Wat Phra Kaew is a huge complex of temples surrounded by walls in the old part of the city, nearby governemntal institutions and the Grand Palace of the King. The area was established in 1782 and it hosts more than 100 building among Buddist temples, pagodas and regency institutions. Here are the 3 spires of 3 sanctuaries dedicated to Buddah and containing Buddhist manuscripts, relics and holy objects. They are the tallest structures of the compound (buily in the 18-19 century by the kings of that time. All kings are called King Rama(n)), and you can see them from far outside the walls, rising up between the residencial flats and governmental building surrounding the aera. The architecture of the temples is very fascinatng: intense colors (mostly violet, shinning gold, white, red) of the walls and elaborated statues of gods and mythical beings surround the temples. The terinal edges of the roofs end with a prolonged horns which give in my opinion a devilish aspect to Bangkok religious architecture.

Jim Thompson was an American architect born in Delaware in 1906. He moved to Thailand as a miliray servant during World War II, but fortunately to him the war ended before he saw action. He end up falling in love with Thailand and moved here (similar story of Majorelle) with no relatives or children. Highly gifted as a designer and textile colorist, he contributed substantially to the Thai silk industry growth and export in the West. We make a lot of money with which he built this colonial-stile house in the heart of Bangkok, merging Western architectural style with materials and elements form Asia. He dismantled pieces of old traditional houses aorund Thailand and moved them to Bangkok to assembly his. The rooms are elevated from the ground to protect the house from floods, a practucal precaution of Thailand constructions. Jim suddenly disappeared in 1967 during a trip in Malaysia and was never found (this is the most likely scenario that should happen every day to me accoring to... guess...). His beautiful house remained a must-visit destination in Bangkok.

On the west side of the Chao Phraya river, the main river dividing the capital, rises the Wat Arun, "Temples of Dawn". It is among the best known of Thailand's landmarks. Although the temple had existed since at least the XVII century, its distinctive spires were built in the early XIX century during the reign of King Rama II. To reach it, take a 4THB (12cents) ferry ride across the river. It is massive, 86 meters tall, and it is particulary beautiful looking it dring night when it is lit-up. The facade is decorate with porcelains mosaics. The central and the satellite spires (Prangs) syblolise Hindu cosmology elements and are devoted to the wind god Aruna. The entire structure is composed to different level terraces accessible through stone stairs.

46 meters long, 15 meters high, finished with plaster (aka strucco) and gilded leaf, it is an impressive statue of the Buddha laying down while he is passing into the Nirvana (you can see it form his face). Nirvana is not Smell Like Teen Spirit, but is the Buddist state in which you reach the absence of pain, which is the ultimate goal of life (Schopenhauer is the first Westen philosofer introducing Oriental religion elements in his painful philosophy, it is related). It is the most interestig thing to see in Wat Pho, another complex of temples close to Wat Phra Kaew (temples in Thailand are like curches in the West, they are literally everywhere, but there are much more monks than priests). In the same complex, there is the massage pavillon, were you can enjoy a very good foot massage since is done by people who make just that as a profession. Foot massages after a long day walking is something that wow!! A must-do in Thailand (I know what are you thinking about, shame on you).

This is the most wonderful thing I saw in Bangkok. It is strange becase it is not very pubblicised in travel guides. We are in Wat Paknam, another huge temple complex this time not in the citycenter. Enter a building that looks like the Wat Arun, climb 4 floors and you end up in a room where there is this marvelous emerald crystal tower (I dont know if it was crystal, glass or plasic). It is something different compared to what you usually see in Buddhist temples. From the pictures, it looked like something made on the computer, but once there, the expectations were met: the emerald tower is lit by sourrounding spotlight creating a emerald shade on the colourful ceiling, which has Buddhist cosmology concepts painted. The effect is really amazing, it looks like to see a 3d movie at the cinema. You do not really have a sense of perspective or depth while looking at that. 10/10! Outside the temple, they are building a 70meters high Buddha. I guess is gonna become a top-destination within few years.

The old part of the town in enclosed by a pefectly square wall and canals. Here is the place to stay if you are visiting Chiang Mai. There are marvellous temples in every corner, so be prepared to take off-and-on your shoes (flip-flops not allowed). Besides temples, there are very nice glass-walled coffee shops and little traditional restaurants in tree-lined shady streets. The athmosphere is very peaceful and relaxing in the secondary streets of the old town. The eastern part of the square was my favourite, and I took Ratvithi Rd as a reference for this area. Guest houses, western book-shops, colorful souvenir shops, street food stalls... all very nice.

One of Thailand and Asia emblem (come le banke per il capitalismo!1!!): street food. Here is a market that they do in Chiang Mai every Saturday night. It is very very crowded, and you find everything to eat. But you do not have to wait until Saturday to enjoy crowded street-food places. They are in every corner of every Asian city. They would probably be prohibited in Western Europe due to an arguable standard of hygiene. The deliciuos deep-fried smell of the food blends with gasoling/smog of the street. The stalls are often placed above sewer covers. Cats and dogs wandering around... And it is not rare so see big lovely rats running around. Just be open minded and do not think too much where the food comes from. But it is encouraging to see the amount of people eating in these places, so, as long as thousands of people do not get food-poisioned every day, you can give it a try. If you want to eat cheap and typical, street food is the thing (take into account at least one food-poison episode in your trip. So far I was lucky).

Organize with you hostel mates a day trip to one of the many natural attrations around the city. There are big-red-10 seats taxies ready to pick you up from the hostel and get you whereever you want for a very cheap price, to be further divided by 10. Half an hour from the old town, there is the Grand Canyon. It is not huge as you may think, but is very pretty. You can spend there half a day swimming in the lake, and for the most couragous, you can dive form high reefs. Just be careful, cause the safety measures are not so strong and some people even passed out in the past. Yeee! Since I prefer to go to the hospital for food-poisoning rather than broken bones, I just took a ride on the kayak.

I did not go to the elephant rescue parks, which is a very typical thing to do in Chinag Mai. To make up for it, I went to the "Sticky Waterfalls". 1 hour from the Old Town, it was my favourite thing. They are called sticky cause you can walk down through the water without slipping on the stones. It is not difficult, and your feet will not hurt. So you make a nice and relaxing walk in the jungle via-waterfall. Oddly,there were not so many people, so it is quite peaceful and you can take nice dream-life pictures. A signal at the beginning of the way warns you of snakes (I did not see any). Bring your swimsuit and be careful your phone doesn't fall down.

I could not miss a Muay Thai match in Thailand! The famous Thai Boxe takes place in Bangkok, but there were matches to see even in Chiang Mai Boxing Stadium. I did Thai Boxe for 2 months 2 years ago, but it was too delicate, light, elegant and graceful for it. So being in the audience was better for me. The first half an hour was exciting, then you get used to the punches and kicks so you just tart to drink beer and eat popcorn, watching crazy Thai people betting hard on the match winner.

I stayed in Suan Doi Backpacker Resort, in the middle of the wood of Pai. The atmosphere is similar to the one you live when you go to camping. Very open spaces and open rooms, in the night the temperature drops and you need to cover up. In the morning, free yoga class on the "treehouse" with a very nice teacher. I spend 6 days here, 3 of which passed out in the bed with fever I got from the cold of the first day (the same days when the Chinese virus exploded around the world). Fortunatelly, no corona-virus for me (del resto, Corona non perdona). Here and in Thailand in general everything concerting tourism is very organize: ask the reception for a scooter, and in 10 minutes a guy comes right there with a scooter for you. No need driving licence, no need insurance, pay at the end of the rent by the number of days you used the scooter (5€ per day, fuel separated by very cheap). He just explain you to brake with the left, and you are ready to go (hoping the police do not ask for your international driving licence, but if it happen do not worry, pay 10€ bribe fine and you are free to go).

Every night there is a big event in Pai. From party in one of the hostels around the city, to party in the jungle until morning. Here I was in one event organized by Paradise Hostel. Bar, people around fire, ping pong, a open-mic stage where everyone could go and play/sing something (with very professional instruments), and at the end, 2 hours show organized by a circus company, very spectacular. The amount of hippies is of course considerable in these places, playing bongos, making skills games, and smoooke weeeedeeeveryday.

My fav attraction in Pai: the Bamboo Bridge. There are a lot of bamboo bridges around Pai. It is really cool to walk on them cause they are super elastic and you bounce a lot. This bridge is just made of bamboo trunks and strips wedged and tangled up on each others, no nails needed. It was not used to cross any river, but sprawled for 800 meters above rise fields and meadows where cows were put to pasture. In the end of the path, there is a beautiful bamboo-made sancuatry, with monks going around. The panorama around, surrounded by Pai mountains, is spectacular especially during the sunset. It is worth to go around the area with your scooter and see the beautiful landscape.

There are many minorities in the Northen Thailand, coming from China or Myanmar or other places in East Asia. In Pai there is this village of Long-Neck people called Kayan, a Tibeto-Bruma ethnic minority of Myanmar arrived in the Thai boarder in 1980s due to a conflict with the military regime of Myanmar. Nowadays tourist entering in their village make a part of the revenue stream with which they live, and women spend the day manufacturing clothes and jewlerry to sell them (me). In this way, they do not need any from of financial assistance. They start to put rings arounf the neck when they are 5, one every 3 years, and never take them off. Actually, the long neck is just and illusion: in fact the bones of the neck are not deformed, but are the clavicles and the shoulders that go down pulled by the weight of the brass coils.

Another Gran Canyon (Kong Lan). No water this time, but a labirinth of high and narrow heaps. You can walk on them, being very careful (there are not protection preventing you from falling down, the height sometime is quite impressive). These narrow ledges have been formed by continuos erosions of the fragile stone they are composed of. If you scratch them, the material goes away very easily, and for these reason it is a very dusty location. Do not wear back and get ready to wash your shoes. The rush hour of peolpe is at the sunset, where a hoard of tourist come to photoraph even with the drones the panorama and the sun that goes hyding behing Pai mountains.

Most famous attraction of Chinag Rai: the White Temple. It is more an art exhibit than a Buddhist/Induist temple. Contrunction started in 1997, designed and owned by the Thai visual artist Chalermchai Kositpipat. It is made of white plaster and many little mirrows that create a sparing effect. The entrace is very impressive: two big horns arise from a sea of hands and skulls. It seems like being in the the Elephant Graveyard of the Lion King.

Stop Temples: here is a list of peculiarity of Thailands:

• They drive left, even if they have never been a british colony.
• they NEVER honk, neither in the traffic of megacities like Bangkok: it is very rude for them. Never never.
• they do not spit (having been in China for me was an honorable thing).
• sewer system do not work properly, and you cannot through toilet paper down the wc. Use the Bum Gun instead.
• in Thailand they are in 2563, +543 years compared to the Gregorian Calendar. (Buddhist Calendar).
• they are very calm and friendly, they never fight or argue because it would imply "loosing the face", something terribly embarassing for them.
• there are not so many mosquitos in Thailand. Nothing compared to Milan.
• they are sexually open and tolerant, for these reason there are a lot of Lady Bodys. But in general sex is more a taboo for them compared to Westerns.

Time to go to the beach! Head South and arrive in Phuket, a big island / province of Thailand, destination for international mass-tourism. There are plenty of beaches around. Patong in the most in-famous location, offering all that Khao-San road in Bangkok can offer you, but with the beach. Goo-goo bars, clubs, ping pong shows, street food, massages, prostitutes... Find everything here! I preferred to go to this hard to access beautiful beach: Freedom Beach, the best I saw in Phuket. After half an hour walk down the wood, you arrive in this uncontaminated piece of land. Remeber to come back before sunset, otherwise you have to climb back in complete darkness.
Around the city, amazing disco-tuk-tuks are ready to get you wherever you want with style: connect your playlist by blutooth, and make the people around you listen to your favourite hit in the night as you finally were Calvin Harris once in a lifetime. Suggestive.

Get the ferry from Phuket and arrive at Phi Phi Islands ("PI PI", not "FI FI"). These are 2 islands that became a famous tourist destination for the Leo di Caprio movie "The Beach". There are 2 main islands: Phi Phi Don, where the city and the civiliztion is (no car-no scooters tho), and Phi Phi Lee, which is wild and accessibe only by boat, being protected by steep and high cliffs. Get a 30€ private-boat day-trip to explore all the beaches around the aera. Some of them are closed to the public and you can only see from the distance, like Maya Bay, which is the one where the movie was recorded. Everything is very well organized for tourists, like in the rest of Thailand: thousands of people with their caracteristic tail-boats are always ready to take you for a ride around. Hostels in the islands are terrible, being the space limited and full of people. So to stay in a decent place you need to leave more bath than the average. In the night, the harbor gets wild with many clubs on the beach, restautanrs, fire shows, limbos... If you like to party, this is the island to go.

Railay, the place that I like the most. High limestone cliffs force you to reach the tip of this peninsula only by boat. Once there, Railay has many marvellous things to offer: caves accessible by swimming in emerald waters, mighty rocks dominating the landscape, monekys, alligators, restaurants-boat delivering the best street food right on the beach, beautiful 2-storey bamboo-bars... The athmosphere is very relaxing compared to the previos places. There are tons of amazing resorts and swimmingpool everywhere. Going to the beach by night watching the stars and the moon, with the shaded outline of the big rocks and the sound of the waves was an epiphany-like event. I had my first real adventure when, after a quite tricky rock-climbing path in the jungle, you end up in a lagoon. If you have the sick idea of going through the lagoon, you will end-up sinking 15cm in the mud in every step you take, for about 10 minutes. Pleasant sensation, good for the skin, but who knows what you can find underneath. After that I needed to go back through the same path and throw myself in the sea with the shoes.

Rock climbing is really a thing in Railay. Here was an easy climb without equipment to access the lagoon I was talking before.

Last remarks about Thailand:

• 5 is Thai is "ha", so, to laugth, instead of "hahaha" they text "5555" .
• Food: everyone is crazy about Thai food. It is good of course, but is the food I like the least so far in Asia.
  Typical dishes: Pad Thai, Khao Soi, many types of curry (there is a strong Indian influence in Thai cousine), mango with sticky rice (a dessert, strange).
• a sim with unlimited fast internet for 1 month costs 20€, and is easy to buy as you would buy a sandwich.
• is a very safe country, very well organized for tourism. It is very very easy to travel around.
• energy drink Red Bull was created in Thailand by Chaleo Yoovidhya, third richest person in Thailand at the time of his death in 2012. The drink was exported in the West in partnership with an Austrian entrepreneur.