideal base camp to visit the mountains of northern Thailand which culminate at 2500 m in which you can really realise (with a guide of course, otherwise it can be really dangerous) trekking and visits to authentic villages.

There are many foreigners who are settled here all year round, it is a very cosmopolitan city with bars, restaurants and guesthouses run by people of different nationalities.

It’s really a city that I loved and in which I could imagine living all year round, especially since southern Thailand, whether it’s Bangkok or the islands, is very easily accessible from the airport