While we really enjoyed Bangkok, Chiang Mai, a lovely city in the mountains of Northern Thailand, was a really nice break from the craziness. The city is surrounded by hills, seems much more accessible, has an adorable old town surrounded by a moat with remnants of the brick walls still visible, and is famous for its food. Chiang Mai also introduced a new form of transportation – the songtheaw – red trucks that serve as shared taxis so you just hail them down, tell/show the driver where you’re headed and it’s a flat 20 TB. They still have the tuk tuks but the songtheaws are our fave as they’re everywhere & super cheap.