Chiang Mai Night Bazaar

This morning we left Bangkok bright and early to catch a plane to Chiang Mai, in the north part of Thailand.

Guardian statue like the ones at Wat Phra Kaew in the Departures area

Our hotel in Chiang Mai (The RatiLanna) is gorgeous.  The lobby and common areas are all decorated in the Lanna style.  The Lanna Kingdom existed in the north until the early 1700's, when it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Siam.

Our room is stunning, with hardwood floors, a waterfall next to the tub, and even traditional clothes for the water bottles.

Our balcony has a lounge bed and fantastic views of the Mae Ping river and the lily pond below.

We spent the day lounging at the hotel, and then went for dinner and shopping at the Night Bazaar.

It is a huge tourist attraction and it's open every night of the week.

Vendors sell clothing, DVD's, knockoff luxury goods, and local crafts.

I did buy a few things: a pair of "Havianas", a "Pandora" bracelet, a scarf, and a belt.  Most of the vendors spoke English but they seemed to like that I was able to say numbers in Thai.  Very helpful when haggling!

My favorite things for sale were the colorful lanterns, so pretty!

We also made sure to stop at some of the food kiosks for dinner.  Chicken satay with peanut sauce in the food court...

And these delicious banana cake/crepes covered in chocolate sauce from a vendor cart.  Yummy!

Of course, some people find shopping boring so there is always the nearby cabaret show.  We didn't go (we might another night), but the "ladies" were kind enough to let us take a photo!