October 2025 – February 2026

2025-10-29

Victoria ✈️ Vancouver ✈️ Singapore ✈️ Bangkok ✈️ Chiang Mai

Travelling back to Chiang Mai

During our non-travelling time in Victoria, we spend countless hours traveling vicariously on YouTube taking notes. There is wealth of real time recommendations and new found gems to checkout when we get back to Asia.

So now we’ve been here 2 weeks. Every year the question is always, can we see our way clear to pull off another winter in SEAsia. The spirit is ready and willing — it just comes down to — are we up for enduring the epic trek. This year was a long 4 flights ✈️ and 48 hours from our door to our hotel in Chiang Mai.

We’re now back in the same accommodation we had last year in Chiang Mai, Nivas Chiang Mai Hotel. It’s exactly as we left it. Same smiling faces from the super staff, same delightful room. Nice to be “home” again. We’ll be here til Dec 27th. A friend will be one floor down in an identical room. (arrives Nov 3rd). We’re also overlaping for a week at Christmas with other friends from Victoria. Sounds like a party is brewing — maybe even some Tequila, “etc”. 😜

On Dec 29th we will leave wonderful Chiang Mai and travel south, back to Siboya Bungalows for 3 weeks. Family from Kelowna are also coming now that their kids are old enough to do the long haul to SEAsia.

Jan 21st we will be in Kuching, Borneo 🇲🇾
Jan 24th we are at Agung Mulu National Park for 3 nights 🇲🇾
Jan 27th back to Kuching 🇲🇾
Jan 29th we’re in Danang, Vietnam for a week 🇻🇳
Feb 5th we’re in Hanoi, Vietnam for 5 nights 🇻🇳
Feb 10th we fly home via Taiwan 🇹🇼

Don’t really know why, but jet-lag wasn’t too bad this year, sleep wise. Although, after 5 days, we’re still exhausted by mid day. The temperature is cooperating favourably, 22ºC at night and highs around 29ºC day time. And it seems we got out of Victoria just in time to dodge the big wind/rain storm back home. 😎🌴

It’s super relaxing to be here, no plans day to day other than where’s dinner. And, Chiang Mai is a cornucopia of delightful choices.

This morning we indulged a bit. The Cafe de Oasis is a semi-urban area, a bit out of the Old Town, but only 10 minutes by Grab (Asia’s Uber) from our place. It’s grown quite a bit since were there last, but still a true oasis. Fabulous designer breakfast. Yum. 😋

2025-10-31

Halloween in Chiang Mai 🎃

Thais love to celebrate. Without any religious overtones, they have full on embraced Christmas celebrations years ago with ever-increasing fanfare, zest and marketing. Fast forward to today—Halloween has joined the mix. In recent years, we’ve noticed more and more spooky decorations popping up across major cities. But this year in Chiang Mai, it was full-on. We spent the evening at One Nimman on the 31st, an upscale open-air mall in the trendy Nimman district.

Opened in 2018, One Nimman blends modern design with classic Lanna architecture, giving it a distinctive northern Thai charm. The complex is a favourite gathering spot for both locals and tourists, featuring boutique shops, craft stalls, cafés, and restaurants tucked around cobbled courtyards. Its iconic clock tower and fairy-lit walkways make it especially photogenic at night. The space often hosts cultural events, art installations, and weekend markets—so it’s no surprise that Halloween found a perfect stage there.

All the vendors joined in, handing out trick-or-treats while costume contests and judging events kept the energy high. We grabbed a beer and found a seat in the open courtyard, where live music added to the festive mood. The entire scene made for fantastic people-watching and endless photo-ops.

2025-11-06

Chiang Mai Loy Krathong/Yi Peng Festivals 🏮

Celebrating Loy Krathong/Yi Peng Festivals is mandatory if you are in Chiang Mai during the 12th full moon of the Thai lunar calendar. It’s kinda become our routine to have dinner at Samsen Villa Restaurant on the banks of the Ping River for this event. Getting a reservation is always a necessity and therefore an in-person advance visit is required or it will be lost in translation. Glenn joined us this year and sunset was fabulous. Joann launched her Krathong right in front along with many others.

Loy Krathong is a Thai festival celebrated nationwide. “Loy” means to float, and “Krathong” refers to a small decorated basket traditionally made from banana leaves. People release their krathongs on water to honour the Goddess of Water (Mae Khongkha) and wash away misfortune or past misdeeds. Yi Peng is unique to northern Thailand (Lanna culture). It coincides with Loy Krathong and involves releasing paper lanterns (khom loi) into the sky — symbolizing letting go of negativity and making wishes for the future.