Another Moving Day - in more ways than one!

Chiang Mai, Day 73

So today we are on the move again. However, there is no need for a taxi this time as our next stay is a 12-minute walk away! Why, I hear you ask? Well, at the time that we were trying to book our accommodation for Chiang Mai, for some reason, I had real problems trying to find a suitable apartment for the dates that I wanted. As mentioned previously, I would have liked to have split our time between two different areas, but alas, it was not to be. So, after nine days in the Astra Condo, we are moving to its newer and younger brother, the Astra Sky River.

Of course, the benefit of this moving day was that we didn't need to be too fussy about our packing, and we popped our remaining fridge items into a bag and took them with us.

We checked out of the Astra Condo just before 12, and as we couldn't check in to the next place until 2 pm, we sat in the comfortable seats in the back lobby area and read our Kindle books for a bit. Now I should say that both the Astra accommodations have big signs up saying that they are not backpacker hostels and that day and weekly rentals are not permitted but it is blatantly obvious that there are daily and weekly rentals going on as everyday people are arriving and leaving with their suitcases, backpacks or they are waiting around to check-in or for their taxi to arrive. So, I'm sure the notices must be a token gesture to placate any residents who have bought an apartment and are frustrated by the number of tourists who frequent the complex. Note: In Thailand, there are strict rules about owning property and land. I believe non-Thais can buy a condo apartment, but from what I have read, one should never do this as they will only ever lose money. The recommendation is to always rent when staying in Thailand.

We checked in easily to our new apartment. This booking was done via Booking.com and the previous one was done via Expedia. However, the instructions for both apartments were all done via the booking platforms, so we were given instructions on where to go and how to access the room access cards. I think this is the same for many short-term rental accommodations these days.

The apartment is lovely and although both this apartment and the last apartment were about the same size, I prefer this layout which feels a little more square than rectangular it has a much better balcony as it is slightly bigger than the previous one and has two chairs and a little table - always hand when there are two of you! The balcony in the early morning is fabulous as it's cool and you can just watch and listen to the day slowly waking up (I'm typing this up at the moment from the balcony!), and the little birds are singing away as I look over at the trees and little communities below me.

The not-so-good points about the apartment are that there is one glass, one wine glass, one teaspoon, no decent knives, a horrible clothes drying rack on the balcony, which spoils the view, and a very hard bed.

However, these are minor points that we weary nomadic travellers can easily overcome and adapt to. After a quick unpacking of things, we set off for a little walk of our new home and area.

The first stop is on the roof, where the swimming pool, gym, and co-working space are located. Oh my goodness, the pool is amazing! It is the length of the complex and is in the infinite pool style, so you get the most amazing views of the mountains and city areas. However, it is not like the scary pool in the last place, which had a glass wall edge - this one has a more secure brick-built enclosure. The gym looks fine, but I have read complaints in the reviews that it is too small for the size of the complex and the number of users. Of course, that's not an issue for us as we are not going to be using it! The co-working space looks good, but again, I couldn't see us using this space. I guess if you are on your own, it's maybe a good way to meet other travellers.

There is a small sort of shopping complex directly across from the apartment building and we can see that there is a Seven 11, a KFC, and a Dairy Queen store to name a few but we decided to save this area for later and we started walking south as we have not ventured into this part of Chiang Mai previously.

Chiangmailand Road

As we're walking, R advises that there is a Cafe Amazon in an area not that far from us, and as we have come to learn, that often means that there are usually other shops nearby, too. So we take a left onto Chiangmailand Road and head towards the Cafe Amazon location. Now, there are two interesting points about this.

First is that distances on Google Maps always look shorter than they are when you are walking them - well, not really, but we sometimes feel like they are (or we underestimate them!) and when you are getting tired on your way out and you know you are going to have the same walk back.....

Secondly, this was a really interesting street, but sadly, it looks very underutilised now. It's a great road with plenty of space on either side for traffic, and there are lots of little stores, cafes, etc., but there is little traffic or people in the area. It was a real shame, as with a little bit of investment, it looked like it would be an excellent community and could be a thriving hub for local businesses. It reminded me of some of the places that we would come across in Florida (admittedly, many moons ago now), but it just felt like this was a missed opportunity for this area.

After we get to the end of Chaingmailand Road, we see that there is a busy dual carriageway and there is no obvious sign of how to get across the road (we also see the Cafe Amazon shop on the other side), so we call it a day. As we're heading back to the apartment, we decide to have something to eat in the Hoi Tod Chaw Lae Chiang Mai restaurant, which is right next to a Seven-Eleven, and where we plan on getting some of our grocery items. Now this place does a lot of seafood, and it looked very clean and had all the food items covered, with ice and cling film. The food is fried right in front of you, so you can see that it is freshly cooked. I'm keen on trying a mussel omelette, but his nibs is like, "Oh remember what happened with 2 little prawns!", so in the end, I opt for a mushroom omelette instead. Big mistake, BIG, BIG mistake! The omelette was not that great and neither was R's dish of pork stir-fry with rice, but at least we were fed.

We get our grocery items and head back to the hotel. After a quick shower, I decided to test out the pool. It's about 6 pm by now, so I'm thinking the area might be a bit quieter with a lot of the sun worshippers gone or away to get fed and ready for their night. Wrong! There were still loads of people about, although they might have been waiting for the sunset before leaving. The pool was fab and I absolutely loved the views!

After I got back to the apartment from my dip in the pool, I had a quick shower, and then we settled down to watch some Foresty Forest (a Canadian van life YouTuber that we follow), and whilst we were watching this, I was starting to feel a bit blah. Yes, dear readers, it happened again! Now I have no idea if it was the mushrooms that my body did not like or if these (or the bean sprouts that were also in the omelette) had not been washed properly, but something was very disagreeable with me, and I was violently sick. It was odd as the restaurant looked very clean, and it gets great reviews on Google, so I don't think this is typical. Maybe it was just a strange sort of mushroom that was a little too unfamiliar to my delicate body, so it rejected it. R was absolutely fine, and I couldn't help but think that I would probably have been fine if I had just gone with the mussel omelette in the first place. That said, I shall not be revisiting this restaurant.

Today's Walking Route

So that was our eventful day. Hopefully, I'll be feeling much better tomorrow after a good rest.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

31st January 2025