We arrived in Chiang Mai around dinner time. We got a shared taxi and it took us right to our place. We checked in at our chinese hostel and went for dinner afterwards. We found a real nice place called dash bar with live music, decent food and awesome cheesecake. 
The next morning we were supposed to meet our friends but they got lost along the way. That is when we met Paul, Aay and Freya. The family across the street owning our favourite place in Thailand, the Banh Mi Guest House & Restaurant. We started having breakfast there the first day and did not want to go anywhere else afterwards. I will tell you more later.
Fruit Muesli and coffee
Since we had a delayed start and the heat during noon was too much to handle, we decided to hang out at the hostel for a while chatting away with our friends. Afterwards we headed towards the temples of the old city. This is basically what happened almost everyday in Chiang Mai. Especially because the main attraction during our time there was the Loi Krathong festival. A festival of lights which takes place all over town and everything is illuminated with candles and lanterns. We were even able to see the lanterns go up in the sky from a rooftop.
My favourite temple made from teakwood
Getting dark, around 6 pm Yi Peng (Loi Kratong)
Lanterns in the night sky
We also did a cooking class with Sammy which was not only yummy but also hilarious. And we learned a good deal about cooking thai food. Be aware, I will be cooking a lot when getting back!
Best toilet in Chiang Mai
What else not to miss in Chiang Mai? Doi Suthep! You will have a great view over the city and it is glowing in the sun. It is probably the most golden building I have ever seen. Be sure to take sunglasses.
We were in a hiking mood afterwards and went down to discover another beautiful temple located around a waterfall. It was quiet and peaceful there a perfect spot to unwind.
When we came back we had dinner and went to the river with our newly found friends and our old friends from home. We had a great night, got ourselves lanterns and learned how to let them fly. This might have been one of the highlights of our trip.
And then we started organizing our trip to Pai…