Chiang Mai, Thailand: 11/19/15

Today we did a half-day cycling excursion with Click & Travel all around the outskirts of Chiang Mai. We joined a group of ten Belgians, since it wouldn't be feasible to run a trip for only two people, and set off on an ~18 mile adventure. The company has bikes for women and men and provides helmets and water. My bike was pretty decent, a mountain bike with multiple gear options, but after 5 hours your butt gets really sore! We rode along the Ping River, which runs throughout the city, and they break up the ride with a few stops to give you a little rundown on the region and culture. Our first stop was kind of weird, at a former leper colony turned rehab center for disabled people. They make and sell crafts at this shop, but I can't imagine anyone but these bike tours comes to it. We then continued along through the beautiful orchards, landscape and villages, and visited temple ruins and an active local village temple. We stopped for lunch at a small little restaurant off the side of the road which honestly was not very good. The plainest pad thai ever (I think they were being too cognizant of foreigners' sensitivities) and fruit. We then rode all the way back to our starting point at the Belgian group's hotel. Overall, it was a fun activity and a way to see random parts of Thailand outside of the city. Jeremy particularly enjoyed it as he is an avid biker. Though it was a leisurely ride, we were definitely tired after!

After the ride, we went back to the hotel, packed up and got ready to go to the airport for our final stop - Bangkok!