Shopping in Chiang Mai

We've moved on to Chiang Mai, which is a three-hour bus ride from Chiang Rai. A ticket cost 180 baht on the VIP bus. It's the first nice bus we've traveled on! :) We've checked into Julies Guesthouse. It’s just 200 baht for a double room. Really cheap, but it’s not as nice as the places we've been used to staying at before. We just visited a tailor and got measured for some clothes. The total came to 24,500 baht. We chose the best materials. I’ve been able to use some knowledge from my Ol-Tex days to make sure we get good quality. Honny is getting: 1 shiny suit with a purple striped shirt (4,500 baht) 1 striped suit with a blue shirt (4,500 baht) 2 matching silk ties (free) 1 ¾ length wool coat (5,500 baht) I’m getting: 1 striped suit (5,000 baht) 1 silk suit with a skirt (5,000 baht) Chiang Mai is a lovely modern city with plenty to do. One big difference really stands out after just coming from Laos. There are a lot of men in Chiang Mai with Thai girls—men who probably wouldn’t have many chances back home. In Laos, it’s forbidden for a local girl (or guy) to be seen out with a foreigner. A relationship with a local isn’t really possible. If someone wants to get married, it has to be approved by the government first. So, Laos isn’t heading in the same direction as Thailand and Cambodia. We had dinner at an Irish restaurant where the owner was super chatty. He kept going around to the tables to check if everything was okay and to have a little chit-chat. There are tons of bars in the city, so we wrapped up the evening with a little pub crawl to check out the options.